Riddickulous
"That" Guy
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Want an accurate guage on how well Dayne Crist might perform this season? In this thread, we'll compare Crist's situation to two similar situations in Kelly's past (Dan LeFevour's freshman season at Central Michigan in 2006, Cincinatti's Ben Mauk's first year adjusting to a new system in 2007) just to see how well other (arguably less talented in the case of Mauk and possibly LeFevour) quarterbacks have done in their first years in the Kelly system.
Ben Mauk
We'll start with Ben Mauk, the more recent candidate. In 2007 (a year in which Cincinatti finished 10-3), Ben Mauk, a senior quarterback with some substantial playing experience, was introduced to Brian Kelly's offense after spending three years in Mark Dantonio's offense, a more pro-style attack. Much like Crist, Mauk was going to have to make huge strides if he was going to lead the Bearcat offense to success in 2007. How did he do?
Mauk's 2007 stats: 235-386 (60.9% completions), 3121 yards, 31 TDs, 9 INTs
In the three years preceding Kelly's arrival, Mauk attempted over 250 passes. His combined completion percentage was around 57 percent, thus in one year under Kelly he improved his completion percentage by nearly 4 percent. In addition to his completion percentage, Mauk posted 4 touchdown passes to 10 interceptions in the three years prior to Kelly, a 2 to 5 TD:INT ratio. In 2007, he posted 31 TDs to 9 picks, about 3.5 TDs for every interception thrown.
Like Crist, Mauk was a player who had been in the college game awhile and had been developed in a different system. With the talent the Irish have, Crist should perform near the level Mauk performed at Cincinatti in 2007.
Dan LeFevour
In 2006, his final year at Central Michigan, Brian Kelly was coming off of a 6-5 season and looking to improve his team's record. At QB, he would have unproven freshman Dan LeFevour. In LeFevour's first season as a Kelly QB, he did not disappoint. CMU finished 9-4 in the regular season (7-1 in conference), led the MAC in both total and scoring offense, and won the conference championship. LeFevour, their QB, was just a freshman. On top of that, three of CMU's four losses were to BCS-conference teams (Boston College, a Michigan team that would lay the smackdown on Notre Dame and finish the season 11-2, and Kentucky of the SEC). LeFevour's stats?
247-388 (63.7% completions), 3031 yards, 26 TDs, 10 INTs
In his first year in the Kelly system, a true freshman QB posted a great completion percentage, eclipsed 3000 yards, led his team to a 9-4 record (with a bowl win following Kelly's departure) and conference championship, and posted respectable TD and INT totals, especially considering it was his first year in the offense with very lowly rated talent around him.
Now, I ask you this: What's stopping Crist from doing the same?
Dayne Crist has more raw talent than either Ben Mauk or Dan LeFevour. In addition to that, he has a strong supporting cast, including a couple of pro prospects for receiving targets. Notre Dame does not have a very difficult schedule, especially down the stretch in the second half of the season where Notre Dame faces all five of the weakest teams on their schedule (Western Michigan, Utah, Navy, Tulsa, and Army) before taking on USC in Los Angeles. With half a season under Crist's belt, he will take great strides and greatly improve, especially with an easier schedule to improve further before taking on arguably ND's toughest 2010 opponent.
Purdue, Notre Dame's first opponent of 2010, replaces their entire secondary, leaving Crist a golden opportunity to build confidence and establish rhythm with his receivers early. The following weak, the Irish face a vulnerable, young and inexperienced secondary (Michigan does not have a starting defensive back older than a sophomore) with further opportunities to build Crist's confidence. ND's 4th opponent, Stanford, had a horrible secondary last year that allowed Jimmy Clausen to throw for 340 yards and 5 TDs, and does not look to be much improved in 2010. With three bad secondaries, Dayne can build his confidence and be ready to face two tough challenges to open October: an away game against a Mark Herzlich-led BC defense and a home game against a Pitt team who beat Notre Dame in 2009.
