By Rock Westfall
Coach Jason Brown was on fire Thursday in an appearance on Fearless with Jason Whitlock. Brown, of Netflix’s “Last Chance U” fame, had strong critiques of the 2024 NFL Draft and related issues. He also touched on the perilous future of college football.
Whitlock & Brown Question Caleb Williams Leadership & QB Class
Jason Brown pulled no punches on what he sees as a mediocre class for the 2024 NFL Draft, calling it “The worst quarterback class I’ve seen in a while.”
Jason Whitlock and Coach JB wasted no time tearing into Caleb Williams, the USC product who the Chicago Bears took first overall on Thursday night.
Whitlock was adamant that Williams lacks the star power of previous first-overall picks and top NFL quarterbacks. He went into Williams’s field antics and poor leadership examples, including when Williams went into the stands to cry in his mother’s arms after a USC game. Whitlock said that he wouldn’t want any of that in his locker room and that Williams is too “flaky.”
Caleb Williams cries in mom’s arms after USC loss, wants to cuddle with his dog https://t.co/IKFa024Eg5 pic.twitter.com/lkjdBBQhYI
— New York Post (@nypost) November 5, 2023
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Coach JB said that the decision to trade Justin Fields to make room for Caleb Williams was based on Chicago general manager Ryan Poles‘s desire to preserve three more years of job security with a QB reboot.
Brown said it was foolish to trade a QB with three years of “live ammo” experience. Coach JB added it was wrong to pick a raw rookie to start the rebuilding process over with the same team. Brown would have kept Fields and continued to build around him.
Also, Coach JB said that Poles is drafting for ticket sales instead of substantively trying to build a winner, giving the Williams pick little chance of success.
Who gives a fuck anymore show that you can lead and win! I’m over it https://t.co/34rEM7n1c1
— Coach Jason Brown (@TheRealCoach_JB) April 25, 2024
Michael Penix Jr. And the Problem With Lefties
The Atlanta Falcons chose Michael Penix Jr. of Washington eighth overall and may live to regret taking what Brown called an “older injury-prone quarterback who is a lefty.” Brown added, “There is no way you take a lefty anywhere towards the top.”
Coach JB said that with the exceptions of famed lefties Steve Young and Ken Stabler, “Most of them have been busts.”
Brown detailed the reasons why it is difficult for left-handed quarterbacks and their teams to succeed. First, the ball spin is different from what receivers are used to with right-handed quarterbacks, which makes catches difficult.
Additionally, there is the issue of the traditionally all-important and expensive left tackle position and the challenge of converting to the right side.
Also, football is a right-hand-dominant sport. With a left-handed quarterback, play calling has to be the opposite of what it is for a right-handed quarterback, thus throwing everyone off what they are used to. These challenges are particularly pronounced in misdirection, counter, influence, and reverse plays.
https://twitter.com/sportz5176/status/1783682695106560454
NFL Quarterback Quandary and Needless Waste of Talent
Brown said that LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, who went second overall to the Washington Commanders, is his favorite QB in this year’s draft but worries about his size and durability.
Coach JB believes North Carolina QB Drake Maye is overrated and not athletic enough. Maye went third overall to the New England Patriots.
Meanwhile, Brown was quite favorable towards Michigan QB JJ McCarthy, who went 10th overall to the Minnesota Vikings. Brown said that McCarthy “can make every NFL throw” but that Jim Harbaugh did not need to use him as much for that purpose, pounding the football instead en route to Michigan’s 2023 national championship.
What was most fascinating was when Brown tore into NFL teams, giving up on players after a short period, citing examples such as Justin Fields, Kenny Pickett, and Desmond Ridder. Such quarterbacks were hailed as potential stars not that long ago, only to be benched or discarded for little in return, thus wasting tens of millions of dollars worth of investment.
Nick Saban comps Jayden Daniels to Lamar Jackson and Randall Cunningham and makes the key point that Daniels is a passer who can run as opposed to a runner who can pass. #Commanders pic.twitter.com/SSjDqUlA02
— Al Galdi (@AlGaldi) April 26, 2024
A Prime Example of Poor College Football Coaching
Jason Brown pulled no punches with his theory that today’s poor quarterbacking quality is due in large part to ineffective college coaching. Whitlock agreed and implied that quarterbacks are “coddled” and no longer face the demands and responsibilities compared to the greats of the past.
Brown disagrees with Deion Sanders‘s comments about his program being philosophically different and portal-oriented. He ripped Sanders for implying that the recently departed Dylan Edwards does not want to compete and for Prime talking out of both sides of his mouth.
Brown is annoyed at what Coach Prime calls Colorado’s “hood” style recruiting, saying that “It’s impossible to build relationships and know what you are getting” the way Sanders operates with an extreme emphasis on the portal.
Deion Sanders hasn’t coached at a high level long enough to know the importance of depth. When you start losing depth, you start losing the ability to elevate your first stringers. That's why losing all of these guys to the transfer portal matters. pic.twitter.com/Z9k30eMeVl
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) April 21, 2024
The Future is Now and It’s Problematic –NIL & the Portal Create a Meat Market
Jason Brown channeled his inner George Allen when assessing the future of football. Brown has been in a perpetual battle with California lawmakers wanting to cancel youth football. He lamented the elevation of women’s flag football, seeing it as a viable threat to the men’s game, and that the NFL Pro Bowl is now playing the flag version of the game.
Brown noted that Caleb Williams is the First Generation Z quarterback to man the marquee. He expressed doubts about his ability to “lead men” based on Williams’ personality.
Coach JB claims there are currently 3600 kids in the portal. Brown said that simple math makes it impossible for most of them to find new schools. Brown believes the portal is the “worst thing to happen” to college football and has created a “meat market” that has “ruined the game.”
Additionally, Brown said NIL is a false promise for the overwhelming majority of players, most of whom get nothing more than a few hundred dollars out of it. Additionally, he believes NIL has created a divisive locker room, and the day is soon coming when players will play for multiple teams in the same season.
Finally, Coach JB said that college football is “imploding before our eyes” and that the game will be “unwatchable very soon.”
For some, Jason Brown is the old man on his porch yelling at the clouds. But for millions of others, Coach JB is a prophet.
Indeed, Coach JB sees the future and that it doesn’t work.
