Quarterback Analysis

[Aclone]

If you think Dekkers was the main issue last year, you weren't watching. He wasn't amazing. But we had major ST issues, kicking issues, OL issues, penalty issues, etc. All in the red zone.

You missed “the RB room devastated by injuries”. When you’re relying on a 5’6” lightweight as your main ball carrier, that’s a bad thing.

 

[KidSilverhair]

You are bringing me back to the days of Grant Rohach and Sam Richardson with that last sentence.

“Put Tiller in!”

 

[Aclone]

Becht looks almost like a clone of Purdy honestly. Same size basically... both have big strong legs... both can run... and both have somewhat limited arm strength. Purdy had pretty good accuracy though... not sure about that from Becht yet.

Becht has a stronger arm than Purdy when he was here, and he’s probably a bit faster. Whether he has the poise, savvy and decision making that Brock displayed a few games into his freshman season remains to be seen.

 

[clonedude]

Becht has a stronger arm than Purdy when he was here, and he’s probably a bit faster. Whether he has the poise, savvy and decision making that Brock displayed a few games into his freshman season remains to be seen.

I was saying mostly body size and shape. Nearly identical. Everything else pretty much remains to be seen since Becht hasn’t really played at all.

 

[t-noah]

It's intriguing right now.

Dekkers is the clear starter if he's able to, that we won't know for a bit.

Rocco is a bit more of a run-pass-option guy. He can spread the field and extend plays more than Dekkers but doesn't have quite the arm strength of Kohl. He has probably the least amount of poise between Dekkers, Kohl, and himself, but still pretty good.

Kohl is impressing the hell out of everybody with how quickly he's picking things up and looking competitive. He's more of a pass-first guy with similar, somewhat limited mobility, to Dekkers. Guy is the future of the position, it's just a matter of timing.

Hughes is thought highly of because he has a ton of experience and can extend plays with a below par OL. He's more mobile than even Rocco but doesn't have quite the arm of either Dekkers or Kohl. He's picking things up pretty quickly and may play a lot more than many expect.

Because of some of the limitations of our offensive talent, I believe the order of starters right now would be Dekkers, Rocco, Hughes, Kohl. Depending on how camp goes, Hughes could jump Rocco just from an experience standpoint, though less high of a ceiling. Kohl is the "best" of them all in terms of ceiling, but he's a true freshman and it's going to be hard to start somebody in that position with a weak OL, even if better than last year.

Know it all!!!

 

[t-noah]

Just kiddin' around, @Jeremy !

Thanks for the insight.

 

[t-noah]

Most people call me a pessimist on here, though I firmly believe I'm almost always in the middle... aka realist. Let me clarify a bit...

1. We have the most talented QB room we've ever had.
2. That doesn't mean we have Tom Brady in the room, but we don't have nearly the drop-off from 1 through 3 as typically seen.
3. All of our QBs are going to have up and down games given their age, skills, OL, etc.
4. Rocco has a high ceiling, higher than Dekkers. His mobility with good arm gives us options even if our OL sucks ass again.
5. Kohl is incredibly smart and picking things up faster than anybody expected. He has the highest ceiling of any QB we've ever had, but he's got a lot of learning and adjusting to do. I wouldn't see him ready to play much this year unless Rocco and Hughes struggle big time.
6. Hughes was a necessary addition once Dekkers became an unknown but also brings some things that Rocco and Kohl are lacking - experience being paramount.

I think no matter who plays, it's going to be up to the OL to improve and give them time. We supposedly have a lot of depth in the WR and TE rooms but we've yet to see any of it shine on game-day. We need several targets to step up or it's going to be a really long year.

Don't try to talk your way out of it!

Kidding again!

 

[t-noah]

There were a ton of times last year when Dekkers simply had no time to even get to the quick route, let alone have a play develop. When he did have time, it was largely because it was an obvious passing down and the defense could slack off expecting a short crossing route.

Ha! True that. Go figure.

 

[Hayes30]

It's intriguing right now.

Dekkers is the clear starter if he's able to, that we won't know for a bit.

