How long before MarQuies Gray becomes the starter?

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Personally, I think Gray has a steep hill to climb, for reasons that others mentioned earlier (rust, playing behind a high potential two year starter, playing behind the player who could end up holding many passing records). I will admit, I'd feel bad for Adam if he ended up not starting at some point. He's given a lot to the program. That said, I'm for whatever wins games, and that is the coaching staff's decision. It really shouldn't be an argument at this point.
 


Exhibit 1: Chris Leak and Tim Tebow

A dual QB system can work, and I think that is what will happen sooner or later for the Gophers.
 

If we were running Dunbar's offense again, I would think it would be advisable.... dual QB systems can work, but I don't think the success rate is very high. The odds are better than in the NFL, though.
 

To anyone who remembers weber playing at mounds view, he is a player who could play both offense and defense. Having watched almost every game he played at the high school level I can honestly say that he was at least as good, if not better at playing free safety. He hits like a freight train and is never afraid of contact. One of the best defenders I've ever seen. People don't give him enough credit for how athletic he really is.

If Gray ever does take the starting position from Weber (which I think is very unlikely) Brewster should very seriously consider trying him at safety.
 


I like the idea of having depth at the QB position, but I do not doubt Weber's prowess as a safety in HS.
 

I agree, debate premature

My opinion is that Weber is a good to very good QB overall. There are some things that he needs to work on, of course, but that's to be expected. He was a redshirt freshman when he was thrust into the lineup and he's gone through multiple offenses in his time. Given a good o-line and running game, I believe that he will do a good job for us.

One factor I think people under-estimate in this discussion is how long it takes a freshman QB to learn to play the position at the college level. Gray is obviously phenomenally athletic. But, it takes more than physical gifts to play this position (see Travarius Jackson). Gray needs time to learn, develop and refine his skills and decision making. I believe he can become a star at the position, but time will tell if he can learn how to apply his great talent and make the right decisions that are critical to a QB.

Gray should become the starter over Weber if/when he proves that he gives the team a better chance to win. If that happens, it's a good thing for Gopher Football. We want competition and talented guys pushing each other to get better. I highly doubt that it will happen this year, barring injury. It may never happen and Gray gets better while waiting his turn.

I'm just excited that we have this much talent at QB and look forward to watching them develop. I hope we never have to throw a FR or SO in at QB out of desperation again. Having multiple talented options competing for playing time is a great thing! Let the best man win...
 

Mr. Gray was supposed to have been learning the system last year. Then, he wasn't there. His senior year of high school, he was injured and wasn't there. I have no doubts that he can potentially be a very good qb. But, I don't "automatically" make that kind of a great leap of faith that he is a sure thing or that his stardom is a done deal.

As Bud Grant always pointed out, pure talent or speed doesn't count for much if the player isn't able to play through injuries, The player has to always "be there" to develope that talent and to do anything for the team.

Undoubtedly, Mr. Gray's bad luck with injuries and other problems is all behind him and he can start developing. I do recall that Mr. Weber was the Freshman "scout" player of the year when he was a true freshman. In this, his third year, he will be playing his second offensive scheme. He will have to pick this new offense up. Mr. Gray will have to pick this new offense up.

Some of you always think the unknown is far better than what is known. That is certainly a trait that feeds into the recruiting game vs the actual playing of the football game debate that rages on. If someone has been awarded four or five stars by Rivals, some of you automatically consider it to be a fact that player ss far superior and an automatic All-American candidate. Someone here even mentioned Mr. Gray with a number of recent qb's who have starred. And, Mr. Gray hasn't even ever dressed for a Division I Football Game.

I wish him well. He will have to show me what he can do, stay healthy, or at least show he can play hurt and we shall see what he can do. Good luck Mr. Gray! Good luck Mr. Weber!
 

balds said:
A cold hard unobjective look at Weber, without taking into account his glowing intangibiles, reveals this.

1) He is mediocre at best as a passer. Locks on early and throws bullets that are usually only "accurate" if the receiver (Decker) is wide open.

2) Is slow and plodding as a runner.

3) Has superior arm strength, if not accuracy

4) Has incredible toughness.

5) Has solid potential, but as of now is nothing more than an average QB
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Sorry but that is not very good analysis



1 - He's not the most accurate passer ever but he's at least an average passer right now. Keep in mind that our receivers had very little seperation all year and his line gave him 0 time. There were a ton of times where he placed balls perfectly to Kuznia and Green when defenders were draped all over them. He definitely missed some guys but the reason people look at him as a poor passer is because his misses were bad misses where he just over shot or under shot someone

2 - He is far from slow and plodding. He's not Pat White or your traditional 'running QB' but for a pass first guy he has good speed. He can run away from DL and most LBs which is really all you need to be able to do. He broke a good number of fairly long runs. Plus last year he was on one leg for half the year.

3 - He has good, not great arm strength. Its good enough but he's not working with a cannon

4 - agreed, great toughness

5 - For a soon to be junior with minimal talent surrounding him last year he is definitely above average. The coaches of the B10 thought enough of him to call him the 2nd best QB in the conference even though our overall offensive talent was closer to 9th.

