Any new news on McDonald and Harbison?

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mnsportsgeek

mnsportsgeek

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Is it safe to say that we'll see them on the field in Maroon & Gold this season? It seems like we are just too thin at WR to even think about red shirting these promising recruits.
 

McDonald better be on the field this year and i think he will. no way he get redshirt. not sure on Harbison.
 

They're in school and can't have any supervision by/interaction with the coaches except for Coach Klein. McDonald is #12, Harbison #16. They're still alive.
 

With the lack of top WR's or go to guys I bet neither is redshirted.
 

Rather than start a whole new thread - I'm curious to hear from anyone that follows the team closer than I (or saw spring practices and/or the spring game) what the outlook is like for Fruechte and Engel. Are either of these guys going to get playing time or are they merely here as "depth".
 


I am an optimist, so consider that. I think they will both develop. They are both athletic. My opinion is that Fruechte is a possession type receiver, and is big and strong enough to be effective, but I think he needs a lot of work on fundamentals. Engel is pretty fast and has good hands, but he is not very thick. I think both will play, but they will not be really good players over night. Fruechte needs to learn a lot of technique things and Engel needs to get stronger. that is just my opinion based on watching multiple practices and scrimmages.
 

I all seriousness, I think our WR corps are underrated, especially by us fans. They don't have a lot of game experience, but they are a good group of athletes. I think Coach Poore feels he has a special group. Get 'em the ball, Q!
 

This is third hand, but I've heard Harbison is looking good in captain's practices. I have no details as to why he looks good, but I just assumed it meant he can run and catch and might be able to contribute this fall.
 

IMO

McDonald will absolutely play next year. He is the exact kind of WR that we really lack and I can't imagine a scenario where McDonald gets RS (barring injury).

Harbison. . .that's a little tougher call. I think there is about an 80% chance he plays this season. The only reason why I think there might be a small chance that he gets RS is that I believe he is best served in the slot. We do have a little bit of depth in the slot with Jones - Moulton and even Engel and Green I imagine will be getting some snaps from the slot. If Moulton and Jones are both ahead of Harbison come the 1st game, I wouldn't be shocked if we just planned on RSing Harbison. That said, we are in desperate need of a playmaker and Harbison is supposedly exactly that.

As far as Fruechte and Engel....
I've only seen a bit, but Fruechte doesn't seem extremely agile. He kind of reminds me of GeShun Harris (not the whole luggage thing), in that he's big and tall but he just doesn't seem like is super coordinated. He is supposedly a really hard worker and he is a big/athletic guy so he can certainly turn it around. But I'm not expecting a ton from him right now.

Engel is fast and I think he will get some PT. He isn't large but he is fast and does seem to have good hands.
 



Our receivers don't have great stats, but that doesn't preclude them from having good ones this year. Someone has to catch the ball and I doubt we're going to run the ball more than 60% of the time. This has been discussed ad nauseum, but last year we were in our 4th new offense in 4 years. Add to that Gray switching back to QB and a bunch of new bodies to learn an offense without the aid of upper classmen to help them and it's understandable it didn't look like an air raid on Saturday. I think we're a little more talented at this position than we think.
 

gophmeister said:
Our receivers don't have great stats, but that doesn't preclude them from having good ones this year. Someone has to catch the ball and I doubt we're going to run the ball more than 60% of the time. This has been discussed ad nauseum, but last year we were in our 4th new offense in 4 years. Add to that Gray switching back to QB and a bunch of new bodies to learn an offense without the aid of upper classmen to help them and it's understandable it didn't look like an air raid on Saturday. I think we're a little more talented at this position than we think.
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Last year, 63% of our plays on offense were run plays. I know some of those were originally designed to be pass plays, but that's still a pretty big difference between run and pass. Only Ohio St., Michigan, Nebraska, and Wisconsin had a higher number last year in the B1G. If we're improved this year like we hope, you would think that number would go up since we would be playing with the lead more often.

As for McDonald and Harbison, I really hope we can redshirt one of them.
 


MaxyJR1 said:
Timely article on McDonald.
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That's a good story on Andre. I had no idea about his background and upbringing. I especially liked this quote from him (and completely agree):

"I didn't always have a stable support system. It's something I crave. I need it," he said. "I'll get it with Coach Kill."
 



mattw1067 said:
That's a good story on Andre. I had no idea about his background and upbringing. I especially liked this quote from him (and completely agree):

"I didn't always have a stable support system. It's something I crave. I need it," he said. "I'll get it with Coach Kill."
Click to expand...

I do not know if Jerry Kill will win a Rose Bowl with us and I do not know that he will win a Big Ten Championship, but I do know that he will give every ounce that he has to his players in order to make them better people and players (in that order). No matter how many games we win, I feel the kids will always win and have someone that they can count on. That is saying a lot this day and age and part of the reason I am so proud to have Mr. Kill as our coach.
 

Great story by Phil Miller. I have a lot of respect for McDonald overcoming some awful parents and for the woman who took him in when she didn't really need any more on her plate. Better version of the blindside. Of course a rich family can handle a teenage kid, a single mom in her 20's working 2 jobs? Woah.
 

Great Article! My hat goes off to Andre not only for overcoming an awful situation but for sharing his story. It takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there like he did.
 

One thing that stood out to me at the spring game was Engel's ability to get behind defenders. Whether that was a product of his speed or mistakes by the defenders remains to be seen. I for one am optimistic for our wide receiver corps. I just hope we don't see as many dropsies this season as last.
 

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