With a little more than half of Uncle Dave's freshman campaign in the books, it's time to examine the pros, and cons of his game.
Pros:
- Pocket Presence- Pocket presence is such an underrated quality for a QB. To be able to stay in the pocket and avoid happy feet is a major plus to Shinskie's game.
- Ability to go through reads- With a lot of freshman QBs, they will only look at one receiver for the whole play and will really just lock on. With Shinskie, he doesn't look for just one guy, and will actually progress through his reads.
Cons:
- Arm Strength- It could be that maybe the years of pitching has worn Shinskie's arm down a bit, as he has not displayed the same sort of zip on the ball as some of our other QBs. Yet, I do think that arm strength is overrated in a QB and can be worked around with the right routes and play calling. Shinskie may however, have trouble fitting balls into tight windows or throwing the deep out route as his career progresses.
- Decision making- Never was this more painfully displayed then on Shinskie's final play vs Notre Dame. Shinskie must still learn when to throw the ball away, take sacks, and take chances downfield. Fortunately, this will all hopefully come with game experience, as we must remember not to judge Shinskie as a 25 year old, but instead as a true freshman.
I think Shinskie could turn into a productive quarterback at BC. After a seven year layoff I didn't expect this much production from him this year. If it was an 18 year old true freshman producing as much as Shinskie is right now, then he would be getting much attention from the fans and the media. Expect Shinskie to only get better with each passing week, as he shakes off more and more rust and develops better decision making skills.
