Whoever starts (and stays the starter) at QB still has to contend with the most underachieving position group currently on the 2020 'Cat roster - the damn OL!!!
Prior to the 2019 season, I truly believe that Fitz' new coaching pick-up, OL coach Kurt Anderson, would have been PF's best new coaching staff contributor to the 'Cats' bid towards maintaining their high level of competitiveness shown when they delivered the B1G West Division Championship in 2018... Man, were my expectations ever shattered. If given an honest, unbiased first year evaluation as one would receive for a job in the private sector, Mr. Anderson would have earned a definitive "Does Not Meet Expectation" rating, which conveys a standard message of "shape-up or ship-out." IMHO, NU's newbie OL coach lost contact with various members of his squad last season; and in this, his 2nd year, he'd better make vast improvements to resolve his poor communication issues, or we will witness more of the same crappola OL pass blocking failures that were commonplace in 2019.
Does anyone on this board remember that Hunter Johnson sustained a near season-ending injury on the 'Cats first offensive series of 2019 via his uber-porous OL? From that point going forward over the course of the 2019 campaign, he was nothing more than damaged goods & truly never quite recovered his superior quarterbacking skills because he constantly was looking-out for which OL position had failed to sustain contact with his pass protection blocking assignment on any given pass play. Add to that scenario that his mother was diagnosed with advanced cancer, and, consequently, there was little wonder why the most talented individual in the QB film room never "had his head right" for the remainder of the season & subsequently was given a kitchen pass to tend to his mom and afford him the needed time to get his head back into the game by a compassionate Fitz. And what made this bad situation worse when he did return to active duty w/in the last couple games of 2019, he once again got clocked for another serious injury via a slobber-knocker shot sustained from yet another missed pass block on the 3rd offensive series he piloted. It was a travesty in the making, especially since Mr. Anderson was supposedly earmarked as the definitive answer to all the under-performing woes of NU's OL. N-O-T!!!
Very strong suggestion here, people...
Don't toss HJ into the 6 foot hole and start throwing dirt on him quite yet... In his NCAA-dictated 1-season transfer hiatus, I went to several practices on the lakefill practice field & witnessed his remarkable ability to make utter fools of what had been the best defensive secondary NU had fielded in more than a decade during those practices as he QB'd NU's scout team against Doc Hankwitz' DB corps. Why/how do you think that NU was able to exercise the "next man up" protocol when 3 of NU's 4 starting secondary were sidelined with various injuries over the 2018 season... and never missed a beat as the 'Cats went undefeated against their B1G foes? It was the direct result of those 2nd string DBs trying their damnest to cover the WRs composed of the 2nd team & scout team players as HJ threw frozen rope darts to his target receivers time after time after time. And when the injury bug bit NU's 2-deep receiving corps in their collective azzes, those same 2nd string & RS receivers who were the recipients of those scout team darts thrown by HJ had the experience to continually gain separation & make the consistent catch as replacements to NU's sidelined 2-deep WRs - all because of Mr. Johnson & his arm.
I, for one, remain a steadfast true believer in Hunter Johnson as NU's next premier QB - especially since he is now mentored by Fitz' new, dynamic OC, Mike Bajakian, rather than deal with an unsupportive Mick McCall, who Fitz allowed to coach well beyond his OC expiration date. I just hope that Mr. Bajakian keeps an open mind to allow HJ to do his thing rather than feel obligated to spread the 1st unit passing reps to those 7 other QBs. I truly believe that Hunter Johnson still has the goods to succeed. Time will tell...