Gophers in the hunt for a QB

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AtTheLibrary said:
My guess is that QB room looks as follows:

1a. Vic Viramontes
1b. Tanner Morgan
3. Seth Green (if not transferring out)
4. Zack Annexstad (PWO)
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I agree with this. That's the same order I have them in. Fleck commented early on in the season that Morgan looked good in practice but he was trying not to take the redshirt off him. I cant remember his exact words but it was something like that.
 

AtTheLibrary said:
My guess is that QB room looks as follows:

1a. Vic Viramontes
1b. Tanner Morgan
3. Seth Green (if not transferring out)
4. Zack Annexstad (PWO)
Click to expand...

My prediction:

1a. Vic Viramontes
1b. Tanner Morgan
3. Seth Green (if not transferring out)
4. TBD 2018 High School Recruit
5. Zack Annexstad (PWO
 

I hope Seth Green sticks it out and put in the good hard work because we need bodies at the QB spot. We are an injury away from a totally worst season.

1. Vic and Tanner being co-starters.
2. Seth Green
3. PWO Zack and 2018 HS QB
4. PWOs Jaran and Sam


Jaran Roste, 6' 3", 234 lbs, Alexandria MN
Sam Pickerign, 6' 4" - 244 lbs, Alpharetta GA
 

My prediction:

1. Viramontes

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2. Morgan

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Irrelevant: Seth Green -- if he was any good he would've gotten some snaps this year.

As depicted above I also feel Viramontes is head and shoulders above Morgan, and I would be shocked if he were not the starter come Thursday 8/30/18 vs. New Mexico State.
 

I would be shocked if Viramontes is not the starter. You don't recruit a JUCO to sit him on the bench. He still has to come in here and earn the starting job though. It wont be just given to him. Hopefully he does. I've never seen him play and don't know how good he is.
 


Would expect that Morgan at least starts spring with the #1 offense. But also expect Viramontes to get reps with the 1's from the get-go.

Barring injury or complete collapse, both will battle all spring and get reps with the 1's. They'll both have their chance to be named the starter coming out of spring, for the start of fall camp. Or it could still be too close, and will have to wait until Fall for a starter. We'll see.


Also see Pickerign, who is from Georgia but went to Minnehaha Academy and is a legacy recruit, as well as Roste from Alexandria on the roster. Guessing both were PWO's? They'll provide depth in spring, and perhaps get a shot too.



As for Green, it seems the consensus of GH that he has no future at QB. Some combination of he just isn't very good and/or the staff doesn't like him at QB, or else he would've been given a chance to play this season. So not sure if he transfers or switches position, but I'm assuming he won't be in the QB competition this spring unless he is really stubborn.
 


I'm going on this tape for Tanner https://www.hudl.com/profile/5092475/tanner-morgan and just the eye test from practice on Tanner playing catch. If Tanner Morgan is a good Gopher QB I'll be very surprised. Forget what PJ says.

Watch Vic's tape. Note the size difference. Add Vic's experience, subtract the level of play on Tanner's tape, add the wow of Vic and tell me how anyone would conclude 1A and 1B?

We still need another additional QB recruit in addition to Vic in this class.
Maybe Annexstad is a results guy but his footwork and throwing motion are unorthodox, explaining why he has few offers.
Maybe Roste emerges. And ya maybe Morgan does too but he wasn't Scout Team player of the Year, nobody besides PJ has ever said wow...he is by far the shortest of all the QB's which is a handicap. If he is 6'2, you guys can all add 4 inches to your height too.

Seth Green certainly looked better than Morgan but if he didn't see the field this year, why would he next year? Maybe he had an undisclosed injury? Otherwise it's difficult to see he's a factor.

All just my observations. Just like you guys have yours...but they're different than mine.
 

Thanks for the analysis 60's.

Here's the thing: there are no official football practices, that the coaches can coach, in the winter. Just strength & conditioning, and then anything that the football players do on their own, which the NCAA does not allow the coaches to officially be there ... they're too busy anyways, with recruiting.