Rocco is a bit more of a run-pass-option guy. He can spread the field and extend plays more than Dekkers but doesn't have quite the arm strength of Kohl. He has probably the least amount of poise between Dekkers, Kohl, and himself, but still pretty good.

Kohl is impressing the hell out of everybody with how quickly he's picking things up and looking competitive. He's more of a pass-first guy with similar, somewhat limited mobility, to Dekkers. Guy is the future of the position, it's just a matter of timing.

Hughes is thought highly of because he has a ton of experience and can extend plays with a below par OL. He's more mobile than even Rocco but doesn't have quite the arm of either Dekkers or Kohl. He's picking things up pretty quickly and may play a lot more than many expect.

Because of some of the limitations of our offensive talent, I believe the order of starters right now would be Dekkers, Rocco, Hughes, Kohl. Depending on how camp goes, Hughes could jump Rocco just from an experience standpoint, though less high of a ceiling. Kohl is the "best" of them all in terms of ceiling, but he's a true freshman and it's going to be hard to start somebody in that position with a weak OL, even if better than last year.

You thought Dekkers had poise?

 

[t-noah]

Not even close.

Slip Noose, huh?

 

[t-noah]

I'm a Cyclone fanatic, so I will always lean toward optimism regarding ISU's potential. I am a believer the Cyclones will win 7-8 games this season.

If the staff expects Dekkers, Brecht, Kohl or Hughes to become the next Brock Purdy- we are in trouble. IMO that was part of the issue last year with the staff's apporach with a first year QB, Dekkers. Sure our QB needs to be a leader, but offensive success can't be so reliant on the QB position.

That means, as others have noted, our O-line needs to step up. I understand the pessimism, but its not like Clanton has a group of guys with limited experience. Here are starts by returning lineman:

• Hufford - 20
• Simmons - 35
• Miller - 11
• Treiber - 7
• Remsburg - 13

Plus there are a number of RS-Soph & Juniors that should be physically ready to play.

I also think there is reason to be optimistic because this team was close last year, we were 1-6 in games decided by a touchdown or less. We should also have a solid defense to leverage and if we can get improved Special Teams from Langs' group- maybe we are a more balanced team.

For ISU to be a 7-8 win team, we don't need to have the next Brock Purdy, we need the next Kyle Kempt. Our QB doesn't need to be a human highlight reel, he just needs to throw with accuracy and limit mistakes.

I'm ready! Feeling pumped, yah!

 

[t-noah]

Taking off the Cardinal and Gold sunglasses for a minute here, and Dekkers was without a doubt the 9th or 10th best starting QB in the Big 12 a year ago. Several teams had backups come in who looked better.

The K-State backup wasn't too shabby.

 

[t-noah]

Thanks everyone for their insights and opinions.

I do not wish for anyone to be forced out if they want to stay AND I don't want to convict anyone before we know the crime but if @Jeremy is right and we have the deepest QB room we have ever had and Rocco's ceiling is higher than Dekkers we might be okay.

If the above is the case AND Dekkers is out for an extended period here is my dream scenario.

Rocco shows he is the next Brock. He gets drafted after next year earlier than Mr Irrelevant and makes an NFL team.

Dekkers learns his lesson but realizes after Rocco is setting the world on fire he is better off transferring. He has a solid career at Washington State and wins the Mountain West MVP his senior year.

Kohl is committed to Iowa State and sits behind Rocco. He gets in enough snaps each year to hone his skills. He takes over for Rocco and is THE MAN. He gets drafted in the first round.

Campbell starts to develop a pipeline at QB where guys sit a year or two and then get a chance to shine and get drafted. The bench is always solid.

Woof. That's some strong kool aid my man.

I can't think of a better time to be optimistic, from just a seasonal point of view. After all, it is the pre-season, have some joy and optimism while you can. Hehe.

 

[singsing]

I'm hoping we get a surprise out of one of the 3 presumed back ups. Wouldn't hurt my feelings a bit to see someone beat Dekkers out of his spot. I was not impressed with him at all last season. Has a great arm, but runs poorly, slow to make decisions, and when he did his football IQ didn't seem to be there. Throw this gambling thing in and I want a smarter QB running the show.

