Davis Gets Another Year

[Adunk33]

As we, and the coaching staff expected, Brady Davis will have two more seasons (2019 & 2020) as quarterback at Illinois State.
https://twitter.com/RedbirdFB/status/1110956749480169472

 

[GOP_Redbird]

Hopefully he has a great year in ‘19 and doesn’t need it - Heads to the NFL.

 

[redbirds2000]

Hopefully he has a great year in ‘19 and doesn’t need it - Heads to the NFL.

I will assume "Heads to the NFL" is thick sarcasm.

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[Virginia Redbird]

As we, and the coaching staff expected, Brady Davis will have two more seasons (2019 & 2020) as quarterback at Illinois State.
https://twitter.com/RedbirdFB/status/1110956749480169472

If he has a solid season in 2019 this is great news. If not...we will see. I thought Brady's performance in 2018 was overall mediocre. Some good things and some bad things but mostly ... just average. Maybe lots of reasons for that as listed on this forum several times. Long gap since last real playing time, transition to ISU and new system with new coaches, getting to know the players, etc. In 2019, Brady looks to have a solid O-Line in front of him and one of, if not the best, running back in the MVFC behind him. The receiving corps has been a topic on this forum but Spack seems to be comfortable with the players he has there. Brady has had a full year as the starter and is familiar with the system and coaches now. No excuses for 2019! I expect he will be a much more solid leader this coming season and look for the Redbird offense to be more consistent than the 2018 version.
The NFL?
That may be a bit of a stretch, shall we say. More likely, Brady is back for the 2020 season and hopefully he is pushed hard by some young talent either currently on the roster or yet to be signed. Recruiting of QB's does not appear to be a strength of the Redbirds. I am talking about recruiting out of HS not transfers from other college programs. Kind of similar to Michigan where Jim Harbaugh seems to live off of transfer QBs but has not been able to recruit and develop a starting QB out of HS. Maybe that is not a big deal as long as you keep finding transfer QBs but it does not show much of a program development plan for a young and talented QB recruit to get excited about I would think.
Anyway, I am optimistic about a solid season for Brady in 2019 and hopefully that will continue into 2020!

 

[JHBird]

I'm glad we'll have him for the U of I game in 2020. He had a solid last year and still has that swagger. He just needs to add another 5 pct on his completion rate and run the ball more when the opportunity presents itself. He really was hesitant with that last year. But his TD to interception rate was excellent and he protected the ball pretty good. Lots of things to like about him going forward.

I got a feeling the WR corps will be improved next season, so that might solve a lot of issues.

 

[Total Red]

Excellent. ....now go out and Crush It

 

[fourthandshort]

This is very good news .. takes a some pressure off situation in that Beathard now has the luxury of not having to worry about bringing next guy along sooner than they might be ready. Broadnax switches to Safety and then transfers, Hatifeld switches to RB then Safety, Kolbe graduates, and Tristan Smith transfers.

Boom, suddenly we're very thin at QB .. and the idea of going into 2019 with a SR QB that is still in work in progress, and then having to start over in 2020 ... not a good situation if Davis slumps as a SR. Now Beathard can take a 2 year approach with Davis ... very important .. and bring Jeffersen along a little more carefully knowing he has 2 years .. in theory.

Anyway .. if I'm Beathard, I am very relieved right now.

 

[Adunk33]

https://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/football/ncaa-grants-isu-s-davis-th-year-of-eligibility/article_a2ad64c1-18c7-544f-9514-7ff2e364be15.html

“It’s a real comfort for him and us that he has another year if he wants to exercise that year,” ISU coach Brock Spack said. “It’s good to put it in writing.”

“For fans, I would caution them it wouldn’t be a horrible thing if he didn’t come back because that means he had a heckuva year,” said the ISU coach. “If he had a great year and there was a bunch of money on the table or an opportunity to get drafted and play (in the NFL), he would have to look at it.”

I guess its possible Davis may not want to use that extra year. I believe he'd be 24 heading into the 2020 season.

 

[MadBird]

https://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/football/ncaa-grants-isu-s-davis-th-year-of-eligibility/article_a2ad64c1-18c7-544f-9514-7ff2e364be15.html

“It’s a real comfort for him and us that he has another year if he wants to exercise that year,” ISU coach Brock Spack said. “It’s good to put it in writing.”

“For fans, I would caution them it wouldn’t be a horrible thing if he didn’t come back because that means he had a heckuva year,” said the ISU coach. “If he had a great year and there was a bunch of money on the table or an opportunity to get drafted and play (in the NFL), he would have to look at it.”

I guess its possible Davis may not want to use that extra year. I believe he'd be 24 heading into the 2020 season.

Yeah, I didn't get a lot of comfort reading that article. Why get the extra year if you're not going to use it?? I mean, I know it's nice to have the option, but didn't make me feel all that great about his commitment.

 

[Virginia Redbird]

https://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/football/ncaa-grants-isu-s-davis-th-year-of-eligibility/article_a2ad64c1-18c7-544f-9514-7ff2e364be15.html

“It’s a real comfort for him and us that he has another year if he wants to exercise that year,” ISU coach Brock Spack said. “It’s good to put it in writing.”

“For fans, I would caution them it wouldn’t be a horrible thing if he didn’t come back because that means he had a heckuva year,” said the ISU coach. “If he had a great year and there was a bunch of money on the table or an opportunity to get drafted and play (in the NFL), he would have to look at it.”

I guess its possible Davis may not want to use that extra year. I believe he'd be 24 heading into the 2020 season.

