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Sluka

Welcome! Any feedback on his game? I was at the BC game and he checked down a lot but he also ran all over them. I am guessing based on his stats he can get the ball downfield though.
I'd have to go back and re-watch the BC game since I was watching it on my phone during a wedding, but check downs definitely are not the norm for Matt. I'd say he has a really nice deep ball (though he won't be throwing it 70 yards through the air or anything like that), and had a real nice back shoulder throw to the sidelines. Some of this could have been due to Jalen Coker catching literally everything thrown his way, but Matt tended to be able to put the ball in spots where only his receiver would be able to catch it.

I think some of the check downs you saw in the BC game were due to 1) wanting to try and keep ball control against BC and 2) partly influenced by the weather. The last time we had played BC, they beat us 62-14 and we it was effectively over midway through the first quarter. We were a team built through our OL and power run game, so just getting consistent positive yardage against an FBS opponent helped us neutralize their size/depth advantages. The game also had a very suspicious 2 hour weather delay with HC getting the ball back down 3 and 2 minutes to go. Matt should have had an 80 yard TD run the first play back, but just stepped on the sideline when looking behind to avoid any tacklers.

It's probably not surprising, but he lives and dies by his running ability. He has more speed than you would think when looking at him, and he'll beat defenders downfield either by juking them or taking them on head first. Watching him scramble is really, really fun. He has an knack for being able to adjust to defenders 10 yards away and would turn a 5 yard gain into a 17 yard gain for example. We ran a lot of designed QB run plays, but a ton of his yardage would come from a broken play and Matt playing hero ball.

To play both sides and not be a complete homer, he does have a bit of a funky throwing motion and I've been told his footwork could be improved as well. I would mainly be concerned if he's getting pressured from behind, as I could see his throwing motion leading to strip sacks if he's not careful, though I honestly can't remember him getting caught from behind much. He would miss a throw every now and then, usually when scrambling, and I think he would get mentally caught between running and passing. I think he can also be a little too overconfident at times, and would press trying to find the perfect play. The Harvard game we lost this year was probably a good example of him trying to do too much and it cost us. Though, there are too many games too count of his where he single handedly won us the game.

If you want to look for specific game highlights to get a feel for him, I'd recommend any FBS game (UConn 2 years ago, Buffalo last year, and then BC and Army from this season.) The South Dakota State game from the quarterfinals last year is another good one. SDSU hadn't allowed a team to rush for 100 on them all year and Matt ran for like 250. Also the New Hampshire game from the 2nd round last year. Absolute trash weather the entire time, but Matt was running like he was a fullback the entire game and theres a fun highlight where he score a TD on a run where his helmet flew off. He also had a shoulder injury this year that we think happened during Lafayette when he ran for 330 yards. He ended up missing our next 2 games, but still rushed 3 times for 3 first downs in those games, so his stats last year are really only through 9 games not 11.

Probably way more than you guys needed to know, but feel free to ask anything else I may have missed.
 
I'd have to go back and re-watch the BC game since I was watching it on my phone during a wedding, but check downs definitely are not the norm for Matt. I'd say he has a really nice deep ball (though he won't be throwing it 70 yards through the air or anything like that), and had a real nice back shoulder throw to the sidelines. Some of this could have been due to Jalen Coker catching literally everything thrown his way, but Matt tended to be able to put the ball in spots where only his receiver would be able to catch it.

I think some of the check downs you saw in the BC game were due to 1) wanting to try and keep ball control against BC and 2) partly influenced by the weather. The last time we had played BC, they beat us 62-14 and we it was effectively over midway through the first quarter. We were a team built through our OL and power run game, so just getting consistent positive yardage against an FBS opponent helped us neutralize their size/depth advantages. The game also had a very suspicious 2 hour weather delay with HC getting the ball back down 3 and 2 minutes to go. Matt should have had an 80 yard TD run the first play back, but just stepped on the sideline when looking behind to avoid any tacklers.

It's probably not surprising, but he lives and dies by his running ability. He has more speed than you would think when looking at him, and he'll beat defenders downfield either by juking them or taking them on head first. Watching him scramble is really, really fun. He has an knack for being able to adjust to defenders 10 yards away and would turn a 5 yard gain into a 17 yard gain for example. We ran a lot of designed QB run plays, but a ton of his yardage would come from a broken play and Matt playing hero ball.

To play both sides and not be a complete homer, he does have a bit of a funky throwing motion and I've been told his footwork could be improved as well. I would mainly be concerned if he's getting pressured from behind, as I could see his throwing motion leading to strip sacks if he's not careful, though I honestly can't remember him getting caught from behind much. He would miss a throw every now and then, usually when scrambling, and I think he would get mentally caught between running and passing. I think he can also be a little too overconfident at times, and would press trying to find the perfect play. The Harvard game we lost this year was probably a good example of him trying to do too much and it cost us. Though, there are too many games too count of his where he single handedly won us the game.