 

[singsing]

I'm a Cyclone fanatic, so I will always lean toward optimism regarding ISU's potential. I am a believer the Cyclones will win 7-8 games this season.

If the staff expects Dekkers, Brecht, Kohl or Hughes to become the next Brock Purdy- we are in trouble. IMO that was part of the issue last year with the staff's apporach with a first year QB, Dekkers. Sure our QB needs to be a leader, but offensive success can't be so reliant on the QB position.

That means, as others have noted, our O-line needs to step up. I understand the pessimism, but its not like Clanton has a group of guys with limited experience. Here are starts by returning lineman:

• Hufford - 20
• Simmons - 35
• Miller - 11
• Treiber - 7
• Remsburg - 13

Plus there are a number of RS-Soph & Juniors that should be physically ready to play.

I also think there is reason to be optimistic because this team was close last year, we were 1-6 in games decided by a touchdown or less. We should also have a solid defense to leverage and if we can get improved Special Teams from Langs' group- maybe we are a more balanced team.

For ISU to be a 7-8 win team, we don't need to have the next Brock Purdy, we need the next Kyle Kempt. Our QB doesn't need to be a human highlight reel, he just needs to throw with accuracy and limit mistakes.

You're QB is the most important position on the field so yes your offense had better be very reliant on that position. I hope we have better QB play or expect what we got last year. Close games with no room for error in any other aspect of the game. 10-9 losses to Kstate..crap like that.

 

[dafarmer]

Running straight up as a quarterback will get you killed. Linebackers just love it.

 

[MyNameEhJeff]

You thought Dekkers had poise?

“Poise” is a nice way of saying he held onto the ball too long

 

[ClonerJams]

The K-State backup wasn't too shabby.

Well, talent matters too. There is a reason one of those guys is on the Cowboys and the other is at Rhode Island.

 

[Billups06]

Everyone will probably take this the wrong way but I'll say it anyway - our defense was really bad at getting turnovers last year. They were lights out at shutting teams down, but really never gave the offense short fields to work with.

We were 116th in TO Margin (15 takeaways vs 22 giveaways), and 98th in punt return average per the official NCAA stats. So we were always starting a long way from our endzone. And with an offense that wasn't explosive, we had to be more consistent than we were capable of.

I AM NOT BLAMING THE DEFENSE. THE DEFENSE LAST YEAR WAS EXCEPTIONAL. But the specific circumstances we saw last year made our offensive issues worse.

That’s exactly how Iowa won games with a much worse offense than ours; their defense turned people over and their defense also scored (and an incredible punt unit). Absolutely not blaming our defense, as they were the reason for any success and keeping us in games last year.

Offensively, not scoring points was the obvious issue but they never seemed to flip field position when it was needed either. Combined with a poor punt unit, our defense was repeatedly put in poor positions at key moments. Amazing that the defense performed so well, statistically, last year.

 

[CycloneVet]

Seems like 2:1 Kohl, with obviously 0 Dekkers.

Just given how the staff has used summer social media to telegraph guys who are going to play a ton, I just have a gut feeling that they will roll with Kohl. The last time they had a talented intelligent true freshman that was impressing in camp, they sat on him for too long and I think they recognize that.

When you add in that Purdy was behind a guy in Noland who had played a significant number of Big 12 minutes the year before, won a conference road game, and played his ass off in a controversial loss, it's easier to see why they had patience with Noland despite a belief that Purdy was better.

Assuming Dekkers isn't an option, it's Kohl vs. guys who don't have that kind of track record or experience. Becht played spot duty and never looked good. Hughes is a total wild card. Even if Kohl isn't ready (and I'm sure he's not), it wouldn't surprise me at all if the staff decides he's our best option.

Noland allowed the staff to be patient getting Purdy ready. Unfortunately I am not sure we have that luxury this year. However I reserve to the right to be wrong.