Luke McCaffrey

Husker in WI said:
I really don't get the conspiracy theories that Luke is obviously the better QB right now and Frost is just stubbornly sticking with AM. I know that's not exactly what you guys said here, but I have no reason to believe Frost is playing anyone who is measurably worse than their backup. If Luke looks like the better QB he will play. I don't expect that to be the case this year.

As a side note, I think a lot of the debate comes down to fans valuing splash plays too much and consistency too little. A lot of us would roll the dice on a more talented player even if we knew they were more likely to blow a big assignment, seems like coaches (understandably) want to play it safer. I don't actually think that's the case for QB, but some other positions. Center is a case where the coaches went the risky route, and ironically were criticized pretty heavily for it.
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I agree with what you’re saying, I know high school is different than D1 big time college football but we had a kid at olb last year that was a head hunter big play waiting to happen when he was on the field, unfortunately we didn’t know if it was going to be for us or the other team. We had to put him in (due to injury)during crunch time in a district game that was also for the league championship. The opposition ran an option and instead of taking the pitch man who was his responsibility, he crushed the qb who made the pitch and they scored with less than 15 seconds left, we lost. Moral of the story is that it’s hard to Go away from a sure thing for a possible splash play unless you’ve planned out a perfect time for said splash play. 
 

I think Frost needs to really work on when he plays guys so they don’t burn a redshirt. I feel like that was mismanaged last year as he only played guys 1 or 2 snaps a game and imo that’s a waste

 
Gorillahawk said:
I agree with what you’re saying, I know high school is different than D1 big time college football but we had a kid at olb last year that was a head hunter big play waiting to happen when he was on the field, unfortunately we didn’t know if it was going to be for us or the other team. We had to put him in (due to injury)during crunch time in a district game that was also for the league championship. The opposition ran an option and instead of taking the pitch man who was his responsibility, he crushed the qb who made the pitch and they scored with less than 15 seconds left, we lost. Moral of the story is that it’s hard to Go away from a sure thing for a possible splash play unless you’ve planned out a perfect time for said splash play. 
 

I think Frost needs to really work on when he plays guys so they don’t burn a redshirt. I feel like that was mismanaged last year as he only played guys 1 or 2 snaps a game and imo that’s a waste
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I think Frost could have managed the freshman players last year better, but even those who played still redshirted with the 4-game redshirt rule. Only a few first-year guys didn’t utilize a redshirt last season. “Burning a redshirt” wasn’t an issue in 2019. If anything, Frost could have played a couple freshmen more and burned their redshirts.
 

Rahmir Johnson comes to mind as a guy who could have played more in the 2nd half of the season, but Frost was insistent in keeping his redshirt. He may not have been fully ready to be great last year, but I don’t know if maintaining his 5th year of eligibility was worth not playing him. 

 
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ColoradoHusk said:
I think Frost could have managed the freshman players last year better, but even those who played still redshirted with the 4-game redshirt rule. Only a few first-year guys didn’t utilize a redshirt last season. “Burning a redshirt” wasn’t an issue in 2019. If anything, Frost could have played a couple freshmen more and burned their redshirts.
 

Rahmir Johnson comes to mind as a guy who could have played more in the 2nd half of the season, but Frost was insistent in keeping his redshirt. He may not have been fully ready to be great last year, but I don’t know if maintaining his 5th year of eligibility was worth not playing him. 
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I agree...the idea of saving a guy for his 5th year is nuts.  With leaving early, injuries, transferring and getting recruited over there is no reason to save a guy for 5 years later.

 
Rahmir only averaged 3 yards a carry.   7 other rb's and WR's averaged more.  The 3 QB's averaged more.  You also have to ask your self how did he grade out on plays and what was his pass pro like.   IMO I think saving a guy for a 5th year when he is not ready makes sense to me.   I think the potential rewards outweigh the risks.   Of course you have to get input from the guy to see if they are okay with it.   I look forward to seeing how he develops.  



