Bates / Arnaud

[snowcraig2.0]

Cydkar's post made me think of an interesting hypothetical to me in the Bates thread below.

Let's say Bates and Arnaud are even as QB's. It's pretty logical then that you go with Arnaud, so Bates can play WR.

However, what if Bates ends up being better, but by a slim margin? Would you think that Bates would not only have to be better, but better by a more than slight margin in order to win the job? Rational being, Arnaud and Bates are two of the best returning skill players on offense, and you would want them on the field together as much as possible, and Bates is much more flexible to play other positions than Arnaud.

I am not sure how I feel about it, but it makes for an interesting discussion nonetheless.

 

[ISUFan22]

QB is such an important position that IMO, you have to play the better guy, regardless of the other guy's ability to play another position or not.

Bates did show some abilities to play WR last year, but other than the one catch, he was really a non-factor there. Maybe he's not a good WR, no idea. Arnaud could surprise us and be a good WR (or another position) if he doesn't win the QB job.

I am really looking forward to this battle though between these two guys and the 2 newcomers. I do think it's mostly Arnaud's job to lose, but it won't be easy. Competition breeds success and I think we're going to be happy with our QB position for a while because of it.

Slightly off-topic, but I firmly believe that one of the reasons Meyer did not live up to his full potential is after his freshman year, the job was his with basically no competition.

 

[cmoore_23]

I also think Arnaud should win this position..

but i know if he doesnt he could play safety.. as he did in high school a couple of times...

 

[Drizzle]

They both bring different options to the backfield as QB's, what about the possibility of a two man rotation at QB? I, for one, am not a big fan of rotating QB's, but it has obviously worked for a few schools... I would think that Arnaud has the upperhand as of RIGHT now, but we will have to wait and see what happens over the next six months or so... Hopefully the competition will be intense so both athletes will improve and make eachother better. Just my opinion...

 

[clonomaniac]

I think it's Arnaud's job to lose.

Bates can be a good receiver. According to Mr. Chizik, Bates' talent is enormous - that's the reason he wasn't red shirted. He proved it too. I see a lot of potentials for Bates. As for Arnaud, I think QB is the only thing he can do better than anyone in the team. So it's a no brainer to me.

 

[CYVADER]

i wish we had someone who was fast enough to run a read option back there. teams can't matchup with it for whatever reason. look what happened to oregon once dixon went down-they got throttled 2 games in a row by teams with losing records. look at what wvu has been able to do with a skinny little guy that doesn't throw particularly well, but runs faster then a deer. speed is a great neutralizer, i just wish we had more of it in our backfield. arnaud came in as the #4 ranked dual threat qb in the country i think, and he just doesn't look very threatening on the run to me.

 

[leg4cy]

i wish we had someone who was fast enough to run a read option back there. teams can't matchup with it for whatever reason. look what happened to oregon once dixon went down-they got throttled 2 games in a row by teams with losing records. look at what wvu has been able to do with a skinny little guy that doesn't throw particularly well, but runs faster then a deer. speed is a great neutralizer, i just wish we had more of it in our backfield. arnaud came in as the #4 ranked dual threat qb in the country i think, and he just doesn't look very threatening on the run to me.

Agree 100%. That offensive system is practically unstoppable when you have the athletes to run it and are able to execute it. If that is the offense this staff wants then Bates has to be our guy. 4.4 speed back there with the ability to pull an "okey-doke" or two. Arnaud is like a 4.7-4.8 and didn't show a whole lot of agility in my opinion. But, I do love the spread option and wish we used it.

 

[cmoore_23]

i wish we had someone who was fast enough to run a read option back there. teams can't matchup with it for whatever reason. look what happened to oregon once dixon went down-they got throttled 2 games in a row by teams with losing records. look at what wvu has been able to do with a skinny little guy that doesn't throw particularly well, but runs faster then a deer. speed is a great neutralizer, i just wish we had more of it in our backfield. arnaud came in as the #4 ranked dual threat qb in the country i think, and he just doesn't look very threatening on the run to me.

oh he is explosive on the run.. he had a few of those nice draws against kstate i think.. he has very strong legs and is pretty quick for his size and built.. i remember against sioux city heelan we called a qb sneak and he broke about 5 tackles and ran 67yrds for a td

 

[CYdTracked]

The only time we really say Bates at QB was when they used him to run. Arnaud has the edge going into camp next spring I think since he got some in-game experience. GC has said he'll always play the guys that give us the best chance to win so things will work its way out.

 

[ahaselhu]

I'm skeptical about Bates being willing to play anywhere but QB. I think Chizik was able to placate him this year basically by saying "you don't know enough of the offense yet, so either play WR or don't see the field this year", but I don't think that's going to work next year.

Until I hear Bates say that he is willing to play other positions, I'm going to assume he wants QB and only QB. And I think regardless of how close the competition is between him and Arnaud, if Bates looks better, Bates should be the QB.

I do think Arnaud holds an advantage at this point, but I don't think he looked good enough when he was in this year to say its his job to lose.

 

[mj4cy]

I'm sure Chizik will run into spring with them being equal and making one earn it. If he did that with Meyer and Arnaud, I'm sure he'll do that again. I'm already getting excited for the spring game!

 

[woodie]

someone compare the two athletes(arnaud and bates).
i have never seen them play.

compare arm strengths,accuracy on throwing the short and long pass from their practice situations.
arnaud is heavier and bigger than bates. bates has one equalizing factor over arnaud and that is speed(4.4 40 vs. a 4-7-4.8 40).
whay are their good attributes and their negatives?

 

[nb06]

Heres an interesting tidbit on the quarterback situation. Check out AA on the 2006 rivals top quarterbacks list. Note a few of the other names on the list above and below him. Interesting to see where they stand after a season or two at the helm. Also interesting to see where Bates and Jerome Tiller stack up in respective classes. Should be a very interesting QB race next season.

AA
Rivals.com Prospect Rankings

Bates
http://www.iowastate.rivals.com/viewrank.asp

Tiller
http://www.iowastate.rivals.com/viewrank.asp

 

[gocubs2118]

Start them out 50/50 in camp and let the best man win.

 

[ia8manfan]

I also think Arnaud should win this position..

but i know if he doesnt he could play safety.. as he did in high school a couple of times...

I watched Arnaud play safety in HS against Dowling in Ames' last playoff game, and Arnaud was one of the hardest hitting guys out there. I was really suprised on how he would run up to a player and lay a lick on them.

 

[jdoggivjc]

I watched Arnaud play safety in HS against Dowling in Ames' last playoff game, and Arnaud was one of the hardest hitting guys out there. I was really suprised on how he would run up to a player and lay a lick on them.

Doesn't really surprise me considering who his dad is...