If you want to look for specific game highlights to get a feel for him, I'd recommend any FBS game (UConn 2 years ago, Buffalo last year, and then BC and Army from this season.) The South Dakota State game from the quarterfinals last year is another good one. SDSU hadn't allowed a team to rush for 100 on them all year and Matt ran for like 250. Also the New Hampshire game from the 2nd round last year. Absolute trash weather the entire time, but Matt was running like he was a fullback the entire game and theres a fun highlight where he score a TD on a run where his helmet flew off. He also had a shoulder injury this year that we think happened during Lafayette when he ran for 330 yards. He ended up missing our next 2 games, but still rushed 3 times for 3 first downs in those games, so his stats last year are really only through 9 games not 11.

Probably way more than you guys needed to know, but feel free to ask anything else I may have missed.


Keep it coming.
 
Injuries happen. In the unlikely (Dear 8lb baby Jesus please don't jinx me for this) event our top 2 QBs went down I think I'd rather have Doug then rely on a true freshman like Ochoa.
If any of our top 2 QB's get hurt, so help me God you'll be banned for life and then some. I'll even ban your brother if he lurks here because of your jinx.
 
I'd have to go back and re-watch the BC game since I was watching it on my phone during a wedding, but check downs definitely are not the norm for Matt. I'd say he has a really nice deep ball (though he won't be throwing it 70 yards through the air or anything like that), and had a real nice back shoulder throw to the sidelines. Some of this could have been due to Jalen Coker catching literally everything thrown his way, but Matt tended to be able to put the ball in spots where only his receiver would be able to catch it.

I think some of the check downs you saw in the BC game were due to 1) wanting to try and keep ball control against BC and 2) partly influenced by the weather. The last time we had played BC, they beat us 62-14 and we it was effectively over midway through the first quarter. We were a team built through our OL and power run game, so just getting consistent positive yardage against an FBS opponent helped us neutralize their size/depth advantages. The game also had a very suspicious 2 hour weather delay with HC getting the ball back down 3 and 2 minutes to go. Matt should have had an 80 yard TD run the first play back, but just stepped on the sideline when looking behind to avoid any tacklers.

It's probably not surprising, but he lives and dies by his running ability. He has more speed than you would think when looking at him, and he'll beat defenders downfield either by juking them or taking them on head first. Watching him scramble is really, really fun. He has an knack for being able to adjust to defenders 10 yards away and would turn a 5 yard gain into a 17 yard gain for example. We ran a lot of designed QB run plays, but a ton of his yardage would come from a broken play and Matt playing hero ball.

To play both sides and not be a complete homer, he does have a bit of a funky throwing motion and I've been told his footwork could be improved as well. I would mainly be concerned if he's getting pressured from behind, as I could see his throwing motion leading to strip sacks if he's not careful, though I honestly can't remember him getting caught from behind much. He would miss a throw every now and then, usually when scrambling, and I think he would get mentally caught between running and passing. I think he can also be a little too overconfident at times, and would press trying to find the perfect play. The Harvard game we lost this year was probably a good example of him trying to do too much and it cost us. Though, there are too many games too count of his where he single handedly won us the game.

If you want to look for specific game highlights to get a feel for him, I'd recommend any FBS game (UConn 2 years ago, Buffalo last year, and then BC and Army from this season.) The South Dakota State game from the quarterfinals last year is another good one. SDSU hadn't allowed a team to rush for 100 on them all year and Matt ran for like 250. Also the New Hampshire game from the 2nd round last year. Absolute trash weather the entire time, but Matt was running like he was a fullback the entire game and theres a fun highlight where he score a TD on a run where his helmet flew off. He also had a shoulder injury this year that we think happened during Lafayette when he ran for 330 yards. He ended up missing our next 2 games, but still rushed 3 times for 3 first downs in those games, so his stats last year are really only through 9 games not 11.

Probably way more than you guys needed to know, but feel free to ask anything else I may have missed.
Good stuff. Thanks for posting that and look forward to any other insight and tidbits on Sluka.
 
One thing I will add, while Matt is a bit awkward in interviews and stuff, he's an absolute warrior on the field. Be fully prepared to have other teams bitching about him all the time. He has a ton of swagger, but he always backs it up with his play on the field.

Very classic "guy you love on your team and hate on your opponents team" type of dude
 
One thing I will add, while Matt is a bit awkward in interviews and stuff, he's an absolute warrior on the field. Be fully prepared to have other teams bitching about him all the time. He has a ton of swagger, but he always backs it up with his play on the field.

Very classic "guy you love on your team and hate on your opponents team" type of dude

Love it!
 
How is his ability to navigate the pocket to throw downfield.

Typically running quarterbacks give up on the pocket too quickly and scrambles out of it even when not necessary.

We will have legit deep threats next year, and if the run game is solid as his threat to beat people with his legs, potential pocket time will increase. (We saw that first hand with Cordeiro last season).

I love that he is a true dual threat. It will definitely open up the playbook. But personally I would love to see his rushing numbers decrease some next season. I prefer if our stable of running backs take more carries ( and the beating, lol)
 
How is his ability to navigate the pocket to throw downfield.

Typically running quarterbacks give up on the pocket too quickly and scrambles out of it even when not necessary.

