The Power of 2

It has become more and more obvious this last decade how important quarterbacks are to winning football teams. It’s no coincidence that Georgia’s worst season of the decade came when they had their weakest QB. To be fair to Joe Cox he wasn’t awful, just ok. Ok means there are at least seven guys in the SEC better than him. Joe Cox will have some great memories of his time at the University of Georgia, it’s debatable if spooning with Matt Stafford at Tallageda will be one of them, but starting for the Dawgs will be. But now, as we enter a new decade, it’s time for someone new to create some new great memories. This is where things get a little confusing, there are two four star prospects and only one position. Zach Mettenberger and Aaron Murray are the two that have to be divided into one, but who will it be? If you go by the rankings on both rivals and scout, Murray is the obvious choice. However is it really that simple?

Mattenberger is very like Ryan Mallet in almost everyway. The two most impressive things about young Zach are his size and arm strength. He is clearly a giant of a young man, and this is a big upside in the tough world of the SEC. He would take some hits against the conference defences and his size would help him in these situations however, because of his size, he is not very mobile. How would this work against the mean and nasty SEC defensive sets? Not very well is the answer to that. His scrambling and running ability is also limited at best. It is very possible that this past year will have given him enough opportunity to improve this. It is also worth noting how Mike Bobo has structured his offence the last few years. Ever since Matthew Stafford joined the school it has been built around a big QB with a cannon arm, exactly like Mettenberger. In his senior year at Ocoonee County High School he threw for 2,016 yards, 19 touchdowns and 6 picks. Despite his huge arm and success in the passing game watching video of Zach is different to simply looking at the stats. His first look seems almost always to be to either his running back or tight end, positions were Georgia aren’t outstanding, at least at receiving. If Mettenberger gets the start he is going to have to learn to look AJ Green then the rest. Like Mallet has been, Mettenberger could be a strong armed quarterback who has success throwing the ball against SEC secondary’s. Rivals ranked him as the 11th best QB in the country and Scout has him at 14. Mettenberger is without doubt hugely talented, but is he talented enough?

Aaron Murray has been Georgia’s prize prospect ever since he committed last year. To put into perspective how heavily recruited this young man was he had 53 scholarship offers, that’s almost half the total FBS schools. Despite only playing eight games in his senior year he managed to throw for 2285 yards, 33 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. This is the same year Murray broke his ankle after 6 of those games, he came back and threw for 563 of his yards and 5 touchdowns. On the Scout report the only downside to Murray is his size, he is listed 6-1 and 207 pounds. However this is the same height as Joe Cox and 7 pounds heavier. In case you missed it Cox played every game this year and, despite getting beat up, he has not been hurt. It is also worth remembering how much Bobo and the Bulldogs will be running the ball next year. The last 2 or 3 games of the year Caleb King and Washaun Ealy were dominating. Remember the game against Georgia Tech and how the Jackets were shredded. This would protect Murray even more, let him learn defensive schemes, get more comfortable in the pocket and grow his confidence while giving Georgia the best chance to win. In a lot of Murray’s video some of his throws are incredible, really elite and his mobility is also of the highest standard. One scouting report says this about the young man;

“Makes great decisions and cuts zones to pieces. Has very good arm strength and unbelievable touch. Is most dangerous, though, when he gets on the edge. Peerless leader.”

He is rated the number 3 QB in the country and is perhaps an even more committed, intelligent and complete QB the Matthew Stafford or Joe Cox. I haven’t read it yet but the video I have seen I’m confident he could be as successful as David Greene.

Truth time now, I started this piece supporting Mettenberger. I really like what I’ve seen of him as a person and he is a very well developed player, plus he’s a Georgian. However as I’ve gone on, watched more film, read more scouting and stats Murray has really grown on me. Whoever gets the job will have really earned it and we could possibly be in for one of the most exciting G-day games ever.