What will Reese Poffenbarger bring to Miami? Breakdown with Stone Labanowitz
Stone Labanowitz from FCS Nation radio joins Alex Donno to break down Albany transfer quarterback Reese Poffenbarger.
Transcript
00:00 Let's break down exactly what the Miami Hurricanes are getting when Reese Poffenbarger arrives.
00:04 You are locked on Canes, your daily podcast on the Miami Hurricanes,
00:10 part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.
00:15 I am Alex Dono, your host. I'm a University of Miami alumnus,
00:26 longtime South Florida sports radio vet, and contributor to allhurricanes.com.
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00:59 Terms and conditions apply. I can't think of anyone who can help us get a better breakdown
01:04 on Reese Poffenbarger than someone who has covered him extensively. Because a lot of people who
01:10 haven't covered Reese and haven't really watched the guy play are making assumptions, whether good
01:15 or bad. There's a lot of assumptions being made. That's why I wanted to bring on Stone LeBanowitz
01:20 from FCS Nation Radio, ESPN West Palm, and the South Florida Express. And Stone, first of all,
01:26 let people know if you can even count how many times you've watched Reese Poffenbarger play at
01:31 Albany. Definitely not. And I think that's what I'm enjoying most. I know how Miami Hurricanes
01:36 fans are. Once they get their teeth on something, they're just not going to let it go. And they're
01:40 trying to break down Reese's film. I'd imagine 90% of them have no clue who plays in the CAA.
01:47 Albany, if it weren't such a popular city, wouldn't know where the hell that is. I've broken
01:51 down so many of his game tapes. I've watched him a bunch. I've had a chance to sit down and pick a
01:56 lot of his teammates and coach his brains. I like Reese's game. I think Miami fans should be excited.
02:01 But could I count the amount of games that I've watched? No, probably not.
02:04 Okay, so let's start with the strengths on Poffenbarger. What are the qualities in his
02:11 game where you think, "Okay, this guy's really good A and B, it can translate from FCS into Power
02:17 5"? Well, first I'll start off with the deep ball. He's got a top two deep ball in the FCS. And I
02:22 think when you first break down some of his film, it's the thing that screams at you. You don't have
02:27 to be a novice or understand quarterbacks to say, "Damn, he's got a very nice deep ball."
02:32 Two, I'd go with his footwork. I think he has the, I'll call it Gen Z footwork. I've been using that
02:38 a lot. Some of these new kids, these young 18-year-olds in high school, their coaches are
02:44 teaching a little less of the mechanics and more of the arm strength, the angles and whatnot. And
02:48 he is a perfect example of that. A lot of his throws are off platform. You can tell that his
02:54 coach at Albany doesn't harp on it a lot. He kind of lets Reese go out and do what he wants. There
03:00 was a quote that his head coach, Greg Cattuso, dropped, I believe, after the quarterfinal matchup
03:04 when they played Villanova. He was sacked, he was wrapped up, and there was at one point,
03:10 you thought there was no way he was getting out of that. And he did get out of that. And he ended
03:13 up throwing a touchdown. And that play specifically was brought up in the postgame. And his head coach,
03:17 Greg Cattuso, said, "Hey, Cowboy's going to Cowboy." And it was just something that I think
03:22 Albany fans took to, FCS fans took to. "Cowboy's going to Cowboy." That's a great description for
03:27 Reese. And then for me, what I like the most is the ability to keep his eyes downfield.
03:33 It's something that you can't really teach. I think it's personality driven. If you're super
03:38 confident in your ability and the guys you have out wide and in the slot, you keep your eyes
03:43 downfield because you know they're going to get open when bleep hits the fan and it's time to
03:47 scramble out. He keeps his eyes up and downfield and makes big plays. He lets it hang a lot of the
03:54 time, depending the scoreline and how much time's left on the clock. So those are some things that
03:58 stick out to me. But like I said, eyes downfield is probably my favorite. And then the ability,
04:04 the ability to throw the deep all the way he does is just kind of ridiculous at times.
