Many of the situations where Boeckman seemed to heave deep passes into coverage were the result of him being asked by the coaches to take the shot downfield even if the proper read wouldn't normally put him there.
Pryor taking over for Boeckman was more the result of the struggles of the O Line than it was any shortcoming Todd had. The coaches felt that Pryor's mobility would mitigate a lot of our struggles up front. And Boeckman really wasn't THAT immobile.
A lot of the strife in the locker room came for a couple reasons,
1. The change was very unceremonious in that no one talked to Todd up front about it, they just kind of made the switch without explanation to a 6th year senior three games into the year after he had started every game under center in a National Championship (loss) season. It just sort of happened and Todd was left to do nothing but figure it out on his own. And I still look back and applaud Todd for handling it better than I could ever expect. Around the program, at practice and on the sidelines, he kept his chin up projected a positive attitude and worked hard. Meanwhile he watched a young, brash QB who knew a fraction of the playbook take over. I can also see how the ball was dropped in the handling of the situation. Coach Daniels was vary limited in his time with the team due to his health, Nick Siciliano was still technically the Offensive QC, but also doubling as an interim QB coach in Coach Daniels absence. Add to that, Nick and his wife had quadruplets in that offseason. Nick was taking it all in stride the best he could and was eventually rewarded with a pretty sweet gig as our QB's Coach.
2. Most people have heard the stories about TP's talking back to coaches and upper classmen. I am not going to elaborate any further there.
In the end, Joe Bauserman was in that QB room that year. He saw how quickly things can change. He saw how Todd continued to lead by example. He saw how the team became divided a bit when the rug was yanked out from underneath him. I hope Joe competes hard for the starting role, but if it is in the cards to send signals from the sideline, I hope he does it with class. I hope he helps teach the young QB's and mentors them to grasp the playbook well. And I hope he leads as a senior to get everyone to rally behind whomever is the starter.
Also, just to be clear. Coach Joe Daniels and his entire family are AWESOME people. When I think about anyone in that family, it makes me want to be a better person.
Coach Nick Siciliano and his family are good people too. Nick worked harder than anyone I have met to get himself into the position he is now. He deserves it.
