I love OHIO, have traveled to many games, have indoctrinated my kids into the club. But, as I watch another year of middling QB play at OHIO, I wonder if my son was a star QB, would I want him here?

In the 12 seasons on Frank Solich, check out the QB development, or lack thereof.

2005--Austen Everson 105/220 1151 yds, 4 TD, 11 INT...freshman Brandon Jones gets little bit of action.

2006--Austen Everson again, similar numbers 137/253 1356 yds, 7 TD, 8 INT, Brad Bower, transfer from Illinois gets some action 41/72 426 yds, 1 TD, 7 INT...Jones redshirts, team makes bowl game, plays more games, Everson a definite leader.

2007--Brad Bowers becomes starter, not spectacular numbers: 127/232 1767 yds, 11 TD, 10 INT...Theo Scott (another transfer, JUCO) gets some action, goes 63/109 for 743 yds, 5 TD, 3 INT...still no development of either recruited QB Brandon Jones or Josh Febus.

2008--Boo Jackson (transfer) in 1st year has best OHIO QB year thus far under Frank, goes 185/306 2355 yds, 19 TD, 12 INT, Theo, in limited duty due to injury I believe, goes 29/44 247 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT...no Jones or Febus

2009--Roles reverse from previous year, Theo gets more action 199/344 2369 yds, 20 TD, 11 INT. Jackson, injured, goes 17/30 194 1 TD, 0 INT...freshman Tyler Tettleton does some mop up duty.

2010--Boo Jackson returns following injury, goes 149/245, 1897 yds, 18 TD, 17 INT, no other QBs really see action other than some minor Phil Bates action... Tettleton redshirts

2011--Tettleton, as a sophomore, becomes the first HS QB recruited by Frank to start a game. He puts together one of the best seasons ever by an OHIO Qb in his first year, going 265/413 3306 yds, 28 TD, 10 INT, also rushes for 658 yards. He's set to be a legend at OHIO.

2012--Another good year by Tettleton, maybe not as flashy as the year before, but still great. 228/367 2844 yds, 18 TD, only 4 INT, though his rushing prowess is scaled back significantly.

2013--TT is a senior. Here it is, the BIG YEAR....except, while the numbers are pretty darn good, it doesn't feel like a jump. He goes 230/371 2851 yds, 21 TD, 12 INT. Statistically, his worst year, and he all but stopped running the ball (24 yards total).

2014--Derrius Vick moves to top of QB ladder after a couple years in the system. Doesn't hold on to the top spot and turns in a mediocre at best year. 84/160 1156 yds, 8 TD, 4 INT. Walk-on JD Sprague goes 98/202, 1236 yds, 3 TD, 5 INT

2015--Two QBs return, Vick and Sprague. Vick goes 158/247 1809 yds, 10 TD, 6 INT, Sprague goes 63/115 917 yds, 7 TD, 3 INT.

2016--Windham, who feels like he's been in our system for decades, finally gets the nod as a senior. Despite having the ability to develop in the system, is demoted to backup for Maxwell.

So, when you look back at our starters, from Austen to Brad to Theo to Boo to Tyler to Vick and Sprague, can you really identify somebody who got better the longer they were in our system?

Austen's 2nd year was better than his first.

Brad never really put up any good numbers.

Theo really only had one year as a starter.

Boo was better year one than he was year three.

TT was better his first year as a starter than he was either of the other two years.

Vick never showed any growth and staff never seemed to be impressed.

Sprague was a stop-gap, tough as he was.

Windham, in his final year, couldn't maintain the starter role.

Then there are the 'highly recruited' names like Brandon Jones, Greg Windham, Joey Duckworth who never develop. Is that bad recruiting or is it poor development at the QB position? Really, Duckworth can't start over Maxwell, whose accuracy is questionable at best?

Would I want my son to grow into a QB at OHIO? Would Coach Burrow?

I've been asking this question for 2 years.

All true. So begs the question, why can't this staff recruit a good QB when everyone else in the league seems to?

