DeMarcus Smith

UNT90 · November 3, 2015

Not really.
Proper coaching, better scheme and he can be better.
Its pretty obvious Smith has more tools than Thompson. Thompson had the same offense for all his years here. He had stability. Had all those years to learn the offense. You cant really compare Smith to Thompson at this point.
Not sure you can sit there and call the guy awful at this point. Give him a full spring and summer in a program with better coaching and an offense designed to fit his skills and then we will talk.
Lets say you bring in a guy like Cumbie or Applewhite and let them rebuild Smith. Smith has a decent year passing with somewhere around 55% completion percentage and 2800 yards or more. Well he would draw way more NFL interest that Thompson ever did.

Right now I can sit here and call his passing game awful, because that's what 11-22 for 104 yards is.

Will he be a better passer? You think yes, I think not appreciably so. Time will tell.

But he does some really good things with his feet. We are merely talking passing game here.

Think Swoopes at UT.

MeanGreenTexan · November 3, 2015

Narrative.

Partial-truth.

GrandGreen · November 3, 2015

First, with all his warts; Smith is by far the best QB on the team. If anything he is missing the easy passes, that should change with more game time. Second, the Quarterback supporting cast is very suspect. The receiving corp who I thought would be much better this year, is not. The offensive line's pass blocking is such that anything but very short passes require a QB roll out to buy time.

Smith has started only three games, all with very short preparation times due to a short week before a Thursday game and missing a lot of practices before the other two games due to very unfortunate personal circumstances. If Smith can become just an average short range passer, NT will have a very strong QB going into next year.

Ben Gooding · November 3, 2015

First, with all his warts; Smith is by far the best QB on the team. If anything he is missing the easy passes, that should change with more game time. Second, the Quarterback supporting cast is very suspect. The receiving corp who I thought would be much better this year, is not. The offensive line's pass blocking is such that anything but very short passes require a QB roll out to buy time.
Smith has started only three games, all with very short preparation times due to a short week before a Thursday game and missing a lot of practices before the other two games due to very unfortunate personal circumstances. If Smith can become just an average short range passer, NT will have a very strong QB going into next year.

^

I wish they would give him more single read pop passes. It feels as if they rely so much on his play making ability and called QB runs they aren't giving him easy passes enough to get him in a rhythm. I think with the threat of his running the offense could also benefit quite a bit from the tap pass to a motion man. A creative coach could make this QB looked very good. I think it will happen next season. Don't be surprised to see a 3000 yard passer and a 700+ yard rusher as our QB next season.

MeanGreenTexan · November 3, 2015

^
I wish they would give him more single read pop passes. It feels as if they rely so much on his play making ability and called QB runs they aren't giving him easy passes enough to get him in a rhythm. I think with the threat of his running the offense could also benefit quite a bit from the tap pass to a motion man. A creative coach could make this QB looked very good. I think it will happen next season. Don't be surprised to see a 3000 yard passer and a 700+ yard rusher as our QB next season.

I agree here. I actually think the issue will be our receivers. Smiley, Kidsey & M.Smith have underperformed. Harris will be gone. Goree needs more maturation as does Bradley. Haven't even seen Rutherford do anything, and does Thad Thompson even play anymore?

Aldo · November 3, 2015

I agree here. I actually think the issue will be our receivers. Smiley, Kidsey & M.Smith have underperformed. Harris will be gone. Goree needs more maturation as does Bradley. Haven't even seen Rutherford do anything, and does Thad Thompson even play anymore?

I did notice Thompson was pushed into the starting lineup ahead of Goree last week. Was Goree hurt?

Thompson and Smith were not on the same page. I could see frustration building up as Smith missed him a couple times. To Thompson's credit, he's been getting open. Just need some time to build rapport.

I've seen a lot of growth from Smiley, Kidsy might need some more time. Rutherford has not been used as often as I hoped.

But it all goes back to DSmith. We haven't seen much from these guys as Smith is still learning and growing. I don't think his short accuracy will improve (without any touch), but his intermediate and deep ball should get more accurate with more (better?) coaching.

GMG24 · November 3, 2015

Right now I can sit here and call his passing game awful, because that's what 11-22 for 104 yards is.
Will he be a better passer? You think yes, I think not appreciably so. Time will tell.
But he does some really good things with his feet. We are merely talking passing game here.
Think Swoopes at UT.

I am thinking more Boykin at TCU, remember how horrid he was his first year? With better improvement the 2nd year, and finally exploding onto the scene in year 3. Now I understand Boykin was a freshman, but what kind of mechanical coaching do you think Mr. Smith received at his Juco? I would be willing to guess not much at all, formed a TON of bad habits. I also don't think based on what I have read that Mr. Smith's parents had tons of money to send him to QB camps and schools to work on his mechanics and knowledge of the game. I truly believe he will improve drastically over the spring and fall. Call me a homer, but that is why I see his potential to improve. He has the arm strength, to make EVERY throw he needs to make. What say you?

MeanGreenTexan · November 3, 2015

I did notice Thompson was pushed into the starting lineup ahead of Goree last week. Was Goree hurt?
Thompson and Smith were not on the same page. I could see frustration building up as Smith missed him a couple times. To Thompson's credit, he's been getting open. Just need some time to build rapport.
I've seen a lot of growth from Smiley, Kidsy might need some more time. Rutherford has not been used as often as I hoped.
But it all goes back to DSmith. We haven't seen much from these guys as Smith is still learning and growing. I don't think his short accuracy will improve (without any touch), but his intermediate and deep ball should get more accurate with more (better?) coaching.

Kidsey will be a Senior next year. I'm afraid what you see is what you get from him.