It's called a "gotcha" player and not a viable chance to wrestle the starting job away from Mertz. THAT is what I am grousing about. If he had more "gotcha's" this season, he may have been capable of pulling off the win because he would be better prepared to hand the ball off to Etn AND to get a TD throwing the ball down the stretch because Napier would have had more confidence in his skill. And quite frankly, a "gotcha" or two or three against Arkansas may have been the difference between a loss in OT and a win in regular season. But we will never know.
I'm putting this here becasue of all the chatter about this portal player... and becasue he plays on the defensive line. Yes, we offered him... too. https://247sports.com/Player/joey-slackman-46145323/
You may be right but after Mike Gillislee, Kyle Trask and others I want to see the guy actually play before I accept “the coaches know better” position. Seen too many excellent players waste time in favor of a less performing starter.
Mertz has been good, no reason to play him yet. He surpassed Miller on the depth chart so Napier has confidence in him. His time is now.