Obviously arm strength is not everything for a quarterback, but I struggle with Elko's commitment to Marcel as the surefire starter watching O'Neill spin the ball in the fall camp clips. If you want a guy who can generate explosive plays, look at the dude who completed >70% of passes in HS and can throw the rock like this:

Tough to tell from the film but this is 2024 @MilesONeill_12 releasing the ball from the opposite 30 yard line in a nasty cross wind- hits the WRs hands 4 yards deep in the end zone at shoulder height. 74+ yards in the tank for this 17 year old 👀, extremely impressive… pic.twitter.com/TGHyN8gvw7

— M2 QB Academy (@M2_QBacademy) March 5, 2023

Impressive with Steve A****er and Sean Taylor playing cover 2 back there

Bunk Moreland said:

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1. We have our 2025 backup clamoring board mascot and camp is only 2 days in. Congrats.

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Things can be both cliche and true at the same time. I'm also not "clamoring" for the backup. Just questioning why our head coach would close competition going into fall camp when you have a guy with impressive arm strength and completion stats, who to my eye throws the ball a lot more naturally than Marcel.

Look at Alabama. They are letting a true fish (Russell) compete with a guy that has been there multiple years (Simpson). I know Simpson has only come in in relief but the principle is giving it to the best man.

Classof25Battler said:

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Obviously arm strength is not everything for a quarterback, but I struggle with Elmo's commitment to Marcel as the surefire starter watching O'Neill spin the ball in the fall camp clips. If you want a guy who can generate explosive plays, look at the dude who completed >70% of passes in HS and can throw the rock like this:

Tough to tell from the film but this is 2024 @MilesONeill_12 releasing the ball from the opposite 30 yard line in a nasty cross wind- hits the WRs hands 4 yards deep in the end zone at shoulder height. 74+ yards in the tank for this 17 year old 👀, extremely impressive… pic.twitter.com/TGHyN8gvw7

— M2 QB Academy (@M2_QBacademy) March 5, 2023

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O'neill ain't no Vance Smith, brother.

"He can really spin it, boys!! Let's start him! Who cares if he's 17 and it's the first day of fall camp!!!"

That's how Dabo won with Trevor Lawrence

Classof25Battler said:

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That's how Dabo won with Trevor Lawrence

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All of that except Miles is 19 and a sophomore

Not saying Miles is Trevor Lawrence or anywhere close, but he was 19 in 2018 too.

Classof25Battler said:

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Obviously arm strength is not everything for a quarterback, but I struggle with Elmo's commitment to Marcel as the surefire starter watching O'Neill spin the ball in the fall camp clips. If you want a guy who can generate explosive plays, look at the dude who completed >70% of passes in HS and can throw the rock like this:

Tough to tell from the film but this is 2024 @MilesONeill_12 releasing the ball from the opposite 30 yard line in a nasty cross wind- hits the WRs hands 4 yards deep in the end zone at shoulder height. 74+ yards in the tank for this 17 year old 👀, extremely impressive… pic.twitter.com/TGHyN8gvw7

— M2 QB Academy (@M2_QBacademy) March 5, 2023

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We're already in mid season form.

Elko catching on

Classof25Battler said:

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Look at Alabama. They are letting a true fish (Russell) compete with a guy that has been there multiple years (Simpson). I know Simpson has only come in in relief but the principle is giving it to the best man.

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Brace yourself and consider that they are giving it to the best man. If you want to take comfort, this staff sat a 5 star to give the best man a shot.

Classof25Battler said:

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That's how Dabo won with Trevor Lawrence

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And there are countless examples of QBs sucking.

Around no win November 8-4 "Hope" break up we should see the savior in chief miles...