Individual Rushing Statistics




#


Player


GP


ATT


Gain


Loss


Net


AVG


TD


Long


AVG/G






26


Mills, Dedrick


12


143


769


24


745


5.2


10


61


62.08




2


Martinez, Adrian


10


144


790


164


626


4.3


7


56


62.60




1


Robinson, Wan'Dale


10


88


375


35


340


3.9


3


42


34.00




28


Washington, Maurice


7


50


319


21


298


6.0


1


60


42.57




7


McCaffrey, Luke


4


24


166


0


166


6.9


1


15


41.50




16


Vedral, Noah


6


30


133


27


106


3.5


3


22


17.67




37


Mazour, Wyatt


10


21


84


10


74


3.5


1


11


7.40




14


Johnson, Rahmir


4


21


65


1


64


3.0


1


13


16.00




38


Belt, Brody


12


5


36


4


32


6.4


0


22


2.67




10


Spielman, JD


12


4


31


0


31


7.8


0


14


2.58




33


Bradley, Jaylin


1


2


8


0


8


4.0


0


4


8.00




11


Allen, Austin


12


1


2


0


2


2.0


0


2


0.17




17


Bunch, Andrew


2


2


6


7


-1


-0.5


0


6


-0.50




 
flatwaterfan said:
Rahmir only averaged 3 yards a carry.   7 other rb's and WR's averaged more.  The 3 QB's averaged more.  You also have to ask your self how did he grade out on plays and what was his pass pro like.   IMO I think saving a guy for a 5th year when he is not ready makes sense to me.   I think the potential rewards outweigh the risks.   Of course you have to get input from the guy to see if they are okay with it.   I look forward to seeing how he develops.  



Individual Rushing Statistics




#


Player


GP


ATT


Gain


Loss


Net


AVG


TD


Long


AVG/G






26


Mills, Dedrick


12


143


769


24


745


5.2


10


61


62.08




2


Martinez, Adrian


10


144


790


164


626


4.3


7


56


62.60




1


Robinson, Wan'Dale


10


88


375


35


340


3.9


3


42


34.00




28


Washington, Maurice


7


50


319


21


298


6.0


1


60


42.57




7


McCaffrey, Luke


4


24


166


0


166


6.9


1


15


41.50




16


Vedral, Noah


6


30


133


27


106


3.5


3


22


17.67




37


Mazour, Wyatt


10


21


84


10


74


3.5


1


11


7.40




14


Johnson, Rahmir


4


21


65


1


64


3.0


1


13


16.00




38


Belt, Brody


12


5


36


4


32


6.4


0


22


2.67




10


Spielman, JD


12


4


31


0


31


7.8


0


14


2.58




33


Bradley, Jaylin


1


2


8


0


8


4.0


0


4


8.00




11


Allen, Austin


12


1


2


0


2


2.0


0


2


0.17




17


Bunch, Andrew


2


2


6


7


-1


-0.5


0


6


-0.50
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I think if Rahmir were used more earlier in the season, he would have been more effective near the end of the season, when I-back depth was lacking.  I know the coaches didn't expect Mo to flame out and not be available in the 2nd half of the season, but at that point in the season, they could have gone to Rahmir more and burned his redshirt.  If skill players (especially RB's) are going to end up studs, they are going to go to the NFL early.  My philosophy with skill players would be to get them on the field, if they can contribute.

 
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ColoradoHusk said:
I think if Rahmir were used more earlier in the season, he would have been more effective near the end of the season, when I-back depth was lacking.  I know the coaches didn't expect Mo to flame out and not be available in the 2nd half of the season, but at that point in the season, they could have gone to Rahmir more and burned his redshirt.  If skill players (especially RB's) are going to end up studs, they are going to go to the NFL early.  My philosophy with skill players would be to get them on the field, if they can contribute.
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IMHO, this had a lot to do with the RB situation.  Short of having Mo move in with him, Frost did everything possible to motivate/keep/salvage his playing days at NU....

I also agree to try and get the guys playing time early and often.  We need to start building that depth. We have the 4 game RS rule, use it.  And not just for a series on ST play....See what the guy can do, before "that guy" is our only option.  And like you said, a lot of guys are going early.

