The Portal and Will Howard, is he looking for the best opportunity to gain 'NFL status'?

[privyet]

Yes. Their line up is loaded at every position, and his positional coach is Chip Kelly. Can't be anymore gifted than that.

[Tbonespop]

I think so to, tbones. If he does win it he will absolutely thrive with the ridiculous talent on that team. My only concern is with his accuracy. Those WR's will be open most of the time, and if the past 2 years he should be fine.

i read there's osu fan concern with howard underthrowing deep routes, the speed thing. but that he's spot-on with shorter routes.

ohio has bought the best roster in the land. one of their corners said he passed on the nfl draft this year because he didn't have to worry about money with nil. it's just maddening.

I can't tell is that is just fan speculation or if it is actually happening. If Will is under throwing deep routes, I would suspect its not because of their speed and lack of it with us in the past, it's because their WRs are getting a free release or a better release off the LOS. Its about WR timing with the ball placement, not that their WRs are that much faster. Our WRs are just as fast as about 99% of the teams out there. Its WR route running and the ability to get open off the LOS. And for Will, any way you twist it, he has to figure out throwing accurate deep balls if he has any desire to make it in the NFL, because +80% of what makes a QB really effective in the NFL is the ability or threat of stretching the field with a deep ball. At the NFL level, if a QB can't stretch the field with their arm, the defense really compresses and shuts down the run and any passing underneath - its exponentially more difficult to move the chains against a quality compressed NFL defense.

I suspect Will is going to have this worked out by fall practice as it is going to come down to getting enough reps with his WRs and learning their ability to get open and get down the field.

[tmcats]

i read there's osu fan concern with howard underthrowing deep routes, the speed thing. but that he's spot-on with shorter routes.

ohio has bought the best roster in the land. one of their corners said he passed on the nfl draft this year because he didn't have to worry about money with nil. it's just maddening.

I can't tell is that is just fan speculation or if it is actually happening. If Will is under throwing deep routes, I would suspect its not because of their speed and lack of it with us in the past, it's because their WRs are getting a free release or a better release off the LOS. Its about WR timing with the ball placement, not that their WRs are that much faster. Our WRs are just as fast as about 99% of the teams out there. Its WR route running and the ability to get open off the LOS. And for Will, any way you twist it, he has to figure out throwing accurate deep balls if he has any desire to make it in the NFL, because +80% of what makes a QB really effective in the NFL is the ability or threat of stretching the field with a deep ball. At the NFL level, if a QB can't stretch the field with their arm, the defense really compresses and shuts down the run and any passing underneath - its exponentially more difficult to move the chains against a quality compressed NFL defense.

I suspect Will is going to have this worked out by fall practice as it is going to come down to getting enough reps with his WRs and learning their ability to get open and get down the field.

howard has himself said that there's a difference in speed over there versus here. the fan comment i read was made after watching an ohio state practice.

[privyet]

Agree tmcats...... if he can hit the deep ball regularly, he is the man. I know he can do it. His short and intermediate throws are good. I don't think he can't be successful with those receivers. Most importantly is his ability to improvise when things break down. With 2 backs like that he cannot go wrong. Julian Sayin is a phenom, like our Avery Johnson, but I don't think he is a starter.

[Tbonespop]

I can't tell is that is just fan speculation or if it is actually happening. If Will is under throwing deep routes, I would suspect its not because of their speed and lack of it with us in the past, it's because their WRs are getting a free release or a better release off the LOS. Its about WR timing with the ball placement, not that their WRs are that much faster. Our WRs are just as fast as about 99% of the teams out there. Its WR route running and the ability to get open off the LOS. And for Will, any way you twist it, he has to figure out throwing accurate deep balls if he has any desire to make it in the NFL, because +80% of what makes a QB really effective in the NFL is the ability or threat of stretching the field with a deep ball. At the NFL level, if a QB can't stretch the field with their arm, the defense really compresses and shuts down the run and any passing underneath - its exponentially more difficult to move the chains against a quality compressed NFL defense.

