Why So Much Hype For Nick Mullens?

[Anon1712931820]

I keep hearing "Greatest pocket passer in college", but here are the stats from his last 5 games against Division 1 opponents who actually have a winning record and play in big boy leagues:

Comp/att yards average td int rating

15/30 181 6.0 1 3 45.3

22/38 237 6.2 2 0 80.8

26/41 447 10.9 2 0 68.8

20/42 212 5.0 0 2 7.4

19/35 207 5.9 0 0 36.4


That is an average of 54.8% passing and 256.8 yards with 5 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.

How on Earth does it make the kid so great when he puts up gaudy numbers against nobodies? Most people talking the kid up on here have never even seen a single snap from him. With our secondary I say that we pick him off at least 2-3 times and our front seven get MONSTER pressure considering how small their offensive line is.

I just don't see how this game is even close and especially do not get the -6.5 spread. If this is anything other than blow out city 20 points+ then consider me skeptical of the rest of the year.

GO BLUE!

 

[Deeeefense]

I see your point and there is some merit to that, however on the flip side, from studying fantasy QB stats last year one glaring thing that stuck out at me is that a QB was never any better than his protection. QBs with good numbers going against defenses with strong pass rushers had significantly worse stats. Completion rate was often inversely proportional to QB hurries.

So the thing to consider is how will our pass rush compare to these other teams?

 

[ulismyman]

Because as a fan base we worry and look for every possible reason we can lose...i dont understand it but i admit i get sucked into it...on the other hand UL has no respect for ant team they play and think they win every game by 20....they do it in basketball as well

 

[JordanJ21]

That makes me feel a lot better OP. Really surprised at the AYPC stat, seems like we will see a lot of quick passes (slants, drags, screens). I have noticed from film however, he can move on his feet if he has to. Reminds me a lot of Bo Wallace from Ole Miss a few years back.

 

[TBCat]

I see your point and there is some merit to that, however on the flip side, from studying fantasy QB stats last year one glaring thing that stuck out at me is that a QB was never any better than his protection. QBs with good numbers going against defenses with strong pass rushers had significantly worse stats. Completion rate was often inversely proportional to QB hurries.

So the thing to consider is how will our pass rush compare to these other teams?

Exactly. Peyton Manning looks like crap when his protection breaks down.

I do believe USM is over rated because they are getting a lot of credit for beating some really bad teams. If we played crap teams all year and ended up winning 9 games last year we might be top 25 ranked as well even though we have the same short comings. All teams look great when they play competition that doesn't expose their weaknesses. So while I'll agree that USM probably isn't quite the team some are making them out to be I do agree that Mullens is really good. The experts that know how to rate QBs consistently rate him very high. Also just watching his games he looks really good. It will be critical for us to get pressure on him.

 

[rudd1]

-yep.

-also their returning 1000 yd rusher...had 138 yds against p5 defenses. 46 yards per game.

-look, if UK completely poops the bed they might lose. But the coaching upgrades, talent differential and another year of experience should pay dividends.

-to your point the weeping and gnashing of teeth is a symptom of battered fan syndrome...understandable. ..but silly.

 

[Saguaro Cat]

Let's change the criteria just a little. Bowl teams from power 5 conference he played last year (because who cares what he did two years ago).

Washington: 25/38 331 yards 2/0 Td/int
Nebraska: 26/41 447 yards 2/0 td/int
Mississippi State: 30/44 311 yards 1/2 td/int

66% 363 yards 5 touchdowns 2 interceptions

Those are some nice games against good power five schools.

 

[dallasg23]

I'll just say it. Nick who??

 

[gobigblue812_rivals29381]

Let's change the criteria just a little. Bowl teams from power 5 conference he played last year (because who cares what he did two years ago).

Washington: 25/38 331 yards 2/0 Td/int
Nebraska: 26/41 447 yards 2/0 td/int
Mississippi State: 30/44 311 yards 1/2 td/int

66% 363 yards 5 touchdowns 2 interceptions

Those are some nice games against good power five schools.

Looks like Miss State held him in check. Washington ranked 68th in pass defense and Nebraska ranked 121st in pass defense. Sooooo...

 

[JC CATS]

Um, he is good, best that the team not overlook him

 

[MychalG]

Until we string some wins together and get some swag about us, we can't over look any team on our schedule.

 

[Blue Decade]

I keep hearing "Greatest pocket passer in college", but here are the stats from his last 5 games against Division 1 opponents who actually have a winning record and play in big boy leagues:

Comp/att yards average td int rating

15/30 181 6.0 1 3 45.3

22/38 237 6.2 2 0 80.8

26/41 447 10.9 2 0 68.8

20/42 212 5.0 0 2 7.4

19/35 207 5.9 0 0 36.4


That is an average of 54.8% passing and 256.8 yards with 5 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.

