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All aboard the Mac Jones hype train! Kirk Herbstreit is the latest to purchase a ticket - and is one of many that's ready for the third-year QBs clean slate in 2023.
The ESPN college football analyst joined The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday afternoon and was asked about the Patriots' offense, Bill O’Brien, and most importantly - Mac Jones.
“I’m 1,000% behind Mac Jones” said Herbstreit when asked about New England’s outlook on offense this season. “Of all the younger quarterbacks who have not had an opportunity to, kind of, prove their consistency and what they can offer, I’m just telling you right now… Mac Jones is going to be Pro Bowl caliber quarterback in the very near future. He’s that good.”
The former college QB and current College Gameday host explained how Jones’ football IQ is what separates him as a signal caller:
“I did a thing for the draft in ‘21, where I sat down with Trevor [Lawrence], and Justin Fields, and Mac…he was by far, by far, the most impressive guy… when you talked to him about the offense,” Herbstreit explained. “He was honestly the most impressive quarterback I’ve ever spoken to in college about what he sees and how his brain processes and how it fires.”
A ringing endorsement, to say the least, from one of college football’s most respected analysts. Herbstreit went onto say that New England’s disastrous season on offense last season was no fault of Mac Jones’:
“Give me a break on what they were doing offensively last year,” Herbstreit said. “He had no chance. Not only did he not have weapons around him, but what they were doing schematically, he had no chance.”
Ready for a mic drop?
“To blame him, is a bunch of bullsh—.”
FWIW - I agree with him, and I also echo what he said next in regards to how the Patriots have improved, and frankly completely revamped the system, heading into 2023:
“You get Billy O’Brien, who is as good of offensive mind as there is, to come in there and work with Mac Jones - I’m telling you right now you’re going to see a drastic change in what he’s doing as a quarterback and what the Patriots are going to do be able to do on that side of the football.”
We’ve already seen it. In the handful of offseason sessions that were open to media, Jones had a calm demeanor about him when commanding the offense and seemed to have a clear understanding of the operation as a whole - something that wasn’t even close to the case in 2022.
The Patriots begin their training camp on Wednesday, July 26 at Gillette Stadium. All training camp practices are free and open to the public, so anyone can come take a gander at the improvement that New England has made this offseason.
Make sure to follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick, and follow @WEEI for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!
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