Frost and Co have a total of 4 years together.  He (and staff) are still learning and it shows.  I am hoping the experience of Lubick will help.  A lot of my same concerns I had with Bo.  Young staff, lack of experience making the calls, no one to lean on with a wealth of experience....When things zig instead of zag, who does Frost have on the staff to lean on?  Again I am hoping Lubick helps.  Same with Chin on D...Moving forward we will have more growing pains, but gotta keep the faith.....

 
With the way NU practices these kids get 1,000 S of reps - the staff has a good idea who is going to fall where and how much game time they deserve.  The game time will either move them up/down if they show a drastic variance in their performance.  However in almost all cases I'm sure the staff gets what they expect when these kids go in with very few surprises.

Lavonte David would be an exception however I'm guessing his practice routine had him 3rd on the depth chart not his talent level.  Building a team culture means you can't always put the 11 most talented guys on the field.  

 
GBRFAN said:
With the way NU practices these kids get 1,000 S of reps - the staff has a good idea who is going to fall where and how much game time they deserve.  The game time will either move them up/down if they show a drastic variance in their performance.  However in almost all cases I'm sure the staff gets what they expect when these kids go in with very few surprises.

Lavonte David would be an exception however I'm guessing his practice routine had him 3rd on the depth chart not his talent level.  Building a team culture means you can't always put the 11 most talented guys on the field.  
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IIRC, even when he started, Bo continued to say that he had some issues in his play.....If not for injury, David would have never sniffed the field.  Like a lot of folks same, some players shine on game day.

 
lo country said:
IIRC, even when he started, Bo continued to say that he had some issues in his play.....If not for injury, David would have never sniffed the field.  Like a lot of folks same, some players shine on game day.
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I'm not sure that's really accurate.  He guessed a lot at first - sometimes he mad a big play, sometimes he ran himself out of the play.  That's why he wasn't #1 on the depth chart at first.  

But he started every game he was here and is at the top of the tackle charts.  To say he wouldn't have played without others getting injured is quite a leap that really doen't make any sense.

 
Mavric said:
I'm not sure that's really accurate.  He guessed a lot at first - sometimes he mad a big play, sometimes he ran himself out of the play.  That's why he wasn't #1 on the depth chart at first.  

But he started every game he was here and is at the top of the tackle charts.  To say he wouldn't have played without others getting injured is quite a leap that really doen't make any sense.
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I just remember Bo "talking him down" in pressers when he started lighting the world on fire.  Don't know why I thought he wasn't a starter day 1.  One thing I do remember, he was a difference maker...

This is where my comments came from:

On if Lavonte David is coming along at midseason
"He's coming along but he's still got a long way to go, which is to be expected. He's learning a lot as he goes. He's really active, he's tough, he's competitive, and he still makes a lot of mistakes. That's part of the deal when you're playing a young, inexperienced guy but I am seeing progress."

On if David's pace to set a school record for tackles in a season is overrated
"I don't know. It shows that he's an active, good football player, but there's a lot more to the game than statistics."

https://huskers.com/news/2010/10/19/205015058.aspx

 
lo country said:
IMHO, this had a lot to do with the RB situation.  Short of having Mo move in with him, Frost did everything possible to motivate/keep/salvage his playing days at NU....

I also agree to try and get the guys playing time early and often.  We need to start building that depth. We have the 4 game RS rule, use it.  And not just for a series on ST play....See what the guy can do, before "that guy" is our only option.  And like you said, a lot of guys are going early.

Frost and Co have a total of 4 years together.  He (and staff) are still learning and it shows.  I am hoping the experience of Lubick will help.  A lot of my same concerns I had with Bo.  Young staff, lack of experience making the calls, no one to lean on with a wealth of experience....When things zig instead of zag, who does Frost have on the staff to lean on?  Again I am hoping Lubick helps.  Same with Chin on D...Moving forward we will have more growing pains, but gotta keep the faith.....
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i am still not convinced that Chin is the guy.......not by a long shot.

 
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