How on Earth does it make the kid so great when he puts up gaudy numbers against nobodies? Most people talking the kid up on here have never even seen a single snap from him. With our secondary I say that we pick him off at least 2-3 times and our front seven get MONSTER pressure considering how small their offensive line is.

I just don't see how this game is even close and especially do not get the -6.5 spread. If this is anything other than blow out city 20 points+ then consider me skeptical of the rest of the year.

GO BLUE!

Nick Mullens is 1 of the best college quarterbacks in the country. Anyone who can't understand that is ignoring facts, but it doesn't mean Kentucky won't win. I have said this on several threads. For Kentucky, there are 2 main keys to winning this game. Get an effective pass rush on Mullens, and be successful for 4 quarters in the running game with Boom and Jo Jo. If we do these 2 things well for 2 halves, we will win the game. But this will be a tough, competitive game. Anyone who doesn't think so will quickly learn on Saturday.

 

[2330859]

I must question what is to be gained by minimizing an opponent a few days before kickoff? Mullens is an experienced college QB who has been quite successful against other D1 competition. So Miss arrives in Commonwealth as a 6.5 point underdog and these kids believe they are worthy of the challenge. If you do not get down to Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana or Mississippi much, you may very well not have sufficient appreciation for just how much football is emphasized down there. Like Florida; these kids grow up playing football year round in AAU systems and a 2 Star recruit in some of those communities are hidden gems.

UK is bigger, more talented at the skill positions and playing at home. On the other hand, Mullens may be the most talented QB the Cats will see firsthand, and the conditioning of these Mississippi kids who have practiced in far hotter and significantly more humid conditions than UK all summer will be in better physical condition in the 4th quarter. UK 37 -31.

 

[1Blouman]

How do Mullen's numbers compare to Barker's? Ya got it?

 

[wildcatdon]

Because as a fan base we worry and look for every possible reason we can lose...i dont understand it but i admit i get sucked into it...on the other hand UL has no respect for ant team they play and think they win every game by 20....they do it in basketball as well

Good points here my man.

 

[BigBlueManSouthCentralKY]

I keep hearing "Greatest pocket passer in college", but here are the stats from his last 5 games against Division 1 opponents who actually have a winning record and play in big boy leagues:

Comp/att yards average td int rating

15/30 181 6.0 1 3 45.3

22/38 237 6.2 2 0 80.8

26/41 447 10.9 2 0 68.8

20/42 212 5.0 0 2 7.4

19/35 207 5.9 0 0 36.4


That is an average of 54.8% passing and 256.8 yards with 5 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.

How on Earth does it make the kid so great when he puts up gaudy numbers against nobodies? Most people talking the kid up on here have never even seen a single snap from him. With our secondary I say that we pick him off at least 2-3 times and our front seven get MONSTER pressure considering how small their offensive line is.

I just don't see how this game is even close and especially do not get the -6.5 spread. If this is anything other than blow out city 20 points+ then consider me skeptical of the rest of the year.

GO BLUE!

The more you read the more apparent it becomes that he will be the best player on the field. Sounds like his skill level is super high and if he played with a bunch of 4 and 5 star players he would be even better.

 

[akaukswoosh]

Let's change the criteria just a little. Bowl teams from power 5 conference he played last year (because who cares what he did two years ago).

Washington: 25/38 331 yards 2/0 Td/int
Nebraska: 26/41 447 yards 2/0 td/int
Mississippi State: 30/44 311 yards 1/2 td/int

66% 363 yards 5 touchdowns 2 interceptions

Those are some nice games against good power five schools.

Very nice.

 

[Poetax]

Nick Mullens is 1 of the best college quarterbacks in the country. Anyone who can't understand that is ignoring facts, but it doesn't mean Kentucky won't win. I have said this on several threads. For Kentucky, there are 2 main keys to winning this game. Get an effective pass rush on Mullens, and be successful for 4 quarters in the running game with Boom and Jo Jo. If we do these 2 things well for 2 halves, we will win the game. But this will be a tough, competitive game. Anyone who doesn't think so will quickly learn on Saturday.

Yep, if we control the LOS on offense the whole game, everything will go pretty well. The defense will play less minutes so they won't be so tired in the fourth quarter. Less punts, mean that easy quick cheap touchdowns won't happen as often.

 

[Anon1712931820]

How do Mullen's numbers compare to Barker's? Ya got it?

You mean how does a three year starters numbers compare to a redshirt freshmen (last year) who started 3 games?

 

[Anon1712931820]

Let's change the criteria just a little. Bowl teams from power 5 conference he played last year (because who cares what he did two years ago).

Washington: 25/38 331 yards 2/0 Td/int
Nebraska: 26/41 447 yards 2/0 td/int
Mississippi State: 30/44 311 yards 1/2 td/int

66% 363 yards 5 touchdowns 2 interceptions

Those are some nice games against good power five schools.