I watched every game telecast last season and I just did not see anything Brady did that would lead me to think the NFL is going to dump a "bunch of money on the table" for his services. Frankly, Coach Spack's record for developing offense and QB's is not the strongest part of his resume. He is a former linebacker/D Coordinator and it shows with the teams he puts on the field. Run, play tough defense and have a good kicking game. Nothing wrong with that, particularly when you play in central Illinois in an outside stadium. Still, arguably the closest thing to a star QB that ISU has had since Coach Spack arrived was Tre and the NFL had no interest in him as a QB. OC Beathard was brought back to fix that and hopefully the fruits of those labors will be center stage this coming season. I have seen some posts that stated just give the ball to #25 behind a big O-Line and run it over and over. You had better have a more diverse attack than that if you want to be successful in the MVFC and it all starts with your QB.
I hope Brady has a tremendous year and the NFL is tossing gold at his feet before the draft next year. That would mean it was a great season for the Redbirds and we would all wish him the best of luck if he did not return in 2020.
We will all find out in a few months...

 

[fourthandshort]

Uh ... let's be real .. I may be more optimistic this year than last but any talk about NFL is ridiculous at this point. And one good season will not do the trick for NFL scouts .. period. Lets fix our past game first.

 

[DannyCooksey]

this is good news.

I expect Davis to take a huge jump this year.

1--he's 100% healthy
2---he's not learning a new system
3--he has returning targets
4--he has a great running back
5--he has a veteran O-line
6--he's comfortable (presumably) with his teammates and his role as the leader of the team

The physical tools are there. I think he will have a very big year.

 

[Adunk33]

It's interesting to see some say they weren't too impressed with Davis last season, and I am with you. It is important to remember, he was runner up for MVFC Newcomer of the Year. I think we have very high standards as a fan base and want to reminisce on the Roberson years. That's cool though, I think Brady will take a huge step forward as well, but I would be surprised if he was back for his final year of eligibility. He will have the chance to be like Vernon Adams Jr. and play at a mid-level P5 for his final year to try and get some more exposure. My guess would be mid-low level SEC if he has a solid year this year.

 

[redbirds2000]

Brady likes himself. Since he is so confident, Easton Stick like results are the expectation. We are watching! No pressure.

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[MadBird]

It's interesting to see some say they weren't too impressed with Davis last season, and I am with you. It is important to remember, he was runner up for MVFC Newcomer of the Year. I think we have very high standards as a fan base and want to reminisce on the Roberson years. That's cool though, I think Brady will take a huge step forward as well, but I would be surprised if he was back for his final year of eligibility. He will have the chance to be like Vernon Adams Jr. and play at a mid-level P5 for his final year to try and get some more exposure. My guess would be mid-low level SEC if he has a solid year this year.

So, this is the new reality -- start at a Group of 5 FBS, get "washed out" and recruited over, go to a decent FCS for two years, and then go back to a "mid-level" P5 to finish up? Geez, it's getting sadder and sadder every day. Well, hope it's not so. :x

 

[redbirds2000]

It's interesting to see some say they weren't too impressed with Davis last season, and I am with you. It is important to remember, he was runner up for MVFC Newcomer of the Year. I think we have very high standards as a fan base and want to reminisce on the Roberson years. That's cool though, I think Brady will take a huge step forward as well, but I would be surprised if he was back for his final year of eligibility. He will have the chance to be like Vernon Adams Jr. and play at a mid-level P5 for his final year to try and get some more exposure. My guess would be mid-low level SEC if he has a solid year this year.

So, this is the new reality -- start at a Group of 5 FBS, get "washed out" and recruited over, go to a decent FCS for two years, and then go back to a "mid-level" P5 to finish up? Geez, it's getting sadder and sadder every day. Well, hope it's not so. :x

I'm just here to watch him be great! He says so himself!

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[Virginia Redbird]

Uh ... let's be real .. I may be more optimistic this year than last but any talk about NFL is ridiculous at this point. And one good season will not do the trick for NFL scouts .. period. Lets fix our past game first.

Being a little pessimistic aren't you Fourth! I think Patrick Mahomes had better watch out!
:lol:

 

[Redbirdfan21]

https://twitter.com/larryholder/status/1128417276431077376?s=21

 

[Sanantoniobird]

wow, Trevor Lawrence even. Hope he brings some of that magic back.

 

[fourthandshort]

Uh ... let's be real .. I may be more optimistic this year than last but any talk about NFL is ridiculous at this point. And one good season will not do the trick for NFL scouts .. period. Lets fix our past game first.

Being a little pessimistic aren't you Fourth! I think Patrick Mahomes had better watch out!
:lol:

I missed all this until today ... I so want to be wrong about my early assessment of Davis last August. I was right about his accuracy, but he did turn out to be much better in pocket than I figured. This says a lot for a guy who didn't see any game action for 3 full seasons until last year, and only had a month + OTAs to prep for last season. So this tells me his instincts are very good .. many a good passer fails because their pocket sense/instincts fail them, not their arm. Blake Winkler had good arm, great accuracy, but just ok pocket sense and just was not elusive or big enough to overcome dealing with pocket. Davis is a natural in pocket and stands tall and is elusive enough ... even though he doesn't keep it enough. A full offseason will be a difference in terms of familiarity with system, WRs, OL, and OC Beathard ... and vice versa for OC Beathard with figuring out Davis.

Anyway, aa down as I was on him, his pocket sense was very impressive last fall .. guessing that is why Spack talked about "it" factor prematurely last August. Let's figure out short passing game and be ready take some pressure off Robinson when we play the top defenses. Game 5 is MVFC opener at home against NDSU .... we have 4 OOC games to prepare for this game and rest of MVFC grind.

Run game and defense will be ready. Pass game just needs to be pretty good ... and Davis needs to "keep it" a little more often, but please slide !!!! We do that and we will contend in 2019.

p.s. then maybe Mahomes should start sweating for his job a bit :mrgreen: