I'll admit I've been harsh on Sean Glennon in the past. I was anything but a Glennon supporter going into the 2006 season and after that year's BC game, I gave up on him. I considered 2006 to be a lost season and Glennon to be the second-coming of Grant Noel.
But then Glennon and the Hokies rattled off six consecutive wins and led Georgia 21-3 at halftime of the Peach Bowl (We don't use corporate names here. It's still Peach and Citrus to me.). However, after a dismal second half against Georgia led to a 31-24 loss, Glennon was again in the dog house to Hokie fans.
The arrival of Tyrod Taylor to Blacksburg didn't help Glennon's cause either. Fans and media anointed Taylor the QB of the future and considered Glennon a caretaker of the position until the true freshman was ready. Glennon's every move was dissected and criticized.
But there's a problem. Glennon's a really good quarterback. He's won a lot of games for Virginia Tech and leads an effective offense. No, the offense isn't nearly as sexy as when Taylor's behind center, but Glennon is more efficient.
When I think back on it, my opinion of Glennon was the same of my opinion of Bryan Randall. I wasn't a big Randall fan until just before the 2004. Season. The Hokies had collapsed in the second half of the 2002 and 2003 seasons with him as the quarterback. I was ready to see Randall exit the scene and see Marcus Vick take over as the quarterback.
But then Vick got suspended for the 2004 season and I realized Tech would be better off for it. Randall no longer had to be looking over his shoulder to see if he was going to get pulled. He was a senior who had been through two difficult seasons. In 2002 and 2003, Randall and the Hokies were learning how to win games. And it paid off with a 2004 season that saw Tech win its final eight regular season games and win the ACC in its first year in the conference.
I think its going to be the same way with Glennon. He already has an ACC Championship that I give him a lot of the credit for. Now, I don't hope that Taylor redshirts, is suspended or injured. I hope Taylor plays a lot in 2008 and complements Glennon and the rest of the offense.
But it's my belief Glennon is going to have a great 2008 and gives the Hokies the best chance to do great things. To me, Randall and Glennon's career paths have been similar and I think Glennon will have just as good a senior year as Randall.
Glennon vs. Randall by the numbers:
(For records, I considered games in which the quarterback played the majority of plays).
Freshman Year
Randall: 12-34 (35.3%) 114 yards, 0 TD, 0-0 record
Glennon: 8-11 (72.7%) 137 yards, 1 TD, 0-0 record
Sophomore Year
Randall: 158-248 (63.7%), 2,134 yards, 12 TD, 10-4 record
Glennon: 170-302 (56.3%), 2,191 yards, 11 TD, 10-3 record
Junior Year
Randall: 150-245 (61.2%), 1,996 yards, 15 TD, 8-5 record
Glennon: 143-235 (60.9 %), 1,796 yards, 12 TD, 6-3 record
Senior Year
Randall: 170-306 (55.6%), 2,264 yards, 21 TD, 10-3 record
Glennon: ?
Sophomore and Junior Seasons
(Both started their sophomore and junior seasons)
Totals
Randall: 308-493 (62.5%), 4,130 yards, 27 TD, 18-9 record
Glennon: 312-537 (58.1%), 3,986 yards, 23 TD, 16-6 record
Vs. Conference Opponents
Randall: 158-265 (59.6%), 2,171 yards, 15 TD, 7-7 record
Glennon: 214-355 (60.3%), 2,767 yards, 16 TD, 11-3 record
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2 comments:
Randall was a quality quarterback. But you must realize that his best season was 10-3. What will be so overwhelmingly special about Glennon to cast him in a positive light by comparing him to Randall?
Yes, Marcus Vick might very well have been a disaster. But hey, starting his older brother worked out peachy. The S.O.B. is locked up at the moment, but he gave Va Tech a shot at the national title. Randall didn't do that. It doesn't sound like from what you're writing that is what you expect out of Glennon.
The point is that with as good a coach of Frank Beamer is, as good a defense and special teams he puts out year-after-year, and with the rich RB tradition Va Tech has, why not shoot for the stars? The Hokies compete for a conference title every year. They should be looking at competing for the national title every year as well.
There have been ups and downs in Sooner nation, but there are not that many seasons per dynasty that OU is out of the national title hunt from the get go. In the Bob Stoops era, just one: 2005. I say go for the home run every time. The pay off is much greater even if you get just one national title or title appearance rather than a string a peach bowl appearances.
The answer to your question about Randall is easy. Randall was the consummate field general. He is one of my favorite Hokie players of all time because he was a leader, never complained and got better each year.
Our losses that year were to USC and Auburn (who combined for no losses that season) and NC State on a missed field goal at the end.
Also, Randall helped the team turn a corner. Going into '04, we were known for collapsing down the stretch. We did the exact opposite that season, thanks to Randall's leadership.
Your other comments are funny to me because they are the same complaints I've had about Hokie fans. For the most part, they are content to play for the conference title every year, but not winning the national title is OK with most of them.
I don't want our fan base to be that way because it spreads to the rest of the program. If you expect greatness, you'll get greatness. If you expect to be very good, then you'll be very good.
The three programs with 10 win seasons each of the last four years? USC, Texas and Virginia Tech. Two of those schools won national titles. The other didn't even play for one. But all three fan bases are happy. It shouldn't be that way.
In hindsight, this probably should have been its own post. Maybe someday it will be.
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