[Goose]

Seems strange to say the proof that Chryst didn't develop is his performance in camp.  There is a body of live game experience from which to make that judgment and clearly he was significantly better in his last couple games than in his first couple games;

I agree. There is clear evidence he improved during the year.

and by the end of the season looked like a legitimate starter.

I think this is debatable. Like lots of young QBs, he had times when he looked great, and time where he looked pretty bad. The problem is that in Stanford's
offense, you have to reliably take what is there. You don't need to have a cannon (nice, but not required). But you do need to find and hit the open receiver (if any), and not make a big mistake. Chryst didn't make the big mistake much, but he missed a lot of adequately open guys by making a bad to not-so-good throw.  This accuracy and, to some extent, decision making is where the "development" could be at issue. Now, we can't expect perfection from a first-year starter. But we can expect competence. I would say it is not clearly "bad", but also not clearly "good", or even "OK". Jury still deliberating. Was he the worst QB in the conference? Probably not, but that isn't the standard.

[Goose]

Seems strange to say the proof that Chryst didn't develop is his performance in camp.  There is a body of live game experience from which to make that judgment and clearly he was significantly better in his last couple games than in his first couple games;

I agree. There is clear evidence he improved during the year.

and by the end of the season looked like a legitimate starter.

I think this is debatable. Like lots of young QBs, he had times when he looked great, and time where he looked pretty bad. The problem is that in Stanford's
offense, you have to reliably take what is there. You don't need to have a cannon (nice, but not required). But you do need to find and hit the open receiver (if any), and not make a big mistake. Chryst didn't make the big mistake much, but he missed a lot of adequately open guys by making a bad to not-so-good throw.  This accuracy and, to some extent, decision making is where the "development" could be at issue. Now, we can't expect perfection from a first-year starter. But we can expect competence. I would say it is not clearly "bad", but also not clearly "good", or even "OK". Jury still deliberating. Was he the worst QB in the conference? Probably not, but that isn't the standard.