2019 Spring Practice Thread

[Some Irish Bloke]

Kind of shocked at the past 15 hours of posts. Never thought after one practice we'd find the need to have posters defend PJ after one sub-standard performance.

The sky falls pretty quick for some folks I suppose. IIRC, the practice report from a couple of days ago mentioned that he is seeking the deep ball too much, which could also explain the 4-8 in the 7v7. That's decision making, which is coachable. I'm shocked that Pete had to even tweet to knock down a BW comparison and so many took that as a sigh of relief.

He's working his first meaningful reps with WRs working their first meaningful reps with an Oline working their first meaningful reps.

...And reps for all of those who used common sense and didn't let this thread spiral too much.

 

[IrishLion]

Ian is a very accurate QB.

Phil is a sophomore that throws the deep ball really well, but needs to figure out the feel of operating the precise, underneath offense. Again, a SOPHOMORE.

The QB situation is exactly where it should be... reliable veteran that is going to do what he needs to do, with a talented young guy in position to get developmental reps behind him.

This is what the QB position is supposed to be. I understand that some people don't know how to process that, and think the sky is falling instead.

 

[IrishLax]

I'm personally shocked that Tyler Buchner isn't seriously challenging Book this spring. Must be a bust.

 

[Rocket 94]

I was listening to Mike Frank's ISD podcast yesterday and he said the Phil Jurkovec is the best back-up QB he has ever seen at ND. He was effusive in the praise of him. Frank is usually very negative so this was a pleasant surprise.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

I was listening to Mike Frank's ISD podcast yesterday and he said the Phil Jurkovec is the best back-up QB he has ever seen at ND. He was effusive in the praise of him. Frank is usually very negative so this was a pleasant surprise.

Even better than Tommy??

 

[Bluto]

I was listening to Mike Frank's ISD podcast yesterday and he said the Phil Jurkovec is the best back-up QB he has ever seen at ND. He was effusive in the praise of him. Frank is usually very negative so this was a pleasant surprise.

Even better than Tommy??

Even better than Joe Montana?

 

[GowerND11]

Even better than Tommy??

Tommy was a closer, not a backup.

 

[BabyIrish]

I was happy to hear from both Eric Hanson and Bryan Driskell that Jarrett Patterson is impressing as center. Talked about his athleticism and ability to get to the second level as well as even when he loses to Hinish or MTA he isn't getting blown off the ball.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

I was listening to Mike Frank's ISD podcast yesterday and he said the Phil Jurkovec is the best back-up QB he has ever seen at ND. He was effusive in the praise of him. Frank is usually very negative so this was a pleasant surprise.

Even better than Tommy??

Tommy was a closer, not a backup.

I'll just leave this here. Film speaks for itself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVTt_pXdoUw

 

[calvegas04]

Even better than Joe Montana?

Rees Career passing 7351 yards

Montana Career passing 4121 yards

 

[NDdomer2]

i think theres always two extremes that post. Doom and Gloomers and the everyone is is stupid for having an opinion that isnt roses.

A guy going 50% in 7on isnt good. Now if theres 3 drops in there, it changes things, and obviously no one has any idea about that from reading a basic practice summary.

Where I think some of the angst comes from in regards to Phil is, every year in CFB we see true freshman come in and sling it all over the place some even lead their teams to natty's. So is it fair to say Phil is a flop, absolutely not. Is it fair to wonder if he was truly a 5 star, maybe?

The one thing I always go back to when I try and think about development of the qb's is when I watched DK throw a bounce pass on a hitch route in spring ball and then come in and ball the very next season as a backup turned starter.

 

[Luckylucci]

i think theres always two extremes that post. Doom and Gloomers and the everyone is is stupid for having an opinion that isnt roses.

A guy going 50% in 7on isnt good. Now if theres 3 drops in there, it changes things, and obviously no one has any idea about that from reading a basic practice summary.

Where I think some of the angst comes from in regards to Phil is, every year in CFB we see true freshman come in and sling it all over the place some even lead their teams to natty's. So is it fair to say Phil is a flop, absolutely not. Is it fair to wonder if he was truly a 5 star, maybe?

The one thing I always go back to when I try and think about development of the qb's is when I watched DK throw a bounce pass on a hitch route in spring ball and then come in and ball the very next season as a backup turned starter.

Well, that’s not very true. They do chart the throws so they might be off by 1 or 2 but I doubt they are making up or wrong about 4-5 drops.

 

[Irish#1]

I'm with you. He's a RS freshman getting the first meaningful practice minutes and he has to throw into tighter windows. That and Pete Sampson's update leaves me resting easy.

