Another Great QB at ASU?

[AppMan]

Watauga Democrat

Barnes Making His Mark At Quarterback

By: Steve Behr Sports Editor

It's not like Kalik Barnes wants to go through Appalachian State's fall workout unnoticed. Often times, that's just the way things go for freshmen.

Barnes, a 6-foot, 190-pound freshman originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., but most recently from Atlanta, is one of two quarterbacks on the Appalachian State not wearing a red jersey. Those are reserved for junior DeAndre Presley and redshirt (pardon the accidental pun) freshman Jamal Jackson, who are competing for the starting job.

Barnes, a biology major partly because he likes the challenge, is the third-stringer. Until Wednesday, he was relatively anonymous - except for one thing that stuck out like a red shirt. His jersey number.

Barnes said he did not ask for the No. 14 that for the past four years, Armanti Edwards, turned into an Appalachian institution. It's not known just how long Barnes will get to wear the number since it's likely just a matter of time before Edwards' No. 14 is retired.

Barnes is very aware of what No. 14, and what the player who wore it before he, means to the Appalachian State program. Barnes takes it in stride. "He's one of the greatest players to come through ASU, so I hear about him all the time," Barnes said. "I'm going to try to do my best to uphold the number. It's an honor to even have it."

It would be very premature to compare the two quarterbacks just yet, but the two have one thing in common: neither was at the top of the depth chart when fall camp began. Edwards was as deep as fourth on the ASU depth chart before he climbed up to No. 2 by the season opener. By the third game, he was the starter and the rest - as the clich� goes - is history.

It looks like Barnes has climbed to No. 3 on the 2010 chart. ASU's other quarterback, Jay Yokeley, did not play in the scrimmage Wednesday, but saw some action late Saturday. Now I'm not here to say that Barnes is ready to rocket into the starting lineup just yet. But he showed poise in the pocket, some explosion when running the ball and a strong and accurate arm during both scrimmages.

Edwards also showed all three of those things in his fall freshman camp. True, Barnes didn't face a defense made up of preseason All-Americans, like Presley did when the ASU starters squared off against each other. But it was hard to miss that there is something there with the outgoing and personable Barnes. It was there with Richie Williams and it was there with Edwards. Both were also buried deep in the depth chart at the start of their freshmen fall workouts. Both rose to the top of the FCS division.

Will history repeat itself? It's way, way too early to tell and unfair to put those expectations on Barnes. But after two scrimmages, Barnes is off to a good start.

[SideLine Shooter]

I like what I am hearing. I know it is early but good stuff sounds better than bad stuff.

[FormerPokeCenter]

I like what I am hearing. I know it is early but good stuff sounds better than bad stuff.

What happened to the other kid from last year, wasn't his name Cadet, or something like that? I thought he had a great game right before Armanti came back last year?

[AppMan]

After the ECU game his passing slumped for some reason and he was switched to WR. He is such a talented athlete our coaches are experimenting with various ways of getting the ball in his hands. He lines up have at WR, in the standard spread two back set and another formation I have never seen before. Very ingenious I might add, but I don't want to give anything away to our opposition at this time.

[FormerPokeCenter]

After the ECU game his passing slumped for some reason and he was switched to WR. He is such a talented athlete our coaches are experimenting with various ways of getting the ball in his hands. He lines up have at WR, in the standard spread two back set and another formation I have never seen before. Very ingenious I might add, but I don't want to give anything away to our opposition at this time.


A super secret never-before-seen formation.....Interesting ;) Hmmm.....line him up at the tip of an inverted bone, get him the ball by direct snap or on a toss..nah, been done before......If you have a talented center, you could put two QBs back in a double shotgun, with them lined up shaded just to the outside of the guards, snap to either one of them, have them run or pass...the off QB could become a running back, safety valve, etc...and who could also throw the ball after having it thrown to him...kinda like you guys tried to do on the last kick off return against us ;)

Or, you could lilne him up a few yards behind a wide receiver, throw to him and he's either got the option of running up field or throwing it again, himself...

I'm not smacking, but it sounds like you guys may end up trying one of the formations you see in flag football ;) Most people wouldn't have the personnel or guts to try it in college ;)

It'll be interesting to see what you guys do with him ;)

[biggie]

Should be interesting to see all the athletes get the ball.

Cadet has been doing a lot of RB work out of the backfield (but 2-3 of our RBs had small injuries).

