Re: College Football IV: The Hand over Fist Cash Grab Time, or Bowl Season for short.
Switching offensive systems isn't the end of the world.
Charlie Weis sure as heck isn't running the Urban Meyer spread, and no one's acting like Florida's offense is a six year rebuilding project.
I've followed very closely as Weis installed his offense at ND and then as Kelly installed his. Also watched the UM transition with RRod with some interest. The QB's are extremely different...the skill sets are varied...example Dayne Crist. Mallett would have been playing for the Hogs this week if UM hadn't switched to the spread.
There is little need for big backs, no need for a FB in the spread. The spread typically utilizes smaller, faster receivers and TE is a position that isn't even required...ND has made use of theirs but they had 2-3 guys that were top TE prospects in the country...I don't think they'll sign many more and if they do they will be Aaron Hernandez types.
OL are very different too, aside from the pass/run mix and the skillsets that make some guys better at one than another, the spread often means hurryup which means fat slow guys need not apply. Snaps are nearly 100% shotgun so even the center has a different role. Kelly had to do a lot of work to get the current linemen in shape and transitioned to a whole different world without 5 step drops etc.
Can it be done quickly? sure...but anybody watching RRod's first year or Kelly's first 6 games can attest that it doesn't necessarily happen overnight either and a lot of kids transfer or get switched to other positions once the transition happens.
Weis likes at least one big TE who can block and catch the ball (Fasano, Reuland etc.)...I don't know if UF has one but they will soon. Weis will want a QB that is comfortable with 5-7 steps, making 2-3 reads and rarely running...UF may not have one of those either. Weis likes the 6-3 WR, Floyd, Stovall, Kumara...Kelly will use Floyd but the guys he recruited, Jones, riddick etc. are small and fast.
One thing I subscribe to is the average experience level of your team...Stanford benefits from having a lot of 4th and 5th year guys. One of Weis' issues was that his team was too young, he supplanted upper classmen with FR and So and then couldn't figure out why they didn't execute as well and got pushed around in the trenches. In general, 22 year old guys are better prepared than 18 year old guys. If Weis didn't learn from his ND experience and turns over the roster too much they can struggle. He didn't get dumb when he went to ND, but the offense was never really the schematic advantage, save the first Pitt game.
Doesn't have to be 6 years but RRod has already spent 3 of those years, if Weis had replaced him and done what he did at ND that would add up to 6 years of misery.
