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Daily Northwestern on Coach Jake

Seems like a spectacularly smart dude. Humble — it’s not my system that matters, it’s maximizing the guys in any system that matters.

Good reporting , too. Thanks for sharing.
 
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A great read and very encouraging. Bajakian will be a breath of fresh air for our offense and our QB room. I wonder how much Bajakian’s hiring played into TJ Green’s decision to return. Regardless, I’m really glad TJ will be with us next season- he, along with the other QB’s should grow under Bakajian’s tutelage.
 
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Josh Dobbs would have been a nice fit at NU. I remember from when we played him in the outback bowl (and they SMOKED us...wonder if that's where Fitz first met Coach Jake...) that Butch Jones talked about him being such a novelty - an engineer and a football player!
 
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One thing that was pretty apparent is that his former players seem to like him... at least the ones they got to interview for this story.

I also love that he had stars at different positions in different years on different teams and he changed his plan each time to play to those strengths.
 
He sounds like a great guy and a smart coach. Now my expectations have risen significantly, and I want to see The Touchdown Play early and often.

Being a good recruiter is another plus. Hope he hounds JJ McCarthy, anything less than a sleepover is unacceptable.

Finally, if he takes Hunter under his wing (didn't he recruit him at Tennessee?) and transforms him into the 2020 Joe Burrow, would that be asking for too much? (GCG need not respond ;)).
 
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He sounds like a great guy and a smart coach. Now my expectations have risen significantly, and I want to see The Touchdown Play early and often.

Being a good recruiter is another plus. Hope he hounds JJ McCarthy, anything less than a sleepover is unacceptable.

Finally, if he takes Hunter under his wing (didn't he recruit him at Tennessee?) and transforms him into the 2020 Joe Burrow, would that be asking for too much? (GCG need not respond ;)).

Not only is this not too much to ask...but we should all expect it! $10 on Hunter to win the Heisman will land some big winnings.
 
Great article. Everything I’ve learned about Coach Jake I’ve liked.

Any guesses on who the top ping pong player will be from our existing QBs?
 
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Gotta love this quote:

“As long as players want to learn, they’re going to love playing for Mike Bajakian,” Lett said. “He’s going to keep teaching every day no matter what the circumstances are, and his level of preparation is never going to change.”

Looks like if NU needs Table Tennis as another Title Nine sport that we now have a coach for that as well. :)
 
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Great article. Everything I’ve learned about Coach Jake I’ve liked.

Any guesses on who the top ping pong player will be from our existing QBs?

I think, for the first time, there will be a very true and open QB competition. Like others have said, I think a spring game would really serve this squad well.
 
I think, for the first time, there will be a very true and open QB competition. Like others have said, I think a spring game would really serve this squad well.
I guess you missed the 2018 season. It's pretty clear that there was an open competition and Green and Johnson were very close. Hence the "OR" between them in the depth chart.
 
> Now Hunter Johnson, Andrew Marty and Aidan Smith will be taken under Bajakian’s wing. <

Slipsies.

Few people were deeply impressed when Coach Jake was hired, but it sounds like many will be soon. Of all the good news here, the best news is that he recruits well.
 
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Few people were deeply impressed when Coach Jake was hired, but it sounds like many will be soon. Of all the good news here, the best news is that he recruits well.
It was definitely way under the radar. I don’t remember seeing his name ever mentioned, even on the Rock, before his hiring. The key thread I take from the article was that Fotz had to find a guy who was both the right OC and the right QB coach, which isn’t always the case. It seems clear he also wanted someone experienced who would be likely to stay for a long time if successful. A young up and comer is not going to get a lot of offense mentoring from Fitz as it’s not his specialty, and they’d be out of here in a few years either way.
 
I guess you missed the 2018 season. It's pretty clear that there was an open competition and Green and Johnson were very close. Hence the "OR" between them in the depth chart.

Don’t agree. I think HJ lost the job and largely due a stupid McCall playbook. Otherwise, the whole offensive staff are incompetent idiots based on how it played out.
 
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I think HJ's problems have more to do with the player than the play calling.
I hope I’m wrong but I agree with your assessment so far. Not saying the other QBs were any better but HJ seems to have the tools but not the knack for making the right play.
 
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I hope I’m wrong but I agree with your assessment so far. Not saying the other QBs were any better but HJ seems to have the tools but not the knack for making the right play.

I have a hard time believing that the kid who played so well in his limited time at Clemson and who outperformed the likes of Tua Tagovailoa, Jake Fromm, Sean Clifford, and Sam Ehrlinger in the All American game and the Show all of a sudden didn't know how to play football.
 
I have a hard time believing that the kid who played so well in his limited time at Clemson and who outperformed the likes of Tua Tagovailoa, Jake Fromm, Sean Clifford, and Sam Ehrlinger in the All American game and the Show all of a sudden didn't know how to play football.
This is what I choose to believe as well.