You mean against a 6 win Washington team and 5 win Nebraska team. Yep...sure lighting up the scoreboard against those top notch teams!

 

[Anon1712931820]

Nick Mullens is 1 of the best college quarterbacks in the country. Anyone who can't understand that is ignoring facts, but it doesn't mean Kentucky won't win. I have said this on several threads. For Kentucky, there are 2 main keys to winning this game. Get an effective pass rush on Mullens, and be successful for 4 quarters in the running game with Boom and Jo Jo. If we do these 2 things well for 2 halves, we will win the game. But this will be a tough, competitive game. Anyone who doesn't think so will quickly learn on Saturday.

How many Southern Miss games have you watched? Be honest.

 

[BoulderCat_rivals187983]

I must question what is to be gained by minimizing an opponent a few days before kickoff? Mullens is an experienced college QB who has been quite successful against other D1 competition. So Miss arrives in Commonwealth as a 6.5 point underdog and these kids believe they are worthy of the challenge. If you do not get down to Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana or Mississippi much, you may very well not have sufficient appreciation for just how much football is emphasized down there. Like Florida; these kids grow up playing football year round in AAU systems and a 2 Star recruit in some of those communities are hidden gems.

UK is bigger, more talented at the skill positions and playing at home. On the other hand, Mullens may be the most talented QB the Cats will see firsthand, and the conditioning of these Mississippi kids who have practiced in far hotter and significantly more humid conditions than UK all summer will be in better physical condition in the 4th quarter. UK 37 -31.

After just having finished watching the first season of Last Chance U you won't have any problem convincing me college football is rather big in southern Mississippi, at any level.

 

[wildcatdon]

Southern Miss. did not beat anyone of note last year if I am not mistaken..

 

[gobigblue812_rivals29381]

Looks like Miss State held him in check. Washington ranked 68th in pass defense and Nebraska ranked 121st in pass defense. Sooooo...

 

[Kai Slater]

Nick is the REAL DEAL !!!! Wow, what an amazing QB with one of the most ACCURATE, laser-like arms of any QB in all of college football. We are going to have our hands full with this guy throwing DARTS all night. We best bring our defensive A-GAME to stop their attack.

 

[Anon1712931820]

Nick is the REAL DEAL !!!! Wow, what an amazing QB with one of the most ACCURATE, laser-like arms of any QB in all of college football. We are going to have our hands full with this guy throwing DARTS all night. We best bring our defensive A-GAME to stop their attack.

Evil?

 

[Kai Slater]

Evil?

Nah, he's just a very good passer

 

[gamecockcat]

Never underestimate Dawson's ability to make a good QB look very unprepared, unconfident, unimaginative and confused. We should take care of business vs. USM. Not expecting a blowout but also not expecting a nail-biter. Pretty comfortable 10+ point win.

 

[JasonS.]

I guess we'll find out. He might be the 2nd or 3rd best QB we play all year, but we don't exactly face a murderer's row. SEC is kind of a quarterback dumpster fire these days.

 

[Anon1712931820]

Nah, he's just a very good passer

As in EBB with all the random caps.

 

[Badenov]

I watched the Southern Miss versus WKU last season and against an okay but far from great Hilltopper defense Mullens was 15-30 for 181 yds with 1 TD and 3 picks. He was not a particularly impressive looking QB in that game.

 

[BlueRaider22]

The answer is simple. He's not the "best ever."

This happens often. The schedule comes out and people start looking ahead. "How good is USM?"....people will ask. Then some will retort, "well, I know their QB is pretty good. He's put up decent numbers and helped them win some games last yr.".

Then over time this snowballs into "USM has the best QB since Joe Montana. He's gonna have a field day with us."


The bottomline is that he is a decent QB that needs to be respected.....but he's not all world.

 

[lex cath]

To answer the thread question, because he is good

 

[maysvilleky]

Everything depends on if UK can stop the run and get some pressure on him. If SM gets into a lot of short yardage situations they will pick UK apart. UK has had a history of making average QBs look like All-Americans, so if this guy is already near that level, UK better be very prepared and not come out flat.

 

[1Blouman]

Everything depends on if UK can stop the run and get some pressure on him. If SM gets into a lot of short yardage situations they will pick UK apart. UK has had a history of making average QBs look like All-Americans, so if this guy is already near that level, UK better be very prepared and not come out flat.

Well said.

 

[Oldtrainer_rivals]

I also watched their WKU game. Thought Toppers were average on defense and Nick didn't exactly light-em up.
If CATS front three can sustain a big push believe it will make a long night for Nick.
Hearing from right people CATS offense will score! Think CATS will run right at-em out of two tight end set!
I'm ready, GO CATS!