ckparrothead
Premium Member
Not the Bills.
The Bulls.
This is one very unique situation developing up at the University of Buffalo. Small school in upstate New York somehow ended up with TWO really exciting quarterback prospects.
They have Tyree Jackson, whom they recruited, and is 6'6" & 245 lbs, with a gun for an arm, not to mention fantastic athleticism. He reminds me of the young Cam Newton I used to see when I would take in Florida Gators practices back when I would visit Gainesville on the weekends.
He had an 'alright' freshman year. Ran for a bunch, passed like a freshman.
He took a little step up in the first 3.5 games of 2017. He was averaging like 11 runs for 75 yards per four quarters, maybe 26 pass attempts, a little less than 60 percent completion, couple of touchdowns, very few interceptions, etc.
He gets hurt and in steps the JUCO transfer Drew Anderson who is 6'4" & 230 lbs in his own right, nice arm, kind of a goofy guy but really locked into the team and the offense.
He takes a 17-17 tie game against FAU (Lane Kiffin's team that would go on to rattle off 10 straight wins) after the half and wins it 34-31 with a touchdown pass with about 2:40 left in the game. Then he beats Kent State (not hard; terrible team).
But then he has one of the most incredible games you'll see against Western Mich. That defense let up 49 points to USC in Week 1, but that was because USC ran for 232 yards and 6 TDs.
The pass defense of Western Mich embarrassed the heralded Sam Darnold, sacking him a couple of times, grabbing 2 interceptions. He threw for no touchdowns against that defense, but ran for a short one. And in Week 2 they didn't let Brian Lewerke (a quarterback I like quite a bit) have a very good day against them, either. Really if you look at it, the pass defense was quite good against anyone not named Drew Anderson.
So what did Anderson do to them? He threw SEVEN touchdowns, ran for an EIGHTH touchdown, and even CAUGHT a two-point conversion during overtime. Punching the ball in the end zone NINE times in one game? Yikes. Came inches from another two-point conversion run, too. That would've been a tenth time punching the ball into the end zone for a score.
He had a bomb during the game on the first play from scrimmage, should have been a 75 yard TD pass but the receiver got caught from behind and fumbled the ball, turned it over. That could have been a ninth touchdown, or an eleventh score. Must have had ten drops in the game, too...at least four of them yet more would-be touchdowns! Just insane. An insane performance. Not sure I can remember the like.
That game went to SEVEN overtimes. An incredible, incredible game. One for the ages (unless you like defense).
Thing is, Drew Anderson made it look so easy in that game. Just everything he did. He took NO SACKS in the game, even though Western Mich had sacked Darnold twice and Lewerke twice and had nine more sacks in the other three games to that point. Anderson just danced out of pressure like it just wasn't a thing. He's definitely a passer, not a thrower. Just seemed to have total control of the football, not to mention total command of the offense.
He threw to open players all day like he was playing a spring scrimmage against the scout team. And this 6'4" and 230 lbs guy showed that he could run too. He has legs. Quick feet. Belted out a 64 yard run against Kent State. Executed a zone read around left end for a 10 or 11 yard first down run against Western Mich. His eighth touchdown on the day was a scramble from deep behind the line of scrimmage. He can move.
They lost the game in seven overtimes when they had to settle for a field goal and the Western Mich offense turned around and scored the winning TD. Next game against Northern Illinois, Anderson was on his way to another productive outing, bringing the game to 13-14 in the first half, but then he injured his shoulder.
The shoulder injury didn't cause any structural damage but it allowed Tyree Jackson to get back healthy before Drew Anderson could.
And then the damnedest thing happened. As per all the stories written at the time, Tyree Jackson and the coaches saw the offense hit on all cylinders when a POCKET passer came into the game, distributing the ball to all of their weapons.
And so when Tyree Jackson came back he did something you don't really see all that often, to be honest. He grew as a player, significantly. He went from running the ball 40 times in 3.5 games to running the ball TWICE in a 4 games.
He sat back in the pocket, and threw bombs. They went 3-1, scoring 32 points a game. The only game they lost was by a single point against Akron in Jackson's first game back from the injury.
Now Buffalo has a decision about who to start next year. They seem ready to start Tyree Jackson again.
I admit, I'm biased toward Drew Anderson here. His full game against Western Mich was that impressive, not to mention his two quarters against FAU which I've seen, and his two quarters against Northern Illinois which I've also seen.
But I have to admit, as much as Tyree Jackson's game looks a LOT less mature than Anderson's, you can see why they consider him to have such potential.
I just continue to be dumbstruck by how easy Drew Anderson made everything look. And it's not supposed to be that easy. Not against an FAU defense that was about to rattle off 10 straight wins, allowing only 23 points per game on defense the whole year. Not against a Northern Illinois defense that allowed 22 points per game all year. Not against a Western Mich defense that bloodied the nose of the #3 overall franchise QB Sam Darnold in Week 1.
I don't know what the eligibility rules will say about Anderson, if Tyree Jackson stays healthy all year. But if Anderson is forced to sit on the bench the whole year, then that should represent one hell of an opportunity for a team willing to take the gamble.
Here's the entire Western Michigan game if anyone wants to watch a clinic on how it's done. Lots of pro route combinations on this offense, too.
