Cole Kramer

[Dano564]

Lead or not, it's a close game in doubt. You are assuming Kramer would only be used to kill clock. I am suspecting he's being developed to do more.

I think he's being developed to do more, but in 2021, if Tanner gets hurt in practice this week and can't start, Zack Annexstad would be your starter.

Same if we need a QB to finish a game where we are behind by 10. It's going to be Annexstad.

 

[Gopher 461]

He has played the exact same role as Seth Green -- even thrown a pass. What, pray tell, have you seen in watching Gopher games that makes you suspect he's being developed into more than our wildcat quarterback?

Competitor, leader, intelligent.. 4.5/4.6 speed. Accurate passer. Split T/Winged T traditional quarterback that has learned the RPO by working his ass off. Coaches see his development. Remains to be seen if he can beat the Illinois freshman and the South Dakota recruit, but much more mobile than Annisted if called upon this year.

 

[Dakota2]

He has played the exact same role as Seth Green -- even thrown a pass. What, pray tell, have you seen in watching Gopher games that makes you suspect he's being developed into more than our wildcat quarterback?

Take note of the position on the field where he has played, for one thing. Take note of the downs he has handled for another (hint: not always in when needing a score or first down).

 

[noamfromm]

Competitor, leader, intelligent.. 4.5/4.6 speed. Accurate passer. Split T/Winged T traditional quarterback that has learned the RPO by working his ass off. Coaches see his development. Remains to be seen if he can beat the Illinois freshman and the South Dakota recruit, but much more mobile than Annisted if called upon this year.

He's thrown one pass -- if that is the evidence we need to say that he has learned the RPO, sure. Otherwise I don't know what in this response is supposed to be evidence that he would be our backup quarterback if Morgan went down (the crux of the discussion that Dakota2 and I are having).

 

[noamfromm]

Take note of the position on the field where he has played, for one thing. Take note of the downs he has handled for another (hint: not always in when needing a score or first down).

When I get some free time I'll see if I can prove your point for you that Kramer has been utilized different than Green -- but from my own memory I think that there were times in which we ran Green similarly, i.e. not just in the red zone -- though I do concede that those types of carries made up the bulk of his runs.

Though that aside, both Seth and Cole have run the wildcat and infrequently (at best) passing out of it -- though Cole's sample size is much smaller. I still don't follow how your points about down/distance and field position are evidence that he would be our backup quarterback or is not just running a single package.

 

[Dakota2]

He's thrown one pass -- if that is the evidence we need to say that he has learned the RPO, sure. Otherwise I don't know what in this response is supposed to be evidence that he would be our backup quarterback if Morgan went down (the crux of the discussion that Dakota2 and I are having).

To be very clear to those interested, I have already stated that if Tanner were not to be available to start on Saturday that Zach would probably get the call.

On the other hand, if Morgan goes down in the second half and Kramer has been in the game several times already, I think they would stay with him because he is in the flow, rather than bring Zach off the bench when he has not had real game experience in three years. But I will also cede if we are down two or three scores that might sway the decision towards Annexstad.

 

[Dakota2]

He's thrown one pass -- if that is the evidence we need to say that he has learned the RPO, sure. Otherwise I don't know what in this response is supposed to be evidence that he would be our backup quarterback if Morgan went down (the crux of the discussion that Dakota2 and I are having).

There are no quarterbacks on our roster three years without learning the RPO.

 

[noamfromm]

To be very clear to those interested, I have already stated that if Tanner were not to be available to start on Saturday that Zach would probably get the call.

On the other hand, if Morgan goes down in the second half and Kramer has been in the game several times already, I think they would stay with him because he is in the flow, rather than bring Zach off the bench when he has not had real game experience in three years. But I will also cede if we are down two or three scores that might sway the decision towards Annexstad.

Gotcha -- I thought you were still saying that Kramer was the number two and would take over if Tanner went down. Regardless, I still don't know how what we've seen from Kramer shows that he's ready or being repped to run our entire offense vs. a wildcat package

 

[Dakota2]

When I get some free time I'll see if I can prove your point for you that Kramer has been utilized different than Green -- but from my own memory I think that there were times in which we ran Green similarly, i.e. not just in the red zone -- though I do concede that those types of carries made up the bulk of his runs.

Though that aside, both Seth and Cole have run the wildcat and infrequently (at best) passing out of it -- though Cole's sample size is much smaller. I still don't follow how your points about down/distance and field position are evidence that he would be our backup quarterback or is not just running a single package.