I suspect Will is going to have this worked out by fall practice as it is going to come down to getting enough reps with his WRs and learning their ability to get open and get down the field.

howard has himself said that there's a difference in speed over there versus here. the fan comment i read was made after watching an ohio state practice.

Maybe if you are comparing their WRs to Seth Porter or Kade Warner the previous year, sure. Those guys weren't going to run by people, they were effort guys who run good routes to get open. Brooks runs a ~4.4 40. Jayce Brown is fast, in the 4.4-4.5 range and I'd bet that improves as he gets bigger and stronger. Jadon Jackson is a 4.5 40 guy as is Keagan Johnson (Johnson maybe sub 4.5). That's plenty of speed.

Marvin Harrison Jr, who is expected to be the top WR in the draft is said to run in the high 4.3s for a 40. Last year Jaxon Smith-Njigba ran a 4.53 40 at the combine. I haven't been able to find anything on their current roster guys, but I just don't believe that its that much different. Again, if a WR gets a free release off the LOS, its going to seem like they are faster and the timing will be way off. Or if Will was comparing his top guys to Porter, and some of our slower guys, sure.

[Tbonespop]

Found some stats on Jadon Jackson from his high school track days, 4.44 40-yard dash, 10.71 100-meter dash. That's not slow folks.

Putting that into perspective, a 10.7 100m translates to a 4.46 40-yard dash which matches up with actual timed 4.44 40 yard dash for Jackson.

Marvin Harrison Jr was said to be one of the fastest WRs on the team along with Ballard - said they traded off being the fastest. MHJr is expected to run in the high 4.3s around 4.38 40, which translates to a 10.5 100m. So 0.2 seconds faster in 110 yards. That 0.2 seconds is right at 2 yards or 6 feet difference straight line speed. And that's the top 2 fastest WR guys on OSUs roster and one being the top WR in the draft. And Jadon Jackson is ~0.2 seconds slower in the 100 m, and ~0.06 seconds slower in 40 time.

Again, just not buying that as an excuse for Will missing guys deep.

[katlander]

Just watched 3 k-State guys run the 40 at pro workouts. Brooks ran a 4.51, Pizzaro a 4.85 and Seth Porter a 4,51. Was surprised to see Seth as fast as Phillip.

[privyet]

Good points on WR's...especially Kade Warner and Seth Porter. I think K-States other receivers are pretty comparable in speed to Ohio State. Will's got the arm and he'll get it ironed it.

[spot2180]

Yes. Their line up is loaded at every position, and his positional coach is Chip Kelly. Can't be anymore gifted than that.

Unfortunately, Howard and the head coach will be the focal points if their "perfect" team, overloaded with future NFL talent (which reminds me of when Nubber fans would hyperbolize and proclaim how great they were, especially with the next guy up being EVEN BETTER than the guy that actually plays ) with THE expectation being BIG10 champs and national champs NOTHING ELSE WILL MAKE THEM HAPPY kind of season. Both coach and Will Howard will be vilified if Michigan beats them again. And the HC will throw Howard under the bus in a feeble attempt to keep himself getting fired. It is a pressure cooker. I hope Howard survives the meat grinder that awaits him.

[spot2180]

Good points on WR's...especially Kade Warner and Seth Porter. I think K-States other receivers are pretty comparable in speed to Ohio State. Will's got the arm and he'll get it ironed it.

Howard will be fine. I looked up Kade Warner to see his 40 time, which was not stellar, but it wasn't necessarily what made Kade a great college receiver. Route running is extremely important. If Will has receivers that are young and not great route runners, there will be some underthrows and overthrows. Unfortunately, Will will be blamed for that.

Warner was a great possession receiver with great hands-a technician, if you will. Sometimes, footwork makes a guy 'play faster' than he shows up in a straight line.

Warner has been signed to be a practice player for the San Antonio Brahmas UFL team. I don't expect him to remain on the practice squad and hopefully he will see some playing time--I plan on going to a game or two, so I hope so. If that doesn't work out, it sure would be good to have him come back to Manhattan some day to coach for the Cats.