Time to Switch Out Brandon Smith?
- Thread starter IowaLawWasRight
- Start date
hawkeyes87
Well-Known Member
So you want to "switch out" BS, but you're apparently fine w/ ISM?
ISM has gotten a lot more playing time the last 2 years, but still looks uncomfortable catching the ball (well, "making an attempt to catch" is more appropriate, I guess...).
I don't know where to find targets / drops / etc stats for college, but ISM has a whopping 7 catches to BS' 5.
As others have said, wr is an obvious coaching weakness.
ISM has gotten a lot more playing time the last 2 years, but still looks uncomfortable catching the ball (well, "making an attempt to catch" is more appropriate, I guess...).
I don't know where to find targets / drops / etc stats for college, but ISM has a whopping 7 catches to BS' 5.
As others have said, wr is an obvious coaching weakness.
hawkdrummer1
Well-Known Member
Welcome to being a D1 athlete
ChosenChildren
Well-Known Member
Smith is a very good player and a terrific blocker. Leave him in there.
ChosenChildren
Well-Known Member
Fant is really a wide receiver with his speed and athleticism. Frankly, so is Hockenson
Adam
Well-Known Member
WR are getting open all over the field. There is nothing wrong with the routes or the play calls. The only problem is the insistence on draining the clock on offense. It limits our amount of plays and makes the margin of error in the passing game so minute that every nanosecond of progression is magnified to the highest scale. It makes delivering the ball a complicated task. Yes this is how it's done by most pro quarterbacks, but it doesn't need to be this complicated in College football.
IowaLawWasRight
Well-Known Member
Hawkeyes87, if watched any Hawkeye football this year, you would know that ISM only has 7 caches because he didn't play in 2 of our 4 games due to injury. In spite of that, he still has more catches than Smith who started and played the majority of downs in every game. You unwittingly proved my point.
Smith's issue is not that he doesn't get thrown to enough. He doesn't run routes like a college WR, and can't get open like a typical college WR. Hell, we had a walk-on WR with 1/10th his athletic ability catch 10 passes in one game this season. How do you reconcile that?
The simple fact is, other guys need to be be given a shot. That doesn't mean Smith is washed up as a sophomore...it just means he's not currently making plays and doing what a starting WR on a Big 10 team needs to do.
Smith's issue is not that he doesn't get thrown to enough. He doesn't run routes like a college WR, and can't get open like a typical college WR. Hell, we had a walk-on WR with 1/10th his athletic ability catch 10 passes in one game this season. How do you reconcile that?
The simple fact is, other guys need to be be given a shot. That doesn't mean Smith is washed up as a sophomore...it just means he's not currently making plays and doing what a starting WR on a Big 10 team needs to do.
ibahawkeye
Well-Known Member
I'll admit I've been underwhelmed with Brandon Smith and hoped he'd be more productive than he has thus far.
But this all sounds like an expectation problem. I've read nice things about Brandon but who touted him as undoubtedly our #1 and best WR???
Coming into this year we knew we had Fant and Easly. Other than that, nobody was proven. ISM was on-off and Smith was even less proven/productive than ISM.
Overall Smith is fine and at least he's a soph and will continue to get better.
But this all sounds like an expectation problem. I've read nice things about Brandon but who touted him as undoubtedly our #1 and best WR???
Coming into this year we knew we had Fant and Easly. Other than that, nobody was proven. ISM was on-off and Smith was even less proven/productive than ISM.
Overall Smith is fine and at least he's a soph and will continue to get better.
Adam
Well-Known Member
He is a giant Possession receiver. Your expectation that he should be beating CB's on underneath routes is silly. Easley is 5'10. There is no comparison between a slot receiver and a receiver like Brandon. The targets aren't relative because slot receivers have alot more room to work and throw to. We aren't using either Smith alot because we are not throwing the ball alot into single coverage. That's all on Stanley. The throws are there and the QB decideds when and who they go to.
The drops are the only concern we should have with Brandon right now.
Disagree with the latter part. Hockensen is a more than capable blocker, which is why he is usually the down tight end Fant is the H-back type of guy. The only reason he's not getting more love outside of Iowa is because of Fant's ridiculous athleticism.
ChosenChildren
Well-Known Member
I agree with you. I was really referring to Hockensen's speed. He gets open a lot
Ah I see. I find it interesting that BF is starting to split Hock out wide like we do with Fant as well. I believe one of his catches against Wisconsin came off the same double play-fake we scored on against Minnesota with Fant last season.
judzeehawk
Well-Known Member
B Smith will be fine. The confidence is growing.
ShockHawk22
Well-Known Member
Our top 4 wide receivers have 25
Receptions through 4 games. Many of those were against a bad D2 school who we used to get our passing game “on track”.
Easley -12 total receptions ( 10 vs UNI)
ISM - 7 total receptions ( DNP vs uni)
Smith -5 total receptions ( 2 vs uni)
KG - 1 reception (0 vs uni)
Idk if it’s all on Brandon smith for his lack of success. Doesn’t look like we throw outside too often
Receptions through 4 games. Many of those were against a bad D2 school who we used to get our passing game “on track”.
Easley -12 total receptions ( 10 vs UNI)
ISM - 7 total receptions ( DNP vs uni)
Smith -5 total receptions ( 2 vs uni)
KG - 1 reception (0 vs uni)
Idk if it’s all on Brandon smith for his lack of success. Doesn’t look like we throw outside too often
hawkdrummer1
Well-Known Member
5 catches in 4 games ain't exactly a growth curve. And yes....it's tough to "grow" if you're not getting opportunities
I've heard the same from those in IC...Smith is a really good kid.
Whether it's Smith or Ken O'Keefe or whomever...the real answer has always been KFz.
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Yeah it's not like Smith is the only one not setting the world on fire. We target our TEs more and they are really darn good so rightfully so. And our RBs on checkdowns and the occasional screen. If your QB is throwing it less then 30ish times a game there's only so many ways to try and distribute the about 15-20 completions or so a game there are with our style of play. There's room for one player to have a high touch game like Easley can have with those short routes but not so much with a 2nd receiver in the same game... The volume just isn't really there to be had unless they throw it more...
Knight78
Well-Known Member
So explain to me why Djimon Colbert and Barrington Wade were named starters for Minnesota when we have healthy "tenured" players behind them on the depth chart? Maybe we should all refrain from making statements about Ferentz without actually watching what goes on in practice. After all, as a former high school coach, I moved players in and out of the starting lineup based on their practice performance. I don't imagine Kirk is any different in that regard.
hawkdrummer1
Well-Known Member
Linebacker has been in question since Spring ball. We're still searching for the right combo, further complicated by injuries. I get what you're saying, there are always exceptions..and Smith may not be the best example. But we all know that in the past Kirk has stuck with upperclassmen (or starters) too long at times in lieu or younger talent...or even giving a younger guy a look when we struggled. Risk management > unknown potential
As many have pointed out, the real problem is not throwing to Smith enough... it's tough to grow and develop with limited opportunities.
HawkeyeWalker
Well-Known Member
Bingo.
D
DDThompson
Guest
other posters should be given a shot of quarterly sensical reviews of the Hawks after four games.