04:09 Yeah, it's definitely one of the things that jumps out when we watch the film that is available on
04:13 him. Are there any potential concerns that anyone should have about Reese making the jump into the
04:19 Power Five? Well, he got sacked 35 times this year, and that's a stat you don't like. But of course,
04:25 walking into a Mario Cristobal led team, you can be a little more confident about that. If you go
04:31 down Albany's old line on his left side, 6'4", 3'05", and that right guard 6'5" and that right
04:35 tackle 6'7", the other guys are like 6'1". Walking into Miami at 6'5", 6'6", 6'5", 6'6", 6'6". So
04:42 he'll be comfortable and confident. Like I said, if you're sacked 35 times, there are things that
04:47 that can do to a quarterback's game and their mental, knowing that I'm probably going to have
04:51 happy feet, seeing ghosts, all of those things a lot of FCS quarterbacks deal with because teams
04:56 aren't able to construct an offensive line like Mario is. So I think that'll help. I think it's
05:00 a weakness that'll quickly become a strength for him offensively. And then, you know, I keep seeing
05:06 Miami fans talk about the kid having an "it" factor and all of these things. Like, I think
05:10 that's what his weakness kind of is. He puts his body in harm's way all of the time.
05:16 We threw the word "cowboy" out there. There are plenty of games watching this year where you're
05:21 sitting there saying, "Stop doing that." Like, you don't have to do that. He's not afraid on
05:27 third and distance to kind of tuck the ball and go, but he'll leave his feet or he'll try a spin
05:33 move. And that's not really his forte. So he puts his body in harm's way. So for some, that's a
05:37 weakness. And then for others, that's a strength. I see it as a strength willing to put his body in
05:41 harm's way, but he's a little reckless at times. And that comes with being sacked 35 times,
05:45 feeling like you can't stay in the pocket. But again, it's helped him develop keeping his eyes
05:49 downfield, knowing that a scramble is probably going to happen. But I think up front, he's had
05:53 some problems this year, but those will be solved pretty quickly once he rolls into Coral Gables.
05:58 Now, here's something I got to lean on you heavily for this, because you know,
06:02 Reece Poffenbarger better than anybody who covers Miami. You've spoken to him,
06:08 you've interviewed him. Tell me about the personality.
06:10 Cowboy's going to cowboy. I mean, the kid has a smile on his face. And when he's able to throw
06:17 his arm around his coaches post game, there are little things when you watch Reece where you're
06:20 like, I want to be that kid's teammate. Like the smiles in the pregame, he's not one of the nervous
06:26 types. His teammates love him. I mean, he's had a receiver go for over a thousand yards. He has
06:31 another FBS receiver in Julian Hicks go for about 850. I mean, he's got ballplayers on his team and
06:37 he's super confident. The personality, I feel like he's never shy to say how he feels. And
06:43 Albany, it's not like it's a super popular market. There aren't many eyes on his games. There aren't
06:48 many fans. I was at FCS nation radio when they were making the run to the semis,
06:52 they're trying to get their fans going. There were really no fans out there. And I say that
06:57 reluctantly, but Reece was kind of the driving force for that team. So anything he said, anything
07:02 he did for me, it was watching a lot of the pregame clips, whether it was just his team,
07:07 social media accounts, he's smack dab in the middle of that huddle. He's breaking down that
07:11 team each and every picture or video you see. And it's something that I think comes naturally to him.
07:17 So his leadership, his ability to have fun. I mean, like I said, you never are not seeing a
07:22 smile on his face. Kids got game. I keep seeing Canes fans tag them with gamer. I think you're
07:27 absolutely allowed to do that. Now here's the most, maybe the most important question I can ask
07:34 you because listen, I don't necessarily think Miami is done. He's trying to add quarterbacks.