Seriously, OCF...that is about as disappointing a chronology of a position one could read. It takes them 12 years to realize you win with a VERY GOOD QB? Just like a lot of other things, this staff does not go after STARS. It is not in their DNA or we would have seen better in 12 years. They go after QBs that manage games not ones that can win a game.

I would have to disagree with you. Windham has significantly improved the last two years from where he was, and Maxwell is much better now than he was in high school. As for the data before that, Everson certainly improved from 2005 to 2006. The data on some of the others is inconclusive. For example, the offensive line and receivers were outstanding in 2011 and early 2012, so TT was surrounded by an all-star cast that made him look better. By contrast the offensive line and receivers in late 2012 and 2013 were not nearly as good. So, did he improve, but that improvement was masked by the other team issues? Perhaps, but it's inconclusive.

My net conclusion, though, is that while I agree that QB progress under Gdowski was questionable, so far, under Isphording, there are signs that the situation is much better. First, recruiting seems clearly better - the only quarterbacks he is responsible on the recruiting front are Maxwell and the two three star recruits for next fall, Keszei and Maloney, all three of which seem to have upside. Second, the QBs seem to be making progress. As I mentioned above, Windham is dramatically improved from a couple years ago, and Maxwell, for a guy that was on a horrible team in High School, is playing pretty well for a Redshirt Freshman.

I made the comment in the chat room during early in the year how every QB under Solich gets beat up with more and more playing time. I wondered if this was why they were reluctant to give the reigns to Maxwell so early.

I don't think that it is coaching. It seems to me that OUr recruiting strategy, given that we can't get 4 and 5 star guys, is to look for smart, teachable kids that are undersized but tough (like he was). I think the QBs in the spread option just end up with a lot of nagging injuries after playing 20 game. I know everyone is focused on their own injuries but I think that it isn't just QBs. I think this strategy leave us with far more injuries most years than the average team.

Sorry, L.C., but you continue to see forecasts and could-be's as reality.

On the other hand, we keep playing other MAC teams which seem to have markedly better passing attacks than about all we've seen, with the exception of Good Years Tettleton.

I'm sure that this list could be very, very long, but start with recently: Licata at Buffalo, BG's Matt Johnson, CMU's rush.

Well, so many look so good vs our defensing.

Windham improved greatly. He's worked all the way up to be the definitive #2 QB as a Senior.

If you told me back in 2005 that Ohio would be running anything other than the option with Frank Solich, I'd have been stunned.

That's why I've never expected and never been let down by our quarterbacks. I always assumed they'd be converted safeties for as long as Frank was in Athens.

Low bar. Once in a while we run into a Tyler Tettleton and I'm thrilled.

The weakness of the Maxwell argument is that, since his recruiting, you have mentioned that he had the talent, just didn't have the supporting cast. Thus, by that, it isn't growth that has improved him, it's the surroundings he has. If not, why were we offering a scholarship to a QB who could only throw for 100 yards in high school?

There's the common saying in college football that a team improves the most from game one to game two. Well, shouldn't we see that with our QBs as well? Does the coaching staff make any adjustments?

Greg Windham, game one ever as a starter: 28-46 393 yds, 4 TD, 0 INT. In seven games after that, he went 96/174 for 973 yds, 5 TD, 3 INT. He only once in those seven games threw over 200 yards, and showed little to no improvement after that first game. I put that on the coaches.

In Maxwell's first two outings, he did pretty well, throwing for 60% (28/40 355 yds). In the four games after that, he is just a 50% passer (47/94). No jump there, either in statistics or in the ever-present 'eye-test'. There is little proof that this coaching staff can get growth or improvement out of the QB position.

Pretty much agree with Finn. Between no particular improvement game to game and not having much special at QB save for T3 a few games and TT for a couple of years, our qb play has been very non-remarkable.

So many games over the last 4-almost-5 years, we've seen qb's dice our defense for prolonged parts of games. But we don't see our qb's doing much of that.


So, while there may have been improvement from what they were in high school, it's difficult to make an argument that we've had much in the way of good to better quarterbacking.


And stating that a qb is better than he was in high school but is still rather average--that ain't much of a way to prove that our qb play has been good.

A fan and alum of over a quarter century wouldn't introduce him to the OU Football Program? This is fascinating.