So given that ... how do the coaches decide who to start out with the 1 offense, etc?? For all intents and purposes, it has to be Morgan. He's the scholarship player left on the roster. The other two are PWO's. I'm assuming Green is out of the picture given that he wasn't allowed to have a shot this year. And I don't think you can reasonably bring in a JUCO "fresh off the boat" and plop him right down with the 1 offense on day one, given that he has zero official practice history with the team.


I'm of course allowing that he could quickly earn a spot as the 1 offense QB, but guessing he'll battle with at least Morgan for most of the spring (again barring injury or complete collapse). That's usually how a spring camp goes.
 



Morgan has to have the slight advantage with a red shirt season under his belt.

But, by Fall practice we'll see if Vic can earn the starting spot. I'd like to see how Pickerign, and Roste do after being in the system for a year. Annexstad may become a surprise. Who knows how he transitions from HS to D1 football.
 

Ya, for sure...I’m not talking about the beginning of spring practice. I’m talking next season.
 

Oregon Gopher said:
I figure as much but will it be reflective of the desperation of signing someone late- someone for the sake of getting a warm body that might be able to throw?


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Like the great Neil McLaurin?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

60's Guy said:
I'm going on this tape for Tanner https://www.hudl.com/profile/5092475/tanner-morgan and just the eye test from practice on Tanner playing catch. If Tanner Morgan is a good Gopher QB I'll be very surprised. Forget what PJ says.

Watch Vic's tape. Note the size difference. Add Vic's experience, subtract the level of play on Tanner's tape, add the wow of Vic and tell me how anyone would conclude 1A and 1B?

We still need another additional QB recruit in addition to Vic in this class.
Maybe Annexstad is a results guy but his footwork and throwing motion are unorthodox, explaining why he has few offers.
Maybe Roste emerges. And ya maybe Morgan does too but he wasn't Scout Team player of the Year, nobody besides PJ has ever said wow...he is by far the shortest of all the QB's which is a handicap. If he is 6'2, you guys can all add 4 inches to your height too.

Seth Green certainly looked better than Morgan but if he didn't see the field this year, why would he next year? Maybe he had an undisclosed injury? Otherwise it's difficult to see he's a factor.

All just my observations. Just like you guys have yours...but they're different than mine.
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Totally disagree with your statement on Zach Annexstad's footwork: https://www.hudl.com/video/3/3081536/5a08a974dfe2a708c4a2bdc4
 




60's Guy said:
Ya, for sure...I’m not talking about the beginning of spring practice. I’m talking next season.
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But I don't think that's valid until we see what happens in spring. My $0.02
 

I think anyone who tries to separate Morgan and Viramontes at this point is talking straight from their rear end.

I don't at all buy the "he's a JUCO, so he's here to start" logic. The Gophers had a last-second bail from their HS QB recruit for 2018, and 2 QBs end their time with the program. They basically have to get a JUCO or other transfer at this point, or the staff is going to have to fit the JUGS machine with a maroon jersey to have spring ball.
 

fmlizard said:
I think anyone who tries to separate Morgan and Viramontes at this point is talking straight from their rear end.

I don't at all buy the "he's a JUCO, so he's here to start" logic. The Gophers had a last-second bail from their HS QB recruit for 2018, and 2 QBs end their time with the program. They basically have to get a JUCO or other transfer at this point, or the staff is going to have to fit the JUGS machine with a maroon jersey to have spring ball.
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They'll have four QBs for spring. Should be plenty ...
 

Vic, Tanner and Zack all look good on tape - passing (Vic running, too). Now if only we can find some receivers.
 


WorkingMyTailOff said:
Tanner is an above average runner as well right? Just not the Leidner with speed that Vic is.
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Is he really 6' 2", 205 lbs? Somehow he looks shorter. He looks like he is a determined hard working QB. I hope that he and Vic Viramontes have a stiff competition for the starting spot.