The point is simple: he is being used in more situations than the Seth package was. Going forward I believe that useage will continue to evolve and expand. Just a feeling. Not provable based on what we have seen so far. Time will tell.

Put another way, I am putting myself in Sanford's seat -- hold your fire; I'm getting better each week -- and seeing the wildcat through the lens of Kramer's talents which are different from Seths.

 

[noamfromm]

There are no quarterbacks on our roster three years without learning the RPO.

I agree -- I just found 461's post an incoherent defense of Kramer -- I was merely stating that what we've seen watching games is one snap of RPO and and lot of snaps of read option.

 

[Dakota2]

Gotcha -- I thought you were still saying that Kramer was the number two and would take over if Tanner went down. Regardless, I still don't know how what we've seen from Kramer shows that he's ready or being repped to run our entire offense vs. a wildcat package

Nope, haven't said Cole is clear No. 2 no matter the situation. But you can't deny he's the one playing.

 

[noamfromm]

Nope, haven't said Cole is clear No. 2 no matter the situation. But you can't deny he's the one playing.

He's playing extremely well for us in his role. I hadn't followed closely enough that your first post saying "Kramer is effectively the No. 2 QB and would probably take over should Tanner go down." had morphed into he would take over for Tanner only in the second half, etc etc

 

[Dakota2]

He's playing extremely well for us in his role. I hadn't followed closely enough that your first post saying "Kramer is effectively the No. 2 QB and would probably take over should Tanner go down." had morphed into he would take over for Tanner only in the second half, etc etc

Fair enough. You could read that the way you did and be justified.

Not to over burden you but it might be worth noting that coming out of high school Bud Grant said Kramer was the best high school QB he had ever seen.

OK, I know, his son's the coach so maybe some bias. Also, busy as Bud has been with hunting and fishing he probably hasn't spent a lot of time scouting high school quarterbacks around the country.

But Bud is a pretty good evaluator of football talent and not a real giddy kind of guy when throwing out praise.

 

[noamfromm]

Fair enough. You could read that the way you did and be justified.

Not to over burden you but it might be worth noting that coming out of high school Bud Grant said Kramer was the best high school QB he had ever seen.

OK, I know, his son's the coach so maybe some bias. Also, busy as Bud has been with hunting and fishing he probably hasn't spent a lot of time scouting high school quarterbacks around the country.

But Bud is a pretty good evaluator of football talent and not a real giddy kind of guy when throwing out praise.

I was quibbling about the evidence for Kramer being our backup quarterback -- I would have no problem with him being our backup quarterback. Burns was extremely high on him out of high school too. He seems like a great kid and a good athlete.

 

[Dakota2]

I was quibbling about the evidence for Kramer being our backup quarterback -- I would have no problem with him being our backup quarterback. Burns was extremely high on him out of high school too. He seems like a great kid and a good athlete.

We could equally quibble about solid evidence anybody else is the backup. As long as Tanner is upright, who knows.

Fleck has a way of fooling us at times. For sure, fans said, Bucky is the next back up and will get the most carries. Yet Fleck made Bryce Capt. For the game, started him, gave him the bulk of the carries, and trusted him in the 4th quarter.

 

[noamfromm]

We could equally quibble about solid evidence anybody else is the backup. As long as Tanner is upright, who knows.

Fleck has a way of fooling us at times. For sure, fans said, Bucky is the next back up and will get the most carries. Yet Fleck made Bryce Capt. For the game, started him, gave him the bulk of the carries, and trusted him in the 4th quarter.

The only thing I have to go on that Annexstad is still the backup is his garbage time series at Colorado and Ryan Burns. If Kramer did indeed start games for us this year I think we'd see some more read option and take advantage of his legs.

 

[Flecknation]

Good to see Fleck put in a backup for once besides the wildcat!

 

[MaxyJR1]

Kramer is not going to QB this team for 4 quarters if Morgan is hurt. It’s simple. Kramer is more shifty than Green, so he gives the team different options in run play calls.

 

[Gopher 461]

If Morgan is hurt during a game and we are in the lead I think there's a good chance Kramer gets the call as he is an excellent ball-handler and game manager who gives the Gophers options. If Morgan is hurt during a game and we're losing I think there's a chance Annextad gets the call because of his passing ability with less reliance on the run game. If Morgan is hurt and can't make the next game PJ has to prepare two, to avoid a PSU/Iowa type situation, and it's an open question who would get the start, but PJ needs two QB's prepared to execute a November game plan.