What we saw on the field makes for strong counter-evidence.
 
I have a hard time believing that the kid who played so well in his limited time at Clemson and who outperformed the likes of Tua Tagovailoa, Jake Fromm, Sean Clifford, and Sam Ehrlinger in the All American game and the Show all of a sudden didn't know how to play football.
like I said, I really hope this year was a fluke for HJ and he is a stud for us all year.

Cant wait for August!
 
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I have a hard time believing that the kid who played so well in his limited time at Clemson and who outperformed the likes of Tua Tagovailoa, Jake Fromm, Sean Clifford, and Sam Ehrlinger in the All American game and the Show all of a sudden didn't know how to play football.

You saw him play this year. McCall can't go out there and make plays for him.
 
You saw him play this year. McCall can't go out there and make plays for him.

No, but if the OC is terrible and calling plays that don't make use of your skills, it could be rather limiting. He looked like a totally different player in his limited action at Clemson. The Tiger fans were calling for him to supplant Kelly Bryant.

The good news is that we get a chance to find out with a new OC that supposedly is all about adjusting his offense to fit the skills of his players.
 
No, but if the OC is terrible and calling plays that don't make use of your skills, it could be rather limiting. He looked like a totally different player in his limited action at Clemson. The Tiger fans were calling for him to supplant Kelly Bryant.

The good news is that we get a chance to find out with a new OC that supposedly is all about adjusting his offense to fit the skills of his players.

I hope for the best. I hope he lives up to the star-induced burdensome fan expectations under a new OC.
 
Feel a lot better about the hire after reading that.


Thanks for posting. My favorite part was when his assistant said that Bajakian knows playing QB is not about how well you throw the ball but more about when you throw it and why you throw it. That’s exactly what our QBs need to learn.

This.

Aside from correcting their mechanics, what helped Kafka and Persa immensely in their development as QBs was Baz showing them what they needed to look for in their film study.


I think HJ's problems have more to do with the player than the play calling.

The McCall playbook is overly complicated w/o any real benefits (which is why the 2 highest rated WR recruits in some time didn't really get to see the field despite a much needed upgrade at the position), unlike say, Shanahan's playbook for the 49ers which keeps defenses guessing w/ misdirection, disguises, multiple options from the same formation, etc.
 
The McCall playbook is overly complicated w/o any real benefits (which is why the 2 highest rated WR recruits in some time didn't really get to see the field despite a much needed upgrade at the position), unlike say, Shanahan's playbook for the 49ers which keeps defenses guessing w/ misdirection, disguises, multiple options from the same formation, etc.
When did the McCall playbook become so complicated? Surely it wasn't this complicated all along?
 
It's the whole read and react philosophy - which is predicated on changing things based on what the opposing D is doing (not that they didn't know after having seen McCall's O for so long), instead of having an attacking scheme, making the D guess and try to react to what you're doing.
 
The McCall playbook is overly complicated w/o any real benefits (which is why the 2 highest rated WR recruits in some time didn't really get to see the field despite a much needed upgrade at the position), unlike say, Shanahan's playbook for the 49ers which keeps defenses guessing w/ misdirection, disguises, multiple options from the same formation, etc.

What evidence do you have that the two freshmen WR's couldn't get on the field because the offense was too complicated? Other true freshman have played WR for us.

Also, your description of McCall's "read and react" offense and Shanahan's "multiple options" offense seems like the same thing. Doesn't a read and react offense give you multiple options depending upon the defense? Seems to me the hard part is getting the WRs and the QB to be on the same page. However, I don't know anything about offensive passing schemes.
 
What evidence do you have that the two freshmen WR's couldn't get on the field because the offense was too complicated? Other true freshman have played WR for us.

Also, your description of McCall's "read and react" offense and Shanahan's "multiple options" offense seems like the same thing. Doesn't a read and react offense give you multiple options depending upon the defense? Seems to me the hard part is getting the WRs and the QB to be on the same page. However, I don't know anything about offensive passing schemes.

Malik Washington comes to mind.
 
What evidence do you have that the two freshmen WR's couldn't get on the field because the offense was too complicated? Other true freshman have played WR for us.

Also, your description of McCall's "read and react" offense and Shanahan's "multiple options" offense seems like the same thing. Doesn't a read and react offense give you multiple options depending upon the defense? Seems to me the hard part is getting the WRs and the QB to be on the same page. However, I don't know anything about offensive passing schemes.
Shanahan runs more mis-direction and Motion in one half than McCall ran in a month.
 
Shanahan runs more mis-direction and Motion in one half than McCall ran in a month.
Geez, how fun was that motion where a RB moves from slot to the backfield, then another two yards deeper? Shanahan is a genius. So fun to watch. (If only he’d called a damn run in the Falcons-Pats Super Bowl...)
 
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