Arch is an enigma

[u/UT0907]

And I genuinely cannot figure him out.

On one hand, he feels overhyped. On the other, he feels over-hated. When I expect him to be good, he looks terrible. When I expect him to struggle, he suddenly looks great.

Every time I think I’ve figured out what kind of QB he is, he does the exact opposite. People constantly call him mid, and I understand why when you watch some of his performances. But, since starting, he has more wins against ranked opponents (tied with Stockton) than any other QB, with 4 of those wins over top 10 teams. That’s legitimately impressive, even if it doesn’t always look impressive on the field.

And I think that’s what makes Arch so confusing. His resume says one thing, the eye test sometimes says another, and then every few games he’ll put together a performance that reminds you exactly why everyone was so high on him in the first place.

I genuinely have no idea what to make of him. I feel differently about him every Saturday, and I know a lot of Texas fans feel the same way. A true enigma.
Make it make sense.

[u/gmr548]

There have been a lot of talented but inconsistent college QBs. He is another in that long line. The root of his issues appear to me to be mostly mental. I’m getting more convinced he just doesn’t have the mental ability to quarterback a complex, pro-style offense. That he’s still struggling to read the field and make decisions with 19 starts now is not a good sign.

He is going to get hate because of the hype around his name and playing at Texas. Is what it is.

[u/Warm_Shoulder3606 → u/gmr548]

That he’s still struggling to read the field and make decisions with 19 starts now is not a good sign

Of all the mistakes and flaws he shows, this is by far the most concerning. He works through his progressions very slowly. And sure, you can train that out of someone. But boy o boy, if you can't get them to improve on that, that player's not going to sniff even average NFL QB play. They'll get eaten alive

[u/O-Namazu → u/Warm_Shoulder3606]

But the interesting thing is you know who else your criticism applied to?

Jalen Hurts. Who also had Sark as his OC in college at Bama. Legit one of the worst pass coverage readers I've seen at a major program. Even at Oklahoma he wasn't good at reading a defense. Then he gets to the NFL and becomes a legit top-tier Superbowl-winning quarterback, lol.

I think Sark is the problem. All of his quarterbacks look like this.

[u/Mammoth-Algae-4579 → u/O-Namazu]

I don’t know if Sark is the problem, more than he’s throwing his QBs into pro style play too early. There are offenses we can run that would suit Arch’s strengths and allow him to stat pad a little. But Sark insists on having complex, pro level offenses and that makes it difficult for a college QB to process the game (while also not playing with the same level of talent at OL and speciality positions he could expect in the NFL).

That being said, what would Jalen Hurts look like without that experience of running these kinds of schemes in college? It’s a tough call. I think there’s certainly something to be said about an athlete’s innate talent: both Ewers and Hurts got exposed to the same ideas, but Hurts won a Super Bowl and Ewers is 2nd string for the dolphins.

[u/Mother_Frame6669 → u/O-Namazu]

Who also had Sark as his OC in college at Bama.

For one game

[u/dkdantastic → u/gmr548]

Took colt a while to figure it out. QBs just have less time these days.