We will have legit deep threats next year, and if the run game is solid as his threat to beat people with his legs, potential pocket time will increase. (We saw that first hand with Cordeiro last season).

I love that he is a true dual threat. It will definitely open up the playbook. But personally I would love to see his rushing numbers decrease some next season. I prefer if our stable of running backs take more carries ( and the beating, lol)

2200 and 800..

18 TD 5 INT

8 TDs On the ground.

Bank it!
 
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I'd have to go back and re-watch the BC game since I was watching it on my phone during a wedding, but check downs definitely are not the norm for Matt. I'd say he has a really nice deep ball (though he won't be throwing it 70 yards through the air or anything like that), and had a real nice back shoulder throw to the sidelines. Some of this could have been due to Jalen Coker catching literally everything thrown his way, but Matt tended to be able to put the ball in spots where only his receiver would be able to catch it.

I think some of the check downs you saw in the BC game were due to 1) wanting to try and keep ball control against BC and 2) partly influenced by the weather. The last time we had played BC, they beat us 62-14 and we it was effectively over midway through the first quarter. We were a team built through our OL and power run game, so just getting consistent positive yardage against an FBS opponent helped us neutralize their size/depth advantages. The game also had a very suspicious 2 hour weather delay with HC getting the ball back down 3 and 2 minutes to go. Matt should have had an 80 yard TD run the first play back, but just stepped on the sideline when looking behind to avoid any tacklers.

It's probably not surprising, but he lives and dies by his running ability. He has more speed than you would think when looking at him, and he'll beat defenders downfield either by juking them or taking them on head first. Watching him scramble is really, really fun. He has an knack for being able to adjust to defenders 10 yards away and would turn a 5 yard gain into a 17 yard gain for example. We ran a lot of designed QB run plays, but a ton of his yardage would come from a broken play and Matt playing hero ball.

To play both sides and not be a complete homer, he does have a bit of a funky throwing motion and I've been told his footwork could be improved as well. I would mainly be concerned if he's getting pressured from behind, as I could see his throwing motion leading to strip sacks if he's not careful, though I honestly can't remember him getting caught from behind much. He would miss a throw every now and then, usually when scrambling, and I think he would get mentally caught between running and passing. I think he can also be a little too overconfident at times, and would press trying to find the perfect play. The Harvard game we lost this year was probably a good example of him trying to do too much and it cost us. Though, there are too many games too count of his where he single handedly won us the game.

If you want to look for specific game highlights to get a feel for him, I'd recommend any FBS game (UConn 2 years ago, Buffalo last year, and then BC and Army from this season.) The South Dakota State game from the quarterfinals last year is another good one. SDSU hadn't allowed a team to rush for 100 on them all year and Matt ran for like 250. Also the New Hampshire game from the 2nd round last year. Absolute trash weather the entire time, but Matt was running like he was a fullback the entire game and theres a fun highlight where he score a TD on a run where his helmet flew off. He also had a shoulder injury this year that we think happened during Lafayette when he ran for 330 yards. He ended up missing our next 2 games, but still rushed 3 times for 3 first downs in those games, so his stats last year are really only through 9 games not 11.

Probably way more than you guys needed to know, but feel free to ask anything else I may have missed.
Not too much at all! Your insight is very much appreciated that is good stuff. He sounds like he will be fun to watch at the least. His experience should help us too. I will have to watch some of those highlights you suggested.
 
One thing I will add, while Matt is a bit awkward in interviews and stuff, he's an absolute warrior on the field. Be fully prepared to have other teams bitching about him all the time. He has a ton of swagger, but he always backs it up with his play on the field.

Very classic "guy you love on your team and hate on your opponents team" type of dude
That’s kind of what (traditionally) defines a (basketball) Rebel. I love that type of player.
 
How is his ability to navigate the pocket to throw downfield.

Typically running quarterbacks give up on the pocket too quickly and scrambles out of it even when not necessary.

We will have legit deep threats next year, and if the run game is solid as his threat to beat people with his legs, potential pocket time will increase. (We saw that first hand with Cordeiro last season).

I love that he is a true dual threat. It will definitely open up the playbook. But personally I would love to see his rushing numbers decrease some next season. I prefer if our stable of running backs take more carries ( and the beating, lol)
Great ability to read a pocket and extend plays. He can shake the pressure and extend a play while looking down field. He probably does have a window for how long he'll wait before running, but he won't just tuck and run at the first sign of pressure.

He'll never be the guy running back and forth across the field looking for someone to finally get open deep, but he'll still extend plenty of plays.
 
Interesting that Sluka was one of the highest rated QB still in the portal as of the last few days. It appears he is more or less even with Maiava. The fact that Maiava has 3 more years instead of one is what gives him the bigger offers. If UNLV can continue to improve on last season, then we will get what we want out of Sluka.
 
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Interesting that Sluka was one of the highest rated QB still in the portal as of the last few days. It appears he is more or less even with Maiava. The fact that Maiava has 3 more years instead of one is what gives him the bigger offers. If UNLV can continue to improve on last season, then we will get what we want out of Sluka.
Sluka is a much better fit for to Go-Go. That is more important than talent at the end of the day.
 
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