 

[BigGopher69]

If we're gonna throw the ball 12 times why not play Kramer

 

[MNVCGUY]

If we're gonna throw the ball 12 times why not play Kramer

Because with Morgan in there the defense still has to respect the pass, with Kramer they can focus much more on the run.

That said, if a team can't stop your running game (and Maryland couldn't) we probably could have tossed Kramer in there a little more to add anther rushing option to the mix just for fun.

 

[FredCoxRocks]

Seth Green was good in the wildcat...but I think I like Kramer better.

 

[HoustonTXGopher]

Annexstad throws the ball with such ease, his delivery is so much better than Morgan and far better than Kramer. That being said, there's a lot more to playing QB than just, who has the prettiest, most effortless motion. Hopefully Morgan never gets hurt, but if he does, I would hope the offense doesn't change much and Annexstad steps into Morgan's role.

 

[gophernut1]

Just remember if we did not recruit Kramer, we could of had a stud like Mertz as our QB right now. Mertz's dad didn't want Fleck bringing in a second QB and the choice was made to go to WI instead. Now we are stuck with a QB1 who makes more completions than interceptions and a great Wildcat QB. If Fleck was recruiting "stars" instead of doing what he felt was best for the team we would be in a very different situation. Glad to have Kramer as he plays a great role on the team. Will be interesting to see who is QB1 next year.

 

[noamfromm]

Just remember if we did not recruit Kramer, we could of had a stud like Mertz as our QB right now. Mertz's dad didn't want Fleck bringing in a second QB and the choice was made to go to WI instead. Now we are stuck with a QB1 who makes more completions than interceptions and a great Wildcat QB. If Fleck was recruiting "stars" instead of doing what he felt was best for the team we would be in a very different situation. Glad to have Kramer as he plays a great role on the team. Will be interesting to see who is QB1 next year.

And we got a Jacob Clark

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

Have you watched a Gopher game this year?

You watched them any other year?

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

Just remember if we did not recruit Kramer, we could of had a stud like Mertz as our QB right now. Mertz's dad didn't want Fleck bringing in a second QB and the choice was made to go to WI instead. Now we are stuck with a QB1 who makes more completions than interceptions and a great Wildcat QB. If Fleck was recruiting "stars" instead of doing what he felt was best for the team we would be in a very different situation. Glad to have Kramer as he plays a great role on the team. Will be interesting to see who is QB1 next year.

I am not super interested in adding people to the program that we have to make promises too. If the promises are open ended (you can compete, positions are open, etc.) that's cool. But good programs continue to recruit good players and the ones who don't want competition either choose other schools or transfer out.

I know your post was tongue-in-cheek, but I was just just commenting on people like Mertz.

 

[UST82Gopher]

The thing I love about the Kamer wildcat package is that Tanner goes off the field. I hated that he stayed out there with the Green Line as it was just a wasted player lined up at WR who only keeps one DB mostly out of the play.

The pass by Kramer was a great call and now opposing defenses have to keep that in mind when Kramer is on the field. Yes the throw itself wasn't great, but he got it there and you can bet he was nervous as well which might have caused him to short it a little. Either way, defenses have to respect the fact that he is a legit QB who might put it in the air and isn't just going to run everytime.

There is a lot of potential with this new look wildcat package.

Personally I think he needs to throw that pass 1 out of 10-12 tries. The one time call is not enough for the defense to be honest

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

Personally I think he needs to throw that pass 1 out of 10-12 tries. The one time call is not enough for the defense to be honest

Does it change anything though?

On the one pass it was one on one on that corner....

The defense isn't going to double team that guy under almost any circumstances.

 

[hungan1]

The thing I love about the Kamer wildcat package is that Tanner goes off the field. I hated that he stayed out there with the Green Line as it was just a wasted player lined up at WR who only keeps one DB mostly out of the play.

The pass by Kramer was a great call and now opposing defenses have to keep that in mind when Kramer is on the field. Yes the throw itself wasn't great, but he got it there and you can bet he was nervous as well which might have caused him to short it a little. Either way, defenses have to respect the fact that he is a legit QB who might put it in the air and isn't just going to run everytime.

There is a lot of potential with this new look wildcat package.

I am sure that there are certain Wildcat plays that get serious reps at almost every practice.

What I am curious about is how many reps Annexstad is getting with the starters.