We need two healthy QBs that can run the offense effectively. The twelve games next year is going to be a grind. I only see three or four games that the Gophers almost certainly will win.
 

At the very least with Viramontes we have a starting candidate with game experience..... and yes, I am aware it is JUCO experience, but Cali Juco 'aint that bad.

I like what I see....toughness, attitude, mobility, really good speed, strong arm. Look like he can really fling it... long, and a lot of zip when needed, and puts the ball where it needs to be. His receiving corps there looked to have really good hands tho..... He will find B1G tackling a helluva lot more competent that what he was running against though, and will need to learn to look off a defender or two in his passing game.

If Croft and Rhoda's passing lacked anything, it was zip... took too long for the ball to arrive allowing the defenders a lot of time to close on the play. Viramontes can fire it.

It'll be interesting to see what the competition looks like in the Spring....Gives us a lot to argue about over the winter.
 

Is PJ still planning on adding a high school QB in this class? It certainly appears like Baldwin is going to head to tOSU and Ahlers has tweeted out within the past couple of days that his next game will be in the "Purple and Gold" (ECU).
 

EG#9 said:
Is PJ still planning on adding a high school QB in this class? It certainly appears like Baldwin is going to head to tOSU and Ahlers has tweeted out within the past couple of days that his next game will be in the "Purple and Gold" (ECU).
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Probably not another one, we already have Zach committed to the Gophers.
 

EG#9 said:
Is PJ still planning on adding a high school QB in this class? It certainly appears like Baldwin is going to head to tOSU and Ahlers has tweeted out within the past couple of days that his next game will be in the "Purple and Gold" (ECU).
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He’s trying to but it’s an uphill battle at this point. BA leaving so late in the recruiting cycle really hurt us.
 

I think that with Zack coming in as a PWO, they can count him as the Gopher's freshman HS QB who frees up a scholie spot. He appears like he has enough tools to be a good QB destined for a RS. The great thing is it appears that he freed up the scholie so that his team mate Curtis Dunlop has a scholie open for him to have if he wants to be a Gopher. I like Zack's self-less attitude.

I like Vic Viramontes' poise. He looks like he wants to will a victory. Tanner Morgan coming out of his red shirt year I feel more comfortable and happy about him not burning his red shirt. We have Roste & Pickerign to battle for third string. Not sure what they are going to do with Green. He's got size and weight and could possibly be encouraged to shift to other positions. Things may change and he decides he badly wants to fight to move up a notch. It may be water over the bridge. PJ Fleck doesn't flinch once his mind is made up.

Observing Tanner and Green's body language in practice says a lot. IMHO, Tanner seems more focused and attentive while Green is more relaxed like he is going through the motions. I could be wrong.

Limiting the amount of red shirts burned this year will pay dividends down the road. I am sure glad they resisted doing that.
 

hungan1 said:
Is he really 6' 2", 205 lbs? Somehow he looks shorter. He looks like he is a determined hard working QB. I hope that he and Vic Viramontes have a stiff competition for the starting spot.

We need two healthy QBs that can run the offense effectively. The twelve games next year is going to be a grind. I only see three or four games that the Gophers almost certainly will win.
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If Tanner is even a hair over 6', I'll wear Becky gear all next year. Seeing him in person, he looks 5'11"ish.
 


Well, how tall is Russell Wilson? I am not saying that we have a Rusell Wilson on our hands. But, a determined QB can be dangerous.
 

The Daily Gopher: JUCO quarterback Victor Viramontes

https://www.thedailygopher.com/2017/11/27/16702882/minnesota-football-recruiting-2017-juco-quarterback-victor-viramontes-commits-to-gophers


Comment section:

Almost certain
I’m "almost certain" we’re overreacting to this news. I realize the Gophers football season was a disappointment. That the last two weeks were embarrassing… And that we’re desperate for something to get excited about around here. Yes, it’s good to get a QB committed. Especially when you have such little depth at such an important position on the roster. And I’m not suggesting Vic Viramontes cannot be good.

