PICK YOUR POISON – Army Black Knights’ Quarterback Competition
On January 25th, GBK Sr. Analyst & Writer Gordon Larson got the ball rolling and preparing us for Spring Practice with the our series “Looking Forward (2021) - Experience Counts” … position by position.
And back back on February 1st, Gordon broke out the personnel at quarterback.
Heading into Spring Practice (March 31st) on “The Banks of the Hudson,” the No. 1 question most GBK subscribers seem to have is, “Will anyone emerge as a clear starter at QB heading into Fall camp?” While I don’t have a crystal ball, and certainly don’t pretend to be an expert at Quarterback analysis (see some of my previous posts as an example of how wrong I have been at times), for my inaugural article here at GBK, I thought it would be fun to do an Army take on this article from Rivals.
As previously mentioned, I credit to the great Gordon for the following article to help me get started.
Jabari Laws – Senior
In my opinion, Jabari has the most potential upside of any of our QB’s. He is lightning fast; can break off long runs and big plays; and clearly has the most accurate and best arm of all our QB’s. (See 2019 Air Force game for evidence). He also makes very good decisions in the triple option - a key factor in winning the starting job. He is really a complete player.
The biggest drawback with Laws is his durability. He was injured and in and out of games throughout the 2019 season. Whether that’s a result of his diminutive stature or some other factor, who knows? The last time we’ve seen Laws in a game was against VMI in 2019. As was mentioned in Gordon’s article, he won’t be available for Spring Practice.
Christian Anderson – Senior
Anderson is “steady Eddie” in my book. He doesn’t do anything flashy, but seems to make good decisions; has a solid arm for an Army option QB; and is relatively speedy. In my opinion, Anderson is the textbook definition of a “game manager.” This can be a positive or a negative. He does a decent job protecting the ball, and won’t make many bad decisions.
He was in and out of the lineup with injuries last year, and other than a poor performance against Tulane that got him pulled from the starting lineup, he was pretty successful. In spot duty against Air Force and in the Liberty Bowl against WVU, many observers thought the offense moved better with Anderson at the helm than Tyler; and a few fans weren’t shy about expressing their frustration on social media when he was pulled late in the WVU game on our last drive to try and tie or take the lead.
Jemel Jones – Junior
Jones started against The Citadel and played in some spot duty early in the 2020 season. He looked very strong in relief against ACU. I believe he has quality upside. He’s a very athletic young man, with good size for an Army QB and good speed. In addition, he has a strong arm and can run the option effectively.
He would surely benefit from more reps to fully realize his potential. His throwing mechanics and accuracy are areas for improvement, along with his decision making and risk assessment particularly in the passing game. Sometimes, he wants to make the “highlight reel” play when he just needs to “preserve the right to punt.” (See ill-advised screen pass against the Citadel and pick-6 against Hawaii in 2019 in his first game action).
Tyhier Tyler – Junior
If we were to award the Army QB with the most grit and toughness, Tyler would probably win. Towards the end of the 2020 season, he showed tremendous grit and mental and physical toughness in coming back from 3 fumbles in the first half against Georgia Southern. He rewarded the coaching staff’s confidence by hanging tough and leading the Black Knights to victory. I can’t count how many times he smashed his tiny body into the teeth of the defense against Navy, Air Force, and WVU. The young-man can take a pounding and keep ticking. Tyler’s other upside includes his speed. He’s pretty quick when you get him in space.
My biggest challenge with Tyler running the offense is it seems to severely limit the offensive playbook and creativity. Now that might change with the experience he received last season and hopefully so, because he does have upside. Because if there isn’t any maturation, then the perimeter running game or true triple option when Tyler is leading the offense; and Army becomes very one-dimensional. Other than the occasional pop pass to TE Chris Cameron, there is zero passing threat. WVU, Navy, and Air Force had 9+ in the box on many plays. He’s also been prone to turnovers, which Army simply can not afford if they want to be successful.
Cade Ballard – Sophomore
If you put any stock in PFF ratings, Ballard is your guy. He’s second only to Laws according to their metrics. Cade’s upside includes a live arm. He completed 50+ yard TD passes against both UTSA and Mercer. He definitely makes the offense more 2-dimensional and will give opposing DC’s something to think about if they start putting 9+ in the box.
He also seems to do a nice job getting the ball to his play makers in the option game and with tosses. In my book, he checks all the boxes from an intangibles standpoint too. Much like Ronnie McAda in the 90’s, the kid is a winner. I’m biased here, but as a coach’s kid, his football IQ is probably off the charts; and he has a swagger and confidence that come from never having lost a game as a high school starter (or as a college starter now after UTSA and Mercer). As some of our Army hype videos mention, “winning matters,” and this kid has won a ton of football games.
He also needs some more reps to realize his full potential, and his biggest area for improvement is probably his speed. We never saw Ballard in game action after the Mercer game, so I’m not sure what happened there. I would love to see what Cade could do if given the keys to the offense. Let’s hope he gets lots of reps in Spring Ball.
Maurice Bellan – Junior
Bellan only got in a few snaps last year, so I didn’t get to observe him much. The few times he did play, he looked like if given the chance, he could do some damage in the running game.
Christian Parrish – Sophomore
I’m not sure Parrish lined up under Center at all in 2020, but the coaches like his speed so much they put him in the game against Cincinnati situationally as a B-back to get him some touches in space. Everything I’ve heard about Parrish is that he has lightning speed. He may be the fastest of all our QB candidates. I just have no reps to analyze him on at this point.
The Winner (aka Prediction)
If he were 100%, I would give the nod to Jabari Laws. However, he clearly isn’t and I have no idea what his status will be for the 2021 season. So, I’m going with Jemel Jones. I think Jones has the most upside and is the most complete package of all the Army QB’s with the most experience.
I could certainly see our coaching staff using multiple QB’s in the early going in 2021 until a clear winner emerges. I’m not sure we’ll have an answer coming out of Spring ball either. They may not announce the starter for the opener at Georgia State until the day of the game.
Now it’s time for you to vote and share your thoughts - So Click Here!
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