Hogwired.com: Houston Nutt Press Conference – Casey Dick To Start at Quarterback
Nutt: ” … I have said all along that we have to have two good quarterbacks. We couldn’t have won those first seven games without Mitch Mustain. When November hit and things started moving a bit faster I just felt it was time for Casey (Dick). It’s one word; it’s experience. That’s all it is. Both these guys will continue to get reps. We will go with Casey as a starter (against Tennessee) but we need both of them.”
“I am proud of Casey for hanging in there. He has had a tough road to take. But he has been very supportive (of Mitch Mustain) and now I expect the same from Mitch. It’s all about team. It’s about winning.”
Also:
- Alex Abrams: The Mustain Era Comes To An End — For Now, Dick Named Starting Quarterback, Mustain Backup, See Dick Run, Pass and Regain His Starting Job
- Grant Hall: UA Quarterbacks All Deserve Credit
- Harry King: Dick deserves to be QB
- Bob Holt: Dick replaces Mustain as starting QB
- Nate Allen: Dick gets the nod at QB against Tennessee
Updated 11/6/06 10:20 p.m.
Amazing, the only word I can think of at this point. One series, one pass and to the bench you go. After 7 wins, gone. I don't care what anyone says, this smells bad. From quotes in the paper this morning, it was obvious that HDN had this on this mind before the game began. I thought that Gus and Alex made the decision to pull the QB. Now all of a sudden HDN is making the decisions. I am afraid that HDN is taking back over this team.
Smells bad? Why? Mitch won some games for us and will again and probably this year. HDN has to make a decision. As I said before. Mitch needs some time to breath and get the pressure off of him. The physical and mental toll is huge. He has had more on him in 7 games than in his whole high school career combined and it is very tough. I think HDN makes a hard call but a good call. It has been coming for a while. Mitch has not been playing real well as of late but he has been winning. Let him play and learn without the pressure. I absolutely believe that after 7 weeks off different game plans his head could be swimming a bit and with the pressure off the game will slow down a bit.
i heard Mitch had bad practices all week. He was on a shorth leash to begin with i think.
I agree with the above posters. Houston had a tough call, but I think he probably made the right call. I wasn't thrilled about Mitch getting pulled, but it might be best for him and the team at this point. If you exclude the two screen passes that Casey threw when he first got on the field, he had an All-SEC night. If Casey gets a case of the "yips", then they should put Mitch back in. But Casey has had the hot hand the pass few games and it's time for him to show Hog Nation what he can do.
I am done with this team. We lose 2 out of the last 3. HDN is back in control. It was fun while it lasted. I have nothing else to say, except lets go play some HOOPS!
One more thing, didn't anyone notice that we only had 3 (count em) points in the second half. We also had a pick right at the end zone.
One more thing, Mustain has more experience than "the Dick". Perhaps Nutt can't count that high.
One more thing, didn't Mustain beat Auburn who are still ranked above us? Nutt didn't think he could handle USC???? I agree with HankHog. Something smells.
Well, like I said, it has been fun. I will not be posting here the rest of the year.
Goodbye!
Last I looked HDN really still is the head coach.
Good Bye HJ …
While my stance is not as strong as HJHog's… I do agree that something smells. But, I'm just glad the backup is pretty good, too. I think there is some serious politics being played here, but I do think we'll beat Phat Phil… we have to…
There's nothing that 'smells' about this. Mitch has been struggling. Casey has gotten well and played well.
If you are going to give up on this Arkansas team then what team are you ever going to stay with? These guys have fought hard, overcome injuries and depth issues on defense, and played their way into the BCS.
They deserve your respect and support for their accomplishments. Coaches and players.
Some of you guys are nuts and must have been watching M16 play with your eyes closed. He has struggled all year if not for the play of the O-line and those wonderful backs we would be complaining about him. He could not put up the numbers CD put up against that highschool team we played a few weeks ago. I mean nothing against the kid but he has a lot a of growing to do and I have been calling for this since the first start I am just glad HND had the guts to do it. Also when did we learn to play zone cudos to RH lets just see more of it earlier in the game don't let the DB's get butcher all game before switching.The one complaint I have if I must have one is lets use our other wr. I think the second half when we were in a situation were we had to run to keep the clock going and they were stoping us is exactly what would have happed the first have with M16 in and without that passing game.
I guess guys are going to have to help me out here. Last week I say MM throw a bad interception, then I saw him throw a pass that hit Hillis in the hands, bounce off and get intercepted. I would say Hillis should have caught the ball. I saw MM drop back and throw a bomb to Hillis in the endzone and the ball went right through Hillis's hands. Who's fault is that. I also saw him throw a ball to damien in the endzone that was 6 inches long and maybe not long at all if Damien leaves his feet and reaches out for the ball. Now I don't call that playing bad. After all he hands the ball off better than casey. Casey holds the ball out for seconds so that everyone can see.
