[Mick]

The other possibility may be worse; while I hope Chryst does well at Tennessee, if he does thrive there, will the narrative be about how his talents were "wasted" at Stanford and how he couldn't be developed properly?

BC

If that is the case, then I would hope our coaching staff would take some of that criticism to heart and adjust player development approaches accordingly.  

And frankly, if Chryst is a good starter at Tennessee against talented SEC defenses, then I should hope our coaching staff would face some criticism for why it didn't happen in four years at Stanford but happened in Knoxville after a couple of months.  

Now, I don't think that'll happen. I think the coaching staff made the right call with Chryst over Burns, and they made the right call to yank Chryst and start Costello (though I wish that change had happened sooner).  Even if Chryst does well, I'd wager that Costello looks even better, so I don't think there will be too much blowback.

Some players do better in different systems. It happens all the time in the NFL. So if he does start and play well – and I hope he does – it is not necessarily an indictment of the staff. It may be simply that he is more suited to the style they play at Tennessee.

From what I've been reading, Tennessee is QB-poor.  Chryst's core competition are two sophomores, since the former starter transferred.  Last year's starter had about 1/2 the ESPN QBR that Chryst had.  And of course, Chryst is a fifth year senior.  Great stopgap find for Tennessee.  Also, he's considered to be an excellent fit for OC Tyson Helton's system.  They want a run-oriented, power football team.

[Mick]

The other possibility may be worse; while I hope Chryst does well at Tennessee, if he does thrive there, will the narrative be about how his talents were "wasted" at Stanford and how he couldn't be developed properly?

BC

If that is the case, then I would hope our coaching staff would take some of that criticism to heart and adjust player development approaches accordingly.  

And frankly, if Chryst is a good starter at Tennessee against talented SEC defenses, then I should hope our coaching staff would face some criticism for why it didn't happen in four years at Stanford but happened in Knoxville after a couple of months.  

Now, I don't think that'll happen. I think the coaching staff made the right call with Chryst over Burns, and they made the right call to yank Chryst and start Costello (though I wish that change had happened sooner).  Even if Chryst does well, I'd wager that Costello looks even better, so I don't think there will be too much blowback.

Some players do better in different systems. It happens all the time in the NFL. So if he does start and play well – and I hope he does – it is not necessarily an indictment of the staff. It may be simply that he is more suited to the style they play at Tennessee.

From what I've been reading, Tennessee is QB-poor.  Chryst's core competition are two sophomores, since the former starter transferred.  Last year's starter had about 1/2 the ESPN QBR that Chryst had.  And of course, Chryst is a fifth year senior.  Great stopgap find for Tennessee.  Also, he's considered to be an excellent fit for OC Tyson Helton's system.  They want a run-oriented, power football team.