Classof25Battler said:

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Obviously arm strength is not everything for a quarterback, but I struggle with Elmo's commitment to Marcel as the surefire starter watching O'Neill spin the ball in the fall camp clips. If you want a guy who can generate explosive plays, look at the dude who completed >70% of passes in HS and can throw the rock like this:

Tough to tell from the film but this is 2024 @MilesONeill_12 releasing the ball from the opposite 30 yard line in a nasty cross wind- hits the WRs hands 4 yards deep in the end zone at shoulder height. 74+ yards in the tank for this 17 year old 👀, extremely impressive… pic.twitter.com/TGHyN8gvw7

— M2 QB Academy (@M2_QBacademy) March 5, 2023

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I am not a fan of pocket passers in college. They need elite talent around them and we aren't that program.

BiggiesLX said:

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Impressive with Steve A****er and Sean Taylor playing cover 2 back there

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****

The moderation of this site is truly hilarious

As usual, multiple things can be true at the same time.

In the few series we saw of Miles O'Neill, against a nothing team in NMSU, he looked poised and capable and led the team to the endzone. That doesn't mean too much, but you want your guys to look dominant against bad competition and he was trending that way.

He's also got one of the stronger looking arms we've seen in the last decade in Aggieland. There have been plenty of QBs with cannons who didn't amount to anything, but if you're asking if being able to put the ball 50 yards in the air on a rope is a good thing… yeah that's a good thing.

Ideally, as he's just a RS Fr, we get a couple seasons of great play from Marcel and then hand over the reigns

For a **** that guy sure could hit.

Heisman? Give it to him!

Classof25Battler said:

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Obviously arm strength is not everything for a quarterback, but I struggle with Elmo's commitment to Marcel

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Who cares what he thinks?

Some of you guys act like Reed should be a shoe-in because he beat out a 5* and started half of last season. I can see OPs point. Reed "beat out" a 5* that was chronically hurt and playing far below expectations. In doing so, Reed played well in about 1/2 the games he started. Sure, you could see the skill and talent but it's far from certain that we'll get the consistency we need from him this season.

At the end of it all, whether a starter is ordained early (which seems to be Elko's style) or it's announced on the first gameday, the end result will shake out over the course of the season.

Classof25Battler said:

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Not saying Miles is Trevor Lawrence or anywhere close, but he was 19 in 2018 too.

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I think Miles is the better choice for QB if we are gonna run a traditional offense. I think Reed gives you a whole other dynamic with his feet. I think we can win with either but I would prefer Miles as I believe he has the accuracy to throw guys open and make up for a lack of game-changing WRs. If we are gonna go with Reed, we need to make the QB run game a big part of the offense.

Y'all better like Miles because I highly doubt Reed stays healthy this year..

I wonder what the message boards would have looked like if someone, back when Tom Brady was very young, had posted something like the OP posted here.

I happened to be at Commerce High School when former Vikings and Cowboys QB Wade Wilson (and later QB coac) was a senior. I would watch him practice long throws for distance standing on the goal line and landing on the opponent's 20-30 yard line. I distinctly remember thinking "he will start in the NFL."

Hope O'Neill gets some quality mop up playing time this season. He did play well in the limited time he got last season.

Will see after every team sets 8 in the box and daresReed to throw…

Ahhh the good ole 'good arm strength' argument. Now we have a new generation of 'Miles Oneill made a pass at my girlfriend but overthrew her by ten yards' candidate. Was that Vance Smith or Colby Freeman? My memory isn't that good.

agchugger said:

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Ahhh the good ole 'good arm strength' argument. Now we have a new generation of 'Miles Oneill made a pass at my girlfriend but overthrew her by ten yards' candidate. Was that Vance Smith or Colby Freeman? My memory isn't that good.

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Smith.

BiggiesLX said:

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Impressive with Steve A****er and Sean Taylor playing cover 2 back there

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I'll never look at that censored last name the same again.

agchugger said:

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Ahhh the good ole 'good arm strength' argument. Now we have a new generation of 'Miles Oneill made a pass at my girlfriend but overthrew her by ten yards' candidate. Was that Vance Smith or Colby Freeman? My memory isn't that good.

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don't forget about Lil Vinny -Lance Pavlas