For crying out loud, when you start a freshman qb you have to know that there will be ups and downs but if you are going to do it then do it. If I remember right, before the season MM made the comment that if they start me then do it becuasue you know I can handle it. Don't start me and then pull me and waste a redshirt year. That is exactly what they did. If we are going to be alright with this then I expect this from Dave VAnHorn this baseball season. He will put a freshman out to pitch that has won some games, the freshman pitcher will walk a player in the first inning and I will expect Dave to pull him right then and there. I will also expect all of you who are ok with the way HDN handled this situation to be ok with that.
You and I know that makes no sense. What did HDN expect when he made the decision to go with mitch. It is obvious that HDN has bowed to some pressure somewhere. Probably a parent or someone saying that Casey needs to get more time.
This is unbelievable! Let's stick to what we know and stop making things up. I know it's more exciting to talk conspiracy, but come on. Pressure from a parent? At 7-1, I don't think HDN is changing QB because of an unhappy parent. I live outside the state so perhaps I've missed the memo on the amount of political clout the Dick family carries on the hill. I just don't see MM completing the two 3rd and long throws on the last drive or some of the other bullets across the middle. As for the issue of experience, I think that's Nutt's polite way of saying that Casey is got "it" and Mitch still gets a little nervous under pressure so don't waste your time refuting the experience argument by counting starts.
Mitch does hide the ball better on the handoffs but I'll sacrifice that for someone who is a threat to beat you with his arm.
It takes guts to pull off this move in the middle of an 8 game win streak. That is the move of the year. If you want to criticize the coaches then do it for not making the move earlier. The bottom line is we are 8-1 and having fun. Speaking of which, how in the hell do you quit on this team Hank? As I said, Unbelievable! Go Hogs!
Carolina – I hear ya. I think because this is the "Move of the Year"…maybe in college football…that is what's got people nervous.
All – This move may turn out to be the right one. But HDN was the guy who stubbornly stuck with RoJo for seven games last year. That's one of the things that people who don't trust him remember…for better or worse.
I personally think this move was inevitable. If everyone has been reading HogBlogger's posts over the past month or so, you could read between the lines that he saw it coming as well.
Either way, I'm willing to see what happens. But like it or not, there is a portion of the fan base like HJHog that are newly connected to the program this year because of Mustain. And those fans are going to be very disappointed by this announcement.
HJHog is prime example of the fans that I have been preaching about all year. He is a fan of a player not a fan of the team. If you are going to be mad why not be mad after Rojo was pulled after a solid performance and made wr.I just have one thing to say to you HJHog you look better leaving because with fans like you the stadium would be empty.
Dieinghog – I wouldn't be so hard on HJHog. I think we'd all agree that we're looking to expand our fan base. Today's casually interested new fan can turn into tomorrow's rabid fan. We all don't start at the level we are today.
In a lot of ways, that's why we started this site. Something with a little less "noise" than a message board that both rabid fans and new ones can use to become more interested and informed about the Razorbacks.
Plus I happen to know HJHog…he's venting today…but he'll be back.
Nutt: ”It’s one word; it’s experience. That’s all it is.”
What a boneheaded comment by Nutt! Yes, I will admit that I expected Casey to start this year. I hadn't realized that he was as injured as he was going into the season. What Houston Nutt did after one series at USC this Saturday was flat out boneheaded as you get! There are no other words to describe his action. By pulling Mitch after one series, Houston just added another notch on his boneheaded actions as head football coach for the Razorbacks.
Sure, Casey is a better passer than Mitch at this point – no question about it. However, if you watched that first series against South Carolina, Mitch was not crisp on the interception but what about Marcus Monk? Monk never even tried to catch the pass… are we witnessing the birth of another Randy Moss? Why is it we were praising Monk for making critical 3rd downs late in the game when if he had only made the non-critical catches as the game progressed? Let's review 3 key plays of the game:
1) just before the half, Monk made a great catch for a touchdown… and was it a great catch or just blind luck? I'm saying the latter.
2) dropped catch on the left corner of the end-zone… just no excuses for this drop he was open.
3) dropped catch on the right corner of the end-zone… for a minute, I thought the receiver was Moss (only playing when he wants to play)!
We got lucky on the touchdown before half! And it is a good thing as we obviously needed those 7 points. However, Monk has to catch these other passes too. My point being that while Mitch hasn't been as crisp as we'd like with his passing, he wasn't bad enough that he needed to be pulled either after just one series. Of course, making that field goal in the fourth quarter would have made things easier too. So why didn't Houston pull these players for their lack of crispness?
Let's get back to the "experience" word here. As I recalled, Mitch as a starter is 8-0 and Casey is 2-2. I don't know what Houston is calling "experience" but obviously, it isn't games started, games won, total games played (both played in 9 games), total attempts, total completions, total yards, yards/game, or even total number of passing touchdowns. If fact, if you look at the stats, Casey is only better in a few categories: percentage completed, yards/attempt, and fewest number of interceptions.
Finally, yes, we are having a great season but rest assured Houston still has more boneheaded calls left. I can't wait to see what he pulls out of his bag of tricks for Tennessee this Saturday. All in all, we don't need make a quarterback change – what we need is a head coaching change! Houston has proven that he doesn't have the stability or leadership to run the Razorbacks football team. We need to cut our loses and make the change sooner rather than later.