I'll let others worry. Phil will hopefully only get backup minutes in the games this fall, giving him another year to continue to develop/tweak his game.

I have far more pressing concerns, like making breakfast.

This......Phil didn't get any meaningful time last year, basically handling scout team duties. Now in his first "real" season, he has all of six spring practices under his belt. Even Tiger Woods gets rusty if he doesn't practice and play all the time.

On a side note, I remember when everyone discussed spring practice and we had 85 All Americans on the roster.

 

[Irish Man3]

Sweet memories of last year's spring practice are all coming back.

I remember the panic from those hearing stories of BW missing the broad side of a short barn, and others saying to take a pill as it doesn't mean anything.

So... Clark starting by week 4?

You're comparing Wimbush, who had been on campus for 3-4 years, to a kid that hasn't finished his first year on campus. Not to mention, it was ONE subpar practice behind an offensive line that should be in highschool. Comparing the two at this point seems like apples and oranges.

I'm not saying Phil is Trevor Lawrence, but we should relax and allow Buchner to begin his senior season in highschool before bypassing Phil and others

 

[stlnd01]

Is it fair to wonder if he was truly a 5 star, maybe?
.

Optimistic alliteration aside, he was pretty clearly a four-star recruit.
https://247sports.com/Player/Phil-Jurkovec-86287/

Is it fair to not expect him to be Trevor Lawrence?

 

[SoIll]

Optimistic alliteration aside, he was pretty clearly a four-star recruit.
https://247sports.com/Player/Phil-Jurkovec-86287/

Is it fair to not expect him to be Trevor Lawrence?

Everyone told me months ago that Phil was better than Trevor..

 

[Southside Sully]

So in his 1st spring in the program Phil isn't more accurate than Book... therefore he is Wimbush part 2? Seems legit.

This.. Guy has one season at ND, with a few garbage plays and is in practice working on getting better and of course all the pessimists come out.

 

[Blaise]

Everyone told me months ago that Phil was better than Trevor..

Everyone?

 

[Irish YJ]

You're comparing Wimbush, who had been on campus for 3-4 years, to a kid that hasn't finished his first year on campus. Not to mention, it was ONE subpar practice behind an offensive line that should be in highschool. Comparing the two at this point seems like apples and oranges.

I'm not saying Phil is Trevor Lawrence, but we should relax and allow Bucher to begin his senior season in highschool before bypassing Phil and others

I was being sarcastic 99%,
i'm not going to start worrying about PJ until spring 21. pj will be fine, and in the small case he isn't, there's other alternatives.
the only thing i'm truly interested in now is Book improving his deep passing.
in terms of buchner, not worrying about his performance until he's on campus. i'd be more worried that he makes it to campus in the first place if i were to worry at all.

 

[Irish Man3]

I was being sarcastic 99%,
i'm not going to start worrying about PJ until spring 21. pj will be fine, and in the small case he isn't, there's other alternatives.
the only thing i'm truly interested in now is Book improving his deep passing.
in terms of buchner, not worrying about his performance until he's on campus. i'd be more worried that he makes it to campus in the first place if i were to worry at all.

Fair enough. With some of the crap that comes across these threads, you never know what's sarcasm and what's not.

 

[longliveautrydenson]

i think theres always two extremes that post. Doom and Gloomers and the everyone is is stupid for having an opinion that isnt roses.

A guy going 50% in 7on isnt good. Now if theres 3 drops in there, it changes things, and obviously no one has any idea about that from reading a basic practice summary.

Where I think some of the angst comes from in regards to Phil is, every year in CFB we see true freshman come in and sling it all over the place some even lead their teams to natty's. So is it fair to say Phil is a flop, absolutely not. Is it fair to wonder if he was truly a 5 star, maybe?

The one thing I always go back to when I try and think about development of the qb's is when I watched DK throw a bounce pass on a hitch route in spring ball and then come in and ball the very next season as a backup turned starter.

I don’t think having concerns about PJ makes someone a doom and gloomer. He’s got a weird throwing motion. Every analyst noticed it when he stepped on campus. Last week, BK alluded to the fact that they’re trying to change his throwing motion. We know that that’s not an easy thing to do.

The latest practice reports also indicate that PJ struggles with the short, touch throws. We know how our offense bogs down when a QB can’t consistently make those passes.

