Coach needs to stop making his QBs think their life depends on not throwing INTs

[rbmw263]

I feel like Wynn regressed due to shoulder injuries, but we’ve now watched Travis, Troy, and Tyler all regress as their time in the program went on, imo. We saw Travis hesitate all the time. Throws were late, never happened, or he’d bail out to the 6 yard comeback on the outside. Wouldnt take shots or make “riskier” throws in the deeper levels of the defense. Troy developed a massive stutter step during his time here. He wasnt as afraid to look downfield as the other two but so many times it seemed like he didnt want to let go of the ball. That weird long step pumpfake representing a missed window. Now we are seeing it with Tyler. My ….theory… based on surface evidence is Whits especially strong aversion to interceptions is holding back his quarterbacks. These guys are so damn afraid of turning the ball over it envelops their entire MO. They think their entire career depends on this s**t. We could afford to throw a pick here and there if it meant 350+ yards through the air.

You think Mike Leach is hammering in his quarterbacks head that he better not turn the ball over or we lose? Or any time they throw a pick hes dogging them for it? (in the locker room and in the interviews…)

turnovers = bad is safe coachspeak space. Pretty universally accepted, id say… But when it dominates like it does with Kyle you have an environment that causes a quarterback to operate primarily with caution and, honestly, fear. It just does not promote development and theres non-insignificant amounts of evidence that argue QBs under Kyle Whittingham get worse. Tell your QBs something different coach. You are trying to help but you are making it worse.

[Uteified]

I have seen the same trends and reached the same conclusion this weekend. 

[WhiteyFisk]

I thought the coaches broke Travis Wilson. I was never sure how, but some games he looked so frazzled and out of his element. I thought TW was actually pretty good at throwing the deep ball. If you watched him warm-up, he drops deep throws in with ease. During the game however, it’s like deep throws were never even attempted, even when our receivers were getting their shoulder pads past the defender. 

Hard to know what’s going on since we’re not in practice. But we do know Whitt is overly conservative in his style. 

[Duhwayne]

Travis was thrown to the wolves when his starter ahead of him quit. 6 ints against UCLA and an injured throwing hand broke him. It was too bad.

I think Tyler showed up stresed out this year. He plays great when loose. He’s not loose and that gets worse if the feedback on the field is poor. Fans eating him will make it worse.

If fans mount a successful campaign to push Whitt out they will get what they deserve. Take credit if it goes well, but also own it if Utah falls to the bottom and stays.

[Xanthis]

Why people think Utah will sink to the bottom and stay is puzzling to me. Look at Colorado. They sucked. They sucked real bad, but guess what? They won the south a few years ago and are having another great year. Utah on the other hand hasn’t won the south with “better talent”. 

Utah may suck for a few years, but it won’t be forever like so many fans think.

[Puget Ute]

I am happy for CU this year, but I will also reserve comments until they play a team with a pulse.  They are 4-0 against teams that are a combined 1-16, including one FCS team.

[tarheelute]

Agreed – Working with mostly Colorado Buff graduates (engineers). They are not drinking the Kool-Aid. However they (at least the ones I work with) would rather have a great year every three or four years, putting up with bad years, rather than the perennial “middle of the pack” mindset of the Utes.

[UtMtBiker]

Travis had the same deep ball as Huntley, flat with no touch. The sideline fades by Minchew were a perfect example of the limitations we have at QB. Huntley best ball isn’t anywhere near those perfectly place indefensible throws.  It’s just not his game. 

[EagleMountainUte]

I am sure we will see more of it. Which leads me to believe he can do it. I want to believe Huntley demonstrates in a practice situation ability to execute the plays TT calls. So why can’t it be done on Gameday??

[UtMtBiker]

That’s a good question.  He seems to favor the back shoulder under throw over a well placed fade.  I haven’t seen him even attempt a deep ball with any touch this year.  Could be the fear of throw a INT that OP is talking about.   

[Tony (admin)]

I would contend that being a defensive minded team with a conservative offense means that each turnover we lose is far more magnified than with a team that scores a lot of points. 

[rbmw263]

right. Thats the mindset that is maintaining the cycle. Breaking that would be like jumping off a cliff at first. Scary and would likely cause some losses in the beginning, but as QB development improved so would the program long term. Hypothetically. You dont need to be a “defensive minded team with a conservative offense” 

[EagleMountainUte]

I just think Whitt has no idea of what you need at the QB spot. He wants Lamar Jackson but doesn’t even get close to that with Huntley or Wilson who run so heavy.  Shelley, Covey are close to a Jackson type player. Huntley isn’t a dynamic runner. He is a good runner and makes plays occasionally but it isn’t WOWing me. 

[UtemanUtefan]

I have kind of equated our issues to a negative thinking loop that’s just plagued the U for a few years now. I don’t know what the phenomena is actually called, but its basically a bad repetition principle/trance where guys are in their own heads going “no drops, no drops, no drops” and then they drop a catch.  This is especially damning if you’re punishing drops in practice or games.

Like OP i think the QB’s are getting the same thing with picks, he’s back there having had weeks/months against our secondary (which is supposed to be very good – combined with Huntleys downfield accuracy) not making precise throws to open guys and then getting negative feedback from the coaches for throwing to that person. Well, then in the games, we don’t make those open throws because he has literally been conditioned not to.

[Stone]

QB development is definitely trending backward over the last few QBs in the system. And, yes, I think you are probably hitting it dead on that it is a result of Whit’s fear of turnovers. There are open receivers; we do not need to throw these “low risk” back shoulder throws, jump balls, WR screens, or TE rollouts each time. I believe Taylor is a great QB coach (based on resume and experience), but it is not manifesting itself. Based on past results at the U, it is hard to conclude that the reason is anything other than Whit’s mindset regarding turnovers and throw games.

My sense is that, despite what Whit says, the offensive coordinators are not allowed to really run the offense they want, and are hamstrung by Whit’s fear of turnovers. Thus, no matter who the OC is, the offense and throw game continue to look the same.