Seems Jackson and Pressley are about even and Barnes is trying to catch up. Hope all continue to improve.

[AppMan]

It's not that complicated, just a variation of something new which came on the scene a couple of years back.

[AppMan]

According QB coach Brad Glenn DeAndre is the solid #1 right now. Jackson has kind of hit a wall as of late allowing Barnes to gain ground on him.

[biggie]

Just hope DeAndre has improved from the couple other games we've seen him in.

[AppStateold299]

These are the same things I heard about Jackson too. He is going to come in and take the reins to lead us to four years. I don't think any of them are able to fill the gap left by one of the best FCS players ever, but I am hopeful by what I hear about all three of them. They all seem to be making great strides. I am skeptical of DeAndre and hope he has gained a lot of poise in a year. That all said...I am stoked for the season and can't wait to see how it all unfolds. It is GREAT to be a MOUNTAINEER!

[Waco Kid]

I don't seem to remember anyone doubting Pressley's poise when he started against WCu and we won 35-10. Yes ECU was bad, but they had a very good defense and DeAndre was running for his life thanks to poor O-Line play. His performance against WCU is much more important than ECU since 10 out of the 11 games are against competition more on par with WCU.

[AppStateold299]

I have to disagree with you on the two games. Last year almost anyone could have shown poise against WCU. I don't seem to remember Cadet having that much of a problem with that poor O-Line play. If he would have had more time we might have won that game. Pressley was horrible during that game. The pressure of a big game worries me.

[Mntneer]

Agreed. Not saying the line played well at ECU, but all I saw was how our momentum changed when the guy taking the snaps changed.

[ThompsonThe]

Presley was terrible that first half against Western Carolina. They even had an injured AE ready to go in the second half, but Presley finally got himself pulled together. The first half against ECU was terrible. He just doesn't seem to have game presence unless he has plenty of time to think about it.

[AppMan]

DeAndre wasn't the QB against WCU last year, Cadet was.

[ThompsonThe]

Wasn't talking about last year, figured everyone knew that, Presley played WR after that horrendous first game against ECU.
Was the year before last when he started against WCU.

[SideLine Shooter]

Yes, he started at WCU in '08.

[AppStateold299]

I am just saying that I am a little tentative about DeAndre. He is a wildcard as the season is getting close. I hope he has worked past his demons and found the presence needed to lead an otherwise great team. I am hopeful that out of the 3 good QB's that one of them will step up and shine. I just hope they don't try to be AE. He is a special player. They need to just do the best they can do and let the team do the rest. We have a great team that needs a decent quarterback.

[ThompsonThe]

I am pretty apprehensive about Presley also. Unfortunately, the coaching staff gives him a plus for starting two games in two years, but I look at it as a negative since he did poorly in both first halfs of those games.
Actually sounds like Barnes is the one that I would start. Sounds as if he has much more upside, but doesn't have the whole package under his belt. Would still go with what he knows considering the upside of him seeming to have the whole package.
Probably coaches will go with Presley until he messes up or cannot move the team. Which may lose us a game.

[AppStateold299]

See that is what I am worried about. We could have won the ECU game if Presley didn't mess up so bad in the first half. I'm not saying we would have, but I think we would have had a better chance without him heading the team. I don't want them to find out too late that Presley can't handle the team. He has had ample opportunity to prove himself and every time he fails to rise to the occasion. I know the staff knows far more than any of us, therefore, I am relying on their superior judgement. If they thing Presley can take over then I will sit back on pins and needles hoping they are right. Just have the other two ready and prepared to take over at any point he gets rattled.

[AppMan]

"We could have won the ECU game if Presley didn't mess up so bad in the first half."

"He has had ample opportunity to prove himself and every time he fails to rise to the occasion."

You either don't know much about football, or didn't pay much attention to what was going on down on the field that day. I have yet to see a guy with the ball abble to rush for many yards or complete many passes while running for his life. Am I to assume you hold Pressley responsible for the 267 yards, 14 first downs and 27 points in the first half by ECU as well? As to your second statement, I really don't know where to begin. He led the team to a win vs WCU as a TRUE freshman and as far as his career stats go he is 37 of 60 passing with 2 INTs for 468 yards and 2 TDs, and carried the ball 85 times for 427 yards, 5.0 per carry, and 8 TDs. Those aren't exactly failure numbers.