There’s still a ton to be optimistic about in terms of where this program is heading. We’ve got more quality depth and athleticism on D than we’ve seen since the 90s. WR, TE, OL, and RB are all deep and appear to be on the rise. But the one riddle that BK has yet to consistently solve at ND is quarterback play. It’s fair to be concerned about where we’d be if Book gets injured this season or goes pro early.

 

[BobbyMac]

Everyone told me months ago that Phil was better than Trevor..

Since I'm the originator of 5*Phil, I'll take this.

For ND and BK's system that asks the QB to run out of RPO's Phil was the better fit. He was my #1 QB for ND because he was doing in HS what BK dreams his QB's can do on Saturdays for the Irish. On top of that, factor in the WPA/Catholic aspect vs the rural/extra-suburban ATL/non-Catholic background of Lawrence and it adds to the fit.

Now if you go to Lawrence's thread, you'll see I stated he was the #1 college prospect in HS since his freshman year. That was way back in 2016. Everyone knew what he was going to be. If the NFL draft operated like MLB, he would have been #1 draft pick last year. If it was run like the NBA, he'd be #1 this year. He's the best prospect in football not in the NFL, has been for years.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

I don’t think having concerns about PJ makes someone a doom and gloomer. He’s got a weird throwing motion. Every analyst noticed it when he stepped on campus. Last week, BK alluded to the fact that they’re trying to change his throwing motion. We know that that’s not an easy thing to do.

The latest practice reports also indicate that PJ struggles with the short, touch throws. We know how our offense bogs down when a QB can’t consistently make those passes.

There’s still a ton to be optimistic about in terms of where this program is heading. We’ve got more quality depth and athleticism on D than we’ve seen since the 90s. WR, TE, OL, and RB are all deep and appear to be on the rise. But the one riddle that BK has yet to consistently solve at ND is quarterback play. It’s fair to be concerned about where we’d be if Book gets injured this season or goes pro early.

He wouldn't be going pro early, just foregoing a 5th year. (I'm only saying this because someone called me out for "not knowing what year he was", even though I find "early" to be implied)

 

[longliveautrydenson]

He wouldn't be going pro early, just foregoing a 5th year. (I'm only saying this because someone called me out for "not knowing what year he was", even though I find "early" to be implied)

Yeah an earlier poster suggested that we have Book locked down for 2019 and 2020. Irish Illustrated has been reporting that he’s basically a lock to leave if he has a good season this year. By “early” I just meant that it’s not a given that Book’s going to exhaust his eligibility at ND.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

Yeah an earlier poster suggested that we have Book locked down for 2019 and 2020. Irish Illustrated has been reporting that he’s basically a lock to leave if he has a good season this year. By “early” I just meant that it’s not a given that Book’s going to exhaust his eligibility at ND.

That seems like a bit of a reach by II to call him a lock if he has another good season. Even setting aside the fact that he's slightly undersized for most QB prospects nowadays, next year's class is loaded at the top. Three sure-fire first rounders that would be ranked ahead of him could at least make him reconsider coming back for a 5th: Tua, Herbert, Fromm. Now he might go, and be okay with being a day 2 or 3 pick, but if he struggles again throwing the ball down field, he could take yet another year to fine tune his craft.

I'm not saying he won't go. But I think calling him a lock by any means is certainly a stretch.

 

[longliveautrydenson]

That seems like a bit of a reach by II to call him a lock if he has another good season. Even setting aside the fact that he's slightly undersized for most QB prospects nowadays, next year's class is loaded at the top. Three sure-fire first rounders that would be ranked ahead of him could at least make him reconsider coming back for a 5th: Tua, Herbert, Fromm. Now he might go, and be okay with being a day 2 or 3 pick, but if he struggles again throwing the ball down field, he could take yet another year to fine tune his craft.

I'm not saying he won't go. But I think calling him a lock by any means is certainly a stretch.

Tim O’Malley reported that Book considered going pro after this past season. I think that’s partially why they’re so convinced he won’t be back in 2020.

 

[GrangerIrish24]

Tim O’Malley reported that Book considered going pro after this past season. I think that’s partially why they’re so convinced he won’t be back in 2020.

Tim Omalley reported that Book wanted to put his name in to get feed back on where his game needed to develop, not that he wanted to go pro.

 

[snoopdog]

Personally I think it would be prudent to await the Blue Gray game before jumping to any conclusions how PJ is progressing.

 

[GowerND11]

Personally I think it would be prudent to await the Blue Gray game before jumping to any conclusions how PJ is progressing.

Hmm, well that game hasn't happened since 2003...

 

[snoopdog]

Hmm, well that game hasn't happened since 2003...

Blue gold smartazz