But I still don’t understand why he’s any more likely than Morgan to win the QB job next season (or why anyone’s is convinced Vic is going to be the savior for our incredibly broken offense). If it’s because his composite recruiting ranking is .8839 instead of Morgan’s .8375, then I can only refer to the thousands of comments on this message board affirming how unreliable those rankings are. If it’s because playing JUCO ball is considered more important than a redshirt year spent working on the scout team, I’ll grant it’s probably better for development but not significantly so. I guess I’m in the minority of remaining skeptical until proven otherwise. The Gophers have a long history of recruiting QB’s with ratings high enough for us to get excited about, and almost all of them have been massive disappointments. Want a list?

MarQueis Gray – 0.9143
Moses Alipate – 0.9177
Max Shortell – 0.8447
Philip Nelson – N/A (3 stars)
Mitch Leidner – N/A (2 stars)
Chris Streveler – 0.8117
Dimonic Roden-McKinzy – 0.8547
Demry Croft – 0.8531
Seth Green – 0.8813

Only two guys on that entire list (Gray and Leidner) were consistent starters for more than a single season, and both of them were still below-average B1G quarterbacks. To take it a step further, Leidner was probably the most successful guy on that list despite being the most lightly recruited of them all. Yeah, I realize Fleck didn’t sign any of these guys and that he’s supposed to be a brilliant recruiter, etc. That said, I’m pretty sure even his best Western Michigan teams didn’t have a QB that got a sniff in the NFL as a late-round pick or on a practice squad. So, I’ll believe Minnesota has a real QB on its roster once I see it for real in a Big Ten game. Sorry to rain on everybody’s parade with facts.

Posted by MNdailyGuy on Nov 28, 2017 | 1:42 PM

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"Raining down facts"
Vic also got a full RS season at Cal, learning under a very good QB coach who just so happens to have produced Goff (obviously not comparing Vic to Goff, but he still got to be in that QB room and learn).
MN hasn’t had a QB drafted since the 80’s (I think), so comparing that to 4 years at WMU is not exactly on par. Let’s not forget that Ciarrocca is responsible for Joe Flacco from when he was at Delaware; and Zach Terrell was signed by the Ravens as an undrafted FA before being cut. Oh, and he threw for 7,000 yards in 2 years…where-as the Kill/Claeys era had little to zero ability to develop a true QB…so there’s that.
#QB Recruits:
The first 3 recruits were Brewster guys. Gray could have been ok, but the spread (under Brew) is vastly different from what Kill ran…so they switched him to WR. He’s had a solid career now as a 2nd or 3rd TE in the NFL. Alipate was moved to TE b/c Shortell was supposed to be the next QB and Alipate wanted playing time (and was huge). Shortell left the program when it became clear Kill didn’t see him as "the guy" and that he wouldn’t play.
The rest, aside from Green (who still has just as much of a shot at the starting job as Vic or Tanner Morgan), are not what I would call "highly touted." Streveler actually has had a good career at South Dakota as a QB. He left b/c Kill & co. were trying to make him play WR instead. DRM is at Northeastern State and never stood a chance of seeing the field here since Mitch was "the guy." And Demry is/was…well…Demry. He has some raw talent, but was never developed and it sounds like he spit the bit when this group tried to reign him in and develop him. And Green, by most accounts, came here b/c we were one of the only schools that DIDN’T want to make him play WR/TE. He still very well could play QB for the Gophers, we shall see. It has become more and more clear that the previous regime could not identify/recruit, or at least couldn’t develop a true QB. But, you can’t base what THIS coaching staff is capable of on what the previous staff did.
TL;DR – All of that is to say, the previous regime was NOT good in ANY measure at recruiting and/or developing QB’s, but this staff actually DOES have a history of developing talent at that position. So it’s because of that, almost more than his ratings, that I think we’re allowed to be excited about this commit.

Posted by born_a_gopher on Nov 28, 2017 | 2:47 PM
 

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