07:39 They could go for someone like a Talia Tango, Viola, but if the quarterback room stays as is
07:45 heading into the fall and if Miami fans were to see, you know, an open competition between
07:50 Jakari Brown, Reece Poffenbarger, Emery Williams, how would you handicap that stone? Who do you
07:56 think would come out on top? I don't think I have the answer to that question. I can tell you this
08:01 though, in that meeting with Shannon, with Mario, I'd imagine, and I really, I'd be willing to put
08:09 a hefty bet on it, that he was told this position is not yours. You're walking right into a
08:15 competition. We like our guys. Our guys have played for us this season and put decent things on tape.
08:20 So this is by no means your job. And I think that's what Reece wants to hear. Talk about the
08:27 cowboy in him. He's like, you're telling me there's a chance. That's all I need. That's all I need.
08:32 And I think he'll go into that kind of with nothing to lose this house money mentality.
08:37 And for me, who's somebody who has played in the FCS as well, we just want a shot. Just put us in
08:42 the freaking game. And I think that's what Reece is asking for. If he gets enough reps and the
08:46 share count is similar to the other guys, Emery coming off an injury and Jakari kind of being in
08:51 this weird spot with fans and staff, I'd imagine he's going to have his shot. Can the chemistry be
08:57 built in time? Can he build the relationships with the guys that Emery and Jakari already have? And
09:03 maybe to his little brother when he gets in there, he won't have the relationships either.
09:07 I can't handicap it though. I'm not willing to say that he has that 33% chance as the other guys do.
09:15 I'd imagine his is a little smaller, but you give the cowboy a chance. I think he can make something
09:21 shake. Fantastic. And listen, this is tremendous insight. You guys want to follow Stone at
09:27 LeBanowitStone on X and Stone, I think people would love to hear more from you. So let them know
09:32 when and where they can find you on ESPN, West Palm and FCS Nation Radio. Yeah. FCS Nation Radio
09:39 one on X on Twitter, whatever the hell we call it nowadays. We break down the FCS. We just got back
09:43 from Frisco, Texas, South Dakota State won the national championship. I am 10 toes deep into
09:50 the FCS. I think this transfer portal thing, a lot of people who've covered the FCS are upset about
09:54 it. Coaches aren't able to develop their players and whatnot. I think it's cool when you speak to
09:58 some of the coaches, they are using it as an opportunity to put these kids in a better spot
10:03 in their lives than they were prior. If you're telling me a kid like Reese can play in front of
10:08 X amount of fans, but now has a chance to make a little bit of money, play in four or five times
10:14 the fans and play in a conference like the ACC, these players who would have dreamt of doing that
10:19 coming out of high school, they didn't have the opportunity to do that in the FCS. It makes all
10:23 the difference in the world. I'm totally hip with what's going on in the FCS and we're calling it
10:28 the new era. It's circular in all conferences, all divisions. I cover the FCS. I love it.
10:35 Like I said, just got back from Frisco. The team who won the national championship
10:38 beat Reese Poffenbarger pretty badly in the semi 59 to zero. Also at ESPN West Palm Beach,
10:44 I love my family here. I'm on a show daily. I know you know who Ken Levicka is.
10:48 Sure do.
10:48 12 to two, five days a week. We're chopping up. Eric Spolster got paid a little earlier today,
10:54 so we're got two hours, I'm sure on some SPO. Yeah. At LeBanewitz Stone on Twitter,
10:59 at FCS Nation Radio One on Twitter as well, and at ESPN West Palm. That's where you can find
11:04 everything that I got going on, man.
11:06 I love it. And tell KLV I say hello. I love that dude. He's a great guy as well.
11:10 I mean, he's one of the best dudes.
11:11 Love it. Stone LeBanewitz, make sure you guys follow him. Thank you so much for making this
11:16 episode of Locked on Cain's part of your day. We'll talk to you guys again next time on another
11:20 episode right here on the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day.