The Bulls.
This is one very unique situation developing up at the University of Buffalo. Small school in upstate New York somehow ended up with TWO really exciting quarterback prospects.
They have Tyree Jackson, whom they recruited, and is 6'6" & 245 lbs, with a gun for an arm, not to mention fantastic athleticism. He reminds me of the young Cam Newton I used to see when I would take in Florida Gators practices back when I would visit Gainesville on the weekends.
He had an 'alright' freshman year. Ran for a bunch, passed like a freshman.
He took a little step up in the first 3.5 games of 2017. He was averaging like 11 runs for 75 yards per four quarters, maybe 26 pass attempts, a little less than 60 percent completion, couple of touchdowns, very few interceptions, etc.
He gets hurt and in steps the JUCO transfer Drew Anderson who is 6'4" & 230 lbs in his own right, nice arm, kind of a goofy guy but really locked into the team and the offense.
He takes a 17-17 tie game against FAU (Lane Kiffin's team that would go on to rattle off 10 straight wins) after the half and wins it 34-31 with a touchdown pass with about 2:40 left in the game. Then he beats Kent State (not hard; terrible team).
But then he has one of the most incredible games you'll see against Western Mich. That defense let up 49 points to USC in Week 1, but that was because USC ran for 232 yards and 6 TDs.
The pass defense of Western Mich embarrassed the heralded Sam Darnold, sacking him a couple of times, grabbing 2 interceptions. He threw for no touchdowns against that defense, but ran for a short one. And in Week 2 they didn't let Brian Lewerke (a quarterback I like quite a bit) have a very good day against them, either. Really if you look at it, the pass defense was quite good against anyone not named Drew Anderson.
So what did Anderson do to them? He threw SEVEN touchdowns, ran for an EIGHTH touchdown, and even CAUGHT a two-point conversion during overtime. Punching the ball in the end zone NINE times in one game? Yikes. Came inches from another two-point conversion run, too. That would've been a tenth time punching the ball into the end zone for a score.
He had a bomb during the game on the first play from scrimmage, should have been a 75 yard TD pass but the receiver got caught from behind and fumbled the ball, turned it over. That could have been a ninth touchdown, or an eleventh score. Must have had ten drops in the game, too...at least four of them yet more would-be touchdowns! Just insane. An insane performance. Not sure I can remember the like.
That game went to SEVEN overtimes. An incredible, incredible game. One for the ages (unless you like defense).
Thing is, Drew Anderson made it look so easy in that game. Just everything he did. He took NO SACKS in the game, even though Western Mich had sacked Darnold twice and Lewerke twice and had nine more sacks in the other three games to that point. Anderson just danced out of pressure like it just wasn't a thing. He's definitely a passer, not a thrower. Just seemed to have total control of the football, not to mention total command of the offense.
He threw to open players all day like he was playing a spring scrimmage against the scout team. And this 6'4" and 230 lbs guy showed that he could run too. He has legs. Quick feet. Belted out a 64 yard run against Kent State. Executed a zone read around left end for a 10 or 11 yard first down run against Western Mich. His eighth touchdown on the day was a scramble from deep behind the line of scrimmage. He can move.
They lost the game in seven overtimes when they had to settle for a field goal and the Western Mich offense turned around and scored the winning TD. Next game against Northern Illinois, Anderson was on his way to another productive outing, bringing the game to 13-14 in the first half, but then he injured his shoulder.
The shoulder injury didn't cause any structural damage but it allowed Tyree Jackson to get back healthy before Drew Anderson could.
And then the damnedest thing happened. As per all the stories written at the time, Tyree Jackson and the coaches saw the offense hit on all cylinders when a POCKET passer came into the game, distributing the ball to all of their weapons.
And so when Tyree Jackson came back he did something you don't really see all that often, to be honest. He grew as a player, significantly. He went from running the ball 40 times in 3.5 games to running the ball TWICE in a 4 games.
He sat back in the pocket, and threw bombs. They went 3-1, scoring 32 points a game. The only game they lost was by a single point against Akron in Jackson's first game back from the injury.
Now Buffalo has a decision about who to start next year. They seem ready to start Tyree Jackson again.
I admit, I'm biased toward Drew Anderson here. His full game against Western Mich was that impressive, not to mention his two quarters against FAU which I've seen, and his two quarters against Northern Illinois which I've also seen.
But I have to admit, as much as Tyree Jackson's game looks a LOT less mature than Anderson's, you can see why they consider him to have such potential.
I just continue to be dumbstruck by how easy Drew Anderson made everything look. And it's not supposed to be that easy. Not against an FAU defense that was about to rattle off 10 straight wins, allowing only 23 points per game on defense the whole year. Not against a Northern Illinois defense that allowed 22 points per game all year. Not against a Western Mich defense that bloodied the nose of the #3 overall franchise QB Sam Darnold in Week 1.
I don't know what the eligibility rules will say about Anderson, if Tyree Jackson stays healthy all year. But if Anderson is forced to sit on the bench the whole year, then that should represent one hell of an opportunity for a team willing to take the gamble.
Here's the entire Western Michigan game if anyone wants to watch a clinic on how it's done. Lots of pro route combinations on this offense, too.