Let's hope a healthy, confident, comfortable Dayne Crist walks onto the field in Los Angeles on November 27th, ready to face a USC secondary that had to replace a few key starters. If Dayne, Brian Kelly, Notre Dame, and we believe...perhaps this year is the year we finally beat the Trojans.
Ben Mauk
We'll start with Ben Mauk, the more recent candidate. In 2007 (a year in which Cincinatti finished 10-3), Ben Mauk, a senior quarterback with some substantial playing experience, was introduced to Brian Kelly's offense after spending three years in Mark Dantonio's offense, a more pro-style attack. Much like Crist, Mauk was going to have to make huge strides if he was going to lead the Bearcat offense to success in 2007. How did he do?
Mauk's 2007 stats: 235-386 (60.9% completions), 3121 yards, 31 TDs, 9 INTs
In the three years preceding Kelly's arrival, Mauk attempted over 250 passes. His combined completion percentage was around 57 percent, thus in one year under Kelly he improved his completion percentage by nearly 4 percent. In addition to his completion percentage, Mauk posted 4 touchdown passes to 10 interceptions in the three years prior to Kelly, a 2 to 5 TD:INT ratio. In 2007, he posted 31 TDs to 9 picks, about 3.5 TDs for every interception thrown.
Like Crist, Mauk was a player who had been in the college game awhile and had been developed in a different system. With the talent the Irish have, Crist should perform near the level Mauk performed at Cincinatti in 2007.
Dan LeFevour
In 2006, his final year at Central Michigan, Brian Kelly was coming off of a 6-5 season and looking to improve his team's record. At QB, he would have unproven freshman Dan LeFevour. In LeFevour's first season as a Kelly QB, he did not disappoint. CMU finished 9-4 in the regular season (7-1 in conference), led the MAC in both total and scoring offense, and won the conference championship. LeFevour, their QB, was just a freshman. On top of that, three of CMU's four losses were to BCS-conference teams (Boston College, a Michigan team that would lay the smackdown on Notre Dame and finish the season 11-2, and Kentucky of the SEC). LeFevour's stats?
247-388 (63.7% completions), 3031 yards, 26 TDs, 10 INTs
In his first year in the Kelly system, a true freshman QB posted a great completion percentage, eclipsed 3000 yards, led his team to a 9-4 record (with a bowl win following Kelly's departure) and conference championship, and posted respectable TD and INT totals, especially considering it was his first year in the offense with very lowly rated talent around him.
Now, I ask you this: What's stopping Crist from doing the same?
Dayne Crist has more raw talent than either Ben Mauk or Dan LeFevour. In addition to that, he has a strong supporting cast, including a couple of pro prospects for receiving targets. Notre Dame does not have a very difficult schedule, especially down the stretch in the second half of the season where Notre Dame faces all five of the weakest teams on their schedule (Western Michigan, Utah, Navy, Tulsa, and Army) before taking on USC in Los Angeles. With half a season under Crist's belt, he will take great strides and greatly improve, especially with an easier schedule to improve further before taking on arguably ND's toughest 2010 opponent.
Purdue, Notre Dame's first opponent of 2010, replaces their entire secondary, leaving Crist a golden opportunity to build confidence and establish rhythm with his receivers early. The following weak, the Irish face a vulnerable, young and inexperienced secondary (Michigan does not have a starting defensive back older than a sophomore) with further opportunities to build Crist's confidence. ND's 4th opponent, Stanford, had a horrible secondary last year that allowed Jimmy Clausen to throw for 340 yards and 5 TDs, and does not look to be much improved in 2010. With three bad secondaries, Dayne can build his confidence and be ready to face two tough challenges to open October: an away game against a Mark Herzlich-led BC defense and a home game against a Pitt team who beat Notre Dame in 2009.
Let's hope a healthy, confident, comfortable Dayne Crist walks onto the field in Los Angeles on November 27th, ready to face a USC secondary that had to replace a few key starters. If Dayne, Brian Kelly, Notre Dame, and we believe...perhaps this year is the year we finally beat the Trojans.
