Keeping Three Heads Above Water
One problem with the sink-or-swim method is that one of the options is, at least metaphorically, fatal.
The history of sports is chock-full of fresh phenoms who, pushed too far out of their comfort zone by premature responsibilities and expectations, never really realize their potential. They lose their confidence and, with it, the moxie, mojo, verve or whatever you want to call the quality that often separates the good from the mediocre and the great from the good.
Jim Grobe is playing three freshmen in their first seasons at Wake, quarterback Tanner Price and cornerbacks A.J. Marshall and Kevin Johnson, and all three are playing what may be the two most exacting positions on the field. So I asked Grobe at today’s gathering to eat chicken and talk football if he was concerned that the freshmen had been thrown into the deep end of the pool before they learned to dog-paddle.
He said no.
“The kids we’re talking about are not going to sink,’’ Grobe said. “They’re going to be fine.
“And I think in some cases you’re throwing kids into the fire that don’t have the ability to be thrown into the fire, and they’re just kind of stopgaps because you don’t have any other choice. That’s not the case here.
“Really and truly we’d liked to have redshirted Kevin and A.J. and Tanner, but they’re all good enough to be out there. And if we didn’t think that those three could help us win, they wouldn’t be on the field right now.’‘
All three have been as inconsistent as one might expect from a player only one year removed from high school football. Price was as good against Navy (37 of 53 for 326 yards) as he was bad against Virginia Tech (3 of 16 for 92 yards), and Marshall and Johnson have looked as lost at times as their older, more experienced teammates in the secondary.
But Grobe said he’s had no second thoughts about playing all three this season.
“Probably what’s going on with Tanner right now will ultimately be better for him than the scout team was for Riley Skinner,’’ Grobe said. “Riley went over and got slapped around by Aaron Curry and those guys for a year on the scout team. Tanner’s getting slapped around by the other team. Both ways, I think, hardens you a little bit. And I don’t think the confidence thing is ever going to be a problem because we know he’s a young guy. We don’t expect him to play like Riley Skinner right now – although it’s fine with me if he does.’‘
The peril of playing a freshman, Grobe said, is forgetting he is a freshman. Grobe said he and his staff are determined that doesn’t happen with Price, Marshall and Johnson.
“Our big thing is, more than anything else, regardless of how you would evaluate their performance at the end of the game, you just want them to play hard,’’ Grobe said. “Go out and have fun and play hard. Play as hard as you can and we’ll take whatever happens.
“But I think for all those kids, our big deal is that when the game is over – regardless of how they played – they know they’re going to get a hug around the neck and a pat on the back and we’re going to keep working with them. And I think they understand that they’ve got a tough job. Every kid that comes in wants to play as a true freshman, and then once you’re out there, just playing is not enough. Now you’ve got to start playing good. And even if you’re physically capable, the experience part is hard to catch up.
“So it’s not easy.’‘
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By Dan Collins on 10/26/2010 (3:59 pm)
Comments
Very interesting comments from Coach Grobe. However I’m not sure I agree with his comment that Tanner Price will be better off having been “slapped around by the other team”. Shouldn’t the question be “Is the team better off” starting these freshmen? It’s obvious to anyone who knows football and follows the Deacs that Price is the best QB on the roster. However are the freshmen corners the best cornerbacks on the roster? I think they answered that question loud and clear against V Tech. No, they are not. And if the coaches really think they are then you have to question the staff’s ability to evaluate talent.
Deac Fan on 10/28/2010 (7:28 am)
..my take on the thing is maybe we should trade some of this new “athleticism” we have for some good ol’ raw-edged toughness. Maybe that will come with experience. Like most fans I would like to see some mistakes caused by over-aggression at this point. In another vein I remember the piece you did about the Wake football recruiter who supposedly can hear a medial cartilage snap all the way from Texas. I am thinking he needs to listen more closely for a sound much further away. 60 Minutes (CBS) did an excellent piece about three weeks ago on the number of NFL players who are now playing from the US possession of American Samoa. Troy Polalamu, (sp?) of the Steelers and Southern Cal, being the most prominetly mentioned. I also remember NC State had a very big and strong nose guard named Ricky Loggo a few years ago whose grandfather was the chieftain of this unincorporated US possession. The 60 Minutes piece focused on how high school football had ingrained itself into the culture there much like a miniature Texas. The tribal leaders likened secondary school football to warfare and instilled the characteristics of bravery fearlessness etc, into the young men who were desperate to get off this island primary known for tuna fishing. The major point was that six NFL starters from a tribe of 30,000 (about the size of Gastonia) was pretty amazing. Maybe we need a recruiter for that area.
pensive1 on 10/27/2010 (5:37 pm)
My take on the Defense.(2cents worth)
The report at the start of the season was how fast our Defense is and how they are able to fly around to the ball.
Maybe we need to put more pressure on the ball and start Blitzing the Quarterback?
It looks to me like our attempt to play man to man and 7 yards off the receivers has gone in vain.
I think we should use the Speed of our Defense and crowd the line of scrimmage show some stunts and Blitz Blitz Blitz !!!
Go Deacs!
Darrell on 10/27/2010 (3:12 pm)
I believe Price,Marshall and Johnson deserve a lot of credit for their performances as true freshmen.
The reality is that they aren’t helping us to win. With our dismal (1-3,2-5)season, and its embarrassing lopsided scores, perhaps getting even worse I’m not convinced burning their redshirt years has been a good idea. Let’s say we finish 2-6 and 4-8;was putting them on the field in losing efforts better than letting them use their freshman years to learn the system—-I guess in the coaches’ minds we have a system—-and mature physically and emotionally? If they were the difference in winning instead of losing, let them play.But I fear the record has not been helped by their playing this year.
Jerry on 10/27/2010 (10:17 am)
I couldn’t agree with Darrell more. If the upperclassmen are’t getting the job done, then the younger players should get the opportunity. Perhaps we’ll be able to ride a wave to a couple of wins. But the worst case scenario is that the younger players learn faster for the future.
But we should be prepared to accept the bad with the good. For instance, if Josh Harris gets a bit sloppy and has a bad game on Saturday, then he needs to be allowed the opportunity to bounce back and show that he’s learned a lesson about the importance of consistency.
Perhaps most importantly… now that it is suddenly more plausible for Coach Grobe to allocate significant playing time to underclassmen, these current young guys are on notice that they better use this early experience and their offseason workouts to develop into better football players. If they don’t, then they will be the ones being replaced by the up-and-coming talent in two years.
DC on 10/27/2010 (9:49 am)
The defense being the key, whether they can turn it around during these two weeks and then play well on Maryland’s home field is debatable. Maryland’s OL is young, they don’t have any quality wins (other than Navy) and they are starting a RS freshman qb. Maybe the ingrediants are there for the Deacs. By the way, was that qb out of East Forsyth heavily recruited?
Jim on 10/27/2010 (8:28 am)
There come a time in life when you just have to move on…
Every player on the team knows how things work, you red shirt and wait for your time to shine .. So lets check the record and see what our senior players have done with their time to shine.. not much and it is time to move on…
For those who are looking for a reason to complain about the youngsters getting a chance to play and help the team win, shame on you .
I am looking forward to seeing the new, fresh and exciting players on the field, and if what Josh Harris did last week is a preview of things to come… Bring it On.
Darrell on 10/26/2010 (5:49 pm)
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