01Bear said:
I guess the problem I'm having is your use of the term "quick-witted" (or in this case, the lack thereof). It suggests that McIlwain is not intelligent (I believe I laid out why I disagree with that assessment earlier).
I tend to think McIlwain hasn't settled in as QB because the offense is too new for him (even if he had a redshirt year last year). Or more likely, he's not being prepared to react to the defenses that are being thrown at him.
My guess is that McIlwain relied on superior athleticism and talent in high school (and before?), but in college, all the players he faces have superior athleticism and talent. As a result, what he's "been trained" to do won't/doesn't work sufficiently often.
McIlwain needs to be retrained (read: developed) to anticipate and react to the different defensive looks that will be thrown against him, along with the superior athleticism and talent of the opposong defensive players. However, based on what we've seen, I doubt that Baldwin and Tui are doing that to any significant degree.
Yeah, I thought about that term before I used it and the connotation it might carry, but I thought that this is what I mean and if some want to interpret another way, they can. I could have used the word "choke", but I'm not sure that is the same and it, too, carries a negative sense. I don't think it equates with intelligence. I don't doubt he is.
I have to disagree with you about the phenomenon we're discussing. I think that it's in the brain wiring, somehow, and would be hard as hell to erase and rewire or to train out. And, is that the responsibility of a coach to go to such an extent with one guy? It's kind of like trial attorneys and research attorneys. Research types get up in court and stammer their way through. Trial attorneys have no patience for the drudgery. Could you train the slow-wittedness out of a research type? Would it be worth it?
The other problem is some physical attributes, namely height, "thickness" (or robustitude - from weightroom jargon) and arm. At this point, we are almost evaluating him as if he were a jc recruit. He's wiry, fast, has a ton of quick-twitch musculature and is very coordinated/athletic. And, he is determined - he doesn't quit. But, these minuses affect his ability to excel at qb. I've been saying all along that he's a wr. I think he'd be happy there, would be successful and would be just what the team needs. He'd be a star for us.
Oh, Lord, I hate to talk about one of our own like this. But, it's a big controversy going far beyond him and he's in the big leagues now and needs to get used to it. We've talked about many of our past qbs in the same way. Doesn't make it right, but that's the nature of the beast. This is nothing compared to the perennial top 10 schools.