OwassoHog – I think if you'll go back and watch the film, Monk might have played a "just a tad better" than you might remember. The deflected pass that was intercepted was a high and hard fastball that most receivers would not have even got a hand on.
I'm not sure where this ire for Monk comes from and find it comical that you would think he would "tank a play" after posting the 5th best receiving performance in school history.
On the QB front, maybe if you weren't so hell bent on wanting a coach fired, you could see that Mitch has hit the proverbial "Freshman Wall", that occasionally cause first year players to start fast, hit the wall, then surge later as things slow down. I don't think it was just the first series of the South Carolina contest; HogBlogger is right, this has been building for a few weeks – in practice and in games.
I would suggest you go visit hogville.net or woopig.net. I think there's still a handfull over there that are still trying to fire our 8-1 coach. Cheers.
Mitch Mustain was the greatest QB to ever play in Arkansas bar none. Thats proven in his High school days and has carried over into college. And if any CD lovers dont believe it you need only to read your football history. He was making history every day he played. All good things come to an end. I just have a gut feeling he will be gone before the end of the season.
For the record, I'm not trying to get Nutt fired… he's doing a fine job of that himself. As for Monk, that game film is quite clear – he dropped passed he shouldn't have. And the ones in the middle of his gut, those are even harder to drop. I've seen a number of dropped passes by Monk this year that were to easy to explain but I've also seen the remarkable ones too. Unfortunately, dropped passes are ALWAYS the quarterback's fault regardless of the situation. Mitch has missed several passes but not as many as I would expect from a freshman.
As for Mitch hitting the freshman wall, maybe so – maybe not. I agree that there is probably plenty to see in practice… if so, don't start Mitch and then pull him. That's just plain stupid. Stand up and say, you know we have 2 great quarterbacks but Casey is looking sharper and he's a little more mobile or crisper in his passes which we need right now. It's a tough call but we want to see what Casey can do right now.
If Nutt had done this, I'd give him some credit but to pull this stunt after one series, just goes to show that Nutt just doesn't have what it takes.
Monk may have had a great day, but he's dropped several passes in critical situations over the years. I think Monk is a good receiver, but he's not great like some people want to annoint him. I was going to write why I believe this, but it does no good. He's the best we have right now.
You guys make me laugh its not M16 fault that first series MM could have jumped higher and stretched to get that ball yeah right. I don't know if your all everything qb has went a game without and int or for that matter without atleast 2 ints. Yeah MM has dropped some passes and so has Jerry Rice but its the incredible catches you remember but if you have a qb in the game averaging 2int, 70 yards passing a game , and not to mention the other dumb losses like running the ball out of bounds for a loss instead of throwing it away its time for a change. As far as HDN pulling M16 that first series I totally agree with that call. We have won 8 straight with him as the starter so he deserved the start but he didn't deserve to throw away the game like he almost did at Alabama.
And just one more thing MM had 190+ yards receiveing how can he even be apart of this conversation.
How could have be a part of this conversation? How about 14 points and potential of a 250+ yard game. Of course, if he didn't have the "lucky" catch he would could have had a 150+ game instead.
The entire point of this was that Monk didn't play to his potential.
So, he must be mentally drained. He is messed up in his head knowing that he has to carry this team. After all, everybody knows about the "Junior" wall and that he has hit this wall. You know, that wall that separates those that will be able to land in the NFL. In practice, he's just been struggling all week. Blah…blah… blah.
Too much Monday morning quarterbacking… back to the facts.
Nutt pulled Mitch too soon… period. You just don't start him if you don't have confidence in his ability. Long and short is that Nutt made a bad call (either in starting or pulling him) and he needs to take responsibility for his action.
I've said it before, I think Casey is a fine quarterback. I really like the way he played last year and would like to see him play more now. I think he is probably a better passer than Mitch is so far. But I don't think either really has that much over the other. Give them both action and use them for their strengths.
I haven't a dog in this fight… I want the best QB to play. I find it strange that he throws one pass and gets pulled… that's all I have a problem with.
And Casey Dick has run out of bounds behind the line of scrimmage this year as well. It's not just Mitch.
I find it funny how now Casey is so much better than Mitch… let's not forget he's only a sophomore as well. He's still got a lot of learning to do as well. He's got just as much pressure now, if not more, than Mitch did. I don't think there is a whole lot of talent difference between the two. All in all, I think we win this Saturday… and it won't matter who is the QB.
This was a big game how many ints do you M16 fans think he should have been allowed to throw before getting pulled because past games have shown us that when he starts throwing them he does get into a rhythms(Alabama). I think if your really honest with yourself this was the best move for the team. We established a deep threat that we have not gotten all year out of M16 just back CD now because M16 will get his shot again not this year but he'll get some more reps.
Good discussion, guys…we appreciate all the comments. And since I think everyone got their say in, I'm going to close this post out so that we can move on.