[AppStateold299]

Almost anyone can put up good numbers against WCU. They haven't exactly been a top program lately. I am not saying that he is a horrible QB. I am merely stating that I am a little unsure of him carrying the team. Obviously the coaches weren't sold as the outright starter this year. Granted the defense did much better in the second half of the ECU game, but Cadet stood head and shoulder better than Presley in that game. He was horrible in that game. I am merely stating that he didn't pull his weight that game. You are right those aren't failure numbers, but look at the games he got those numbers. He didn't get them in high pressure situations.

[JROCK98]

Almost anyone can put up good numbers against WCU. They haven't exactly been a top program lately. I am not saying that he is a horrible QB. I am merely stating that I am a little unsure of him carrying the team. Obviously the coaches weren't sold as the outright starter this year. Granted the defense did much better in the second half of the ECU game, but Cadet stood head and shoulder better than Presley in that game. He was horrible in that game. I am merely stating that he didn't pull his weight that game. You are right those aren't failure numbers, but look at the games he got those numbers. He didn't get them in high pressure situations.

Presley is going to be fine at QB. He had no help-zero in the ECU game. The O-line played bad, play calling was conservative and the defense gave up easy drives and scores. In 2008 DP got the job done against WCU and Elon when Edwards was injured.
Cadet came in the ECU game and definitely gave the team a spark but he also received help from the O-line and defense and faced a slap worn out ECU defense.
If you want to compare the two look at them both against WCU, we won a lot easier with DP running the offense as a true freshmen.
Cadet is the better overall athlete and is going to be huge for ASU this year but DP is going to be the QB who leads this team and I for one have faith in him!

[ThompsonThe]

You prove it yourself....Presley in two years is 2 touchdowns passing and 2 interceptions.....pathetic !
He cannot handle the pressure normally. They were ready to yank him the 2nd half of the WCU game a couple of years ago. He got happy feet and pretty much got lucky.
If he is so good, why couldn't he makes some plays against ECU? Some dump off passes to halt the rush, or his own running? The truth is, he just doesn't bring the goods. He can have some success against inferior defenses, but not good enough to start. IF the coaching staff had any great confidence in him, he would not have been switched to a WR last year after the first game.
The only reason he has been #1 in practices is the fact that he is the only QB with any experience since they moved Cadet to RB/WR or whatever.

[Saint3333]

Man this board and the MMB is going to explode if ASU loses to UTC in the first game. There are three talented young men fighting for QB1, let's get through UTC with DP and then work on a starter for the remainder of the year, which may be DP.

[AppMan]

Coach Moore also admitted at halftime against WCU that they had been very conservative with playcalling in the 1st half, and they would open it up more in the 2nd half. Once the playbook opened up DP led us to an easy win.

[james_lawfirm]

I was at FanFest yesterday. Presley will be fine. He's the starter. He looked much more confident than last year. He threw the ball well & ran well too.

He completed a couple of tough pass plays with a blitz & tight man-to-man coverage.

Most plays were from the shotgun. But, my FAVORITE play was the running play from under center (yep, that's right) with double tights & an I backfield.

What surprised me this year was the overal SIZE of the players. Them 'r sum biguns. DJ Smith is HUGE! Anyone crossing over the middle will be taking their life in their hands. We got speed on the corners & size up the middle on both sides of the ball.

Maybe DP is not AE, but he does not need to be. His teammates are all players.

It's gonna be a fun year to be a Mountaineer!!!

OK, maybe I'm biased, but I was impressed.

[AppIAA]

If he is so good, why couldn't he makes some plays against ECU? Some dump off passes to halt the rush, or his own running?

Do you watch football or know anything about it? It is pretty hard to do anything at all when the designed play goes completely wrong because of good defense. You can't just dump off passes when the dump off reciever (usually the RB) has to stay in to help block because the d line is getting in so fast. You can't just run away from pressure as soon as it comes; especially on passing downs..

There is a lot more to it than dumping passes or running on his own.. Hell, if it were that easy, I would be in the NFL right now (well, actually, I would well be retired, but defnitely in the Hall of Fame!)

[SpeedkingATL]

Coach Moore and the ASU coaching staff have won 3 National Championships and 5 SoCon Championships in the last 5 years. They will figure out who the best option is at QB. History has shown that as much as our QB runs the ball, at least 2 competent QBs will be needed during the year as the other gets nicked. Biggest issue with any inexperienced QB is protecting the ball. AE and DP both coughed it up too much early in their careers. Hopefully that won't be an issue, whoever plays QB.