New Mexico State Film Room: Breaking down Aggies quarterback position
LAS CRUCES - New Mexico State football coach Jerry Kill didn't say if true freshman quarterback Gavin Frakes did enough in a quarter and a half against Nevada, to earn a start on Thursday against Minnesota.
Junior college transfer quarterback Diego Pavia earned the start, but it was apparent during Nevada's 23-12 Week 0 win that the Wolf Pack was daring Pavia to beat them with his arm. When Frakes entered in the third quarter, he was able to move the offense with the pass and put 10 points on the board with 143 yards and a touchdown.
It's likely both players will continue to see action throughout the year, unless one player takes control at the position, so let's take a look at some of the plays stood out on Saturday and showcase each player's skill set.
Both quarterbacks are mobile, which will be key for offensive coordinator Tim Beck.
In this clip, we see what could be a strength for Pavia as far as throwing the football on the run. He stepped up against pressure on the Aggies first possession and hit Jordin Parker for a 35-yard gain. Here it's first down and Pavia moves to his right and finds Parker in the flat. Parker had four receptions for 59 yards. He comes across the formation in motion and Pavia hits him on the move.
Pavia rushed for 36 yards, getting carries in the option, broken plays and in this case a designed run up the middle for 27 yards, which was the Aggies only rush play that went for more than 10 yards. The Aggies spread the field with four receivers and Pavia made a player miss.
Frakes rushed for nearly 1,000 yards in his senior season in Norman, Oklahoma. He ran an RPO offense in high school, but he shows on this play his athletic ability as Nevada blitzes and appears to have an angle on Frakes, who makes a hesitation move on a defender and turns upfield for the first down.
Pavia was 9 for 20 passing for 75 yards and he moved the Aggies into scoring territory on the first two possessions of the game, but he was also intercepted three times. One of them was a tipped pass that should have been caught by receivers. His second interception was probably his worst decision of the night, although it was hard to tell what he was seeing off the broadcast.
The Aggies did a lot of motion with their receivers or lined a slot up in the backfield. Again off play action, it appears Pavia is looking for slot Jonathan Brady on a wheel route against a Nevada defensive back. Nevada looks like its in either man or Cover 3 and Brady may have a step when Pavia throws the ball, but you can see the spacing isn't great as tight end JJ Jones and receiver Dominic Gicinto are also in the area, making it an easy interception for the DB coming off his man.
What stood out to me and from the clips I showed of him on his feet, Pavia looked like he had good protection and the linebackers had their backs turned. He could have gained the first down and more if he would have tucked the ball.
Frakes's first FBS pass attempt went 67 yards to Justice Powers. The Aggies are in 21 personnel (two running backs, one tight end) in shot gun pro set formation. Nevada showed two-high safeties throughout the game until an Aggie QB proved he could hurt them. It looks like Nevada was either blitzing or bit on the play action, but Powers was facing man-to-man, selling a hitch. Frakes does a good job with his pump fake on the hitch-and-go and delivers the ball in stride and Powers does the rest.
The next play came on the same series with the same personnel grouping, with Frakes again using play action and throwing a quick fade to Kordell David in the corner of the end zone.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: New Mexico State Film Room: Breaking down Aggies QB position