If you disregard all that and are just looking at all college QBs he's still better than average. NFL draft sites have him at around the 15-20 best QB in the 2010 draft class right now including upcoming seniors as well as sophomores. In 3 classes he's in the top 20 which to me says very good.
 



lawrence21 said:
As far as Sandy Stephens and Rickey Foggie go, Today's athletes are on a totally different level then athletes of yesteryear (unless you are from Minnesota in which case you aren't even an athlete). I grew up watching Foggie and loved him, but he is no Pryor or Gray or Young or Vick.
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I think we are overrating Gray's athleticism if we are grouping him in athletically with Pryor, Young, and Vick... I hope I am wrong, but from the few clips I've seen, yes he is athletic, but I don't think he is on the same level as those three.
 

4starrecruit said:
Mr. Gray was supposed to have been learning the system last year. Then, he wasn't there. His senior year of high school, he was injured and wasn't there. I have no doubts that he can potentially be a very good qb. But, I don't "automatically" make that kind of a great leap of faith that he is a sure thing or that his stardom is a done deal.

As Bud Grant always pointed out, pure talent or speed doesn't count for much if the player isn't able to play through injuries, The player has to always "be there" to develope that talent and to do anything for the team.

Undoubtedly, Mr. Gray's bad luck with injuries and other problems is all behind him and he can start developing. I do recall that Mr. Weber was the Freshman "scout" player of the year when he was a true freshman. In this, his third year, he will be playing his second offensive scheme. He will have to pick this new offense up. Mr. Gray will have to pick this new offense up.

Some of you always think the unknown is far better than what is known. That is certainly a trait that feeds into the recruiting game vs the actual playing of the football game debate that rages on. If someone has been awarded four or five stars by Rivals, some of you automatically consider it to be a fact that player ss far superior and an automatic All-American candidate. Someone here even mentioned Mr. Gray with a number of recent qb's who have starred. And, Mr. Gray hasn't even ever dressed for a Division I Football Game.

I wish him well. He will have to show me what he can do, stay healthy, or at least show he can play hurt and we shall see what he can do. Good luck Mr. Gray! Good luck Mr. Weber!
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This is irrevalent as the offensive system has changed since then, so whether he learned that system or not last year, he would still have to learn a new system this season, as does Weber.

Now, Weber has had an extra two years of playing college football, so maybe he adjusts to the new system a little faster than Gray does because of that. And I would think that Weber will be the starter from day one this season.

The reason for the debate in the first place is because of upside. Gray has more of it. Weber is a competent quarterback, but is nothing overly special. In other words, regardless of Weber's first two years in the program, during which he has done a very good job for the most part, he is not beyond reproach. If Gray progresses to the point where he deserves to play, he will. If he doesn't, he'll back up and see the field every once in awhile.

The point regarding whether Gray replaces Weber or not as the starter is somewhat moot since Brewster has already said both will play this year regardless. Taking this into account, I guess we could take the old "it doesn't really matter who starts, but rather, who finishes" viewpoint.
 

tomdog said:
He didn't have the ability to find secondary receivers (it became an issue after Decker's injury) and was very inaccurate.
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Shocking....he doesn't look for secondary receivers. Maybe he didn't because Decker was open.

Did Kuznia's 31 catches come from deflections off Decker's hands?

Inaccurate? He had the best completion percentage out of the top 10 passers in the conference. The three passers who threw for more yards all were in double digits in picks....Weber had 8.
 

It will be interesting to see how it plays out....Looking forward to seeing both have good seasons.

Brewster, can we at least see one set of plays where they are both in the game? "Weber fake handoff to Decker on the endaround, pitch to Gray, throws it back to Weber down the far sideline, evades a tackler and is into the endzone!!!!! Gopher lead the Trojans 20-7!!!!!!"
 



They will both play, but Weber will be the man. He has flaws as pointed out, but look at the progress he made last yr vs. Fr. yr. With a little protection and technique work on his throwing he could be pretty darn good. Most Qb's don't get a chance to start for 4 yrs. If he improves some each yr. look out. People have said he didn't have any receivers except Decker, I disagree, he locked in and didn't even throw to the open man alot (most ) of the time . f he can address this he will be tough to move out. this yr. Gray will get his snaps and be brought along slowly for his benefit. Next yr. could be a real dog fight.
 

Schnoodler said:
Weber is one of the top returning quarterbacks in the big ten. Gray is a top quarterback recruit. We're a long way from a debate.
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So was Todd Boeckman. And all Pryor was is a QB recruit. I remember last year reading on somewhere (BTN's website possibly) that a couple of guys thought that Gray was more prepared to play as a true freshman than Pryor was. If that is true, I don't know if we are that far away from a debate.
 

Gophers4Life said:
Exhibit 1: Chris Leak and Tim Tebow

A dual QB system can work, and I think that is what will happen sooner or later for the Gophers.
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I agree. Before anyone freaks out - I don't think Gray is Tim Tebow. BUT I also don't think Weber is Chris Leak either.
 

Debate all you wish. Talk is easy. Talk doesn't cost much. You can try to give legs to hype with debate and talk, but, hype is always just hype until that hype has either been shown to be all that it is hyped-up to be or has shown that it was merely another case of over-hype. "Show me..." I think young Mr. Weber is going to have another great season if he gets healthy and stays healthy. Especially if the offensive line proves to be improved and an adequate Big Ten offensive line and there is a running game that can support the offense, flavor the offense, present an identity to the offense and dictate which direction the offense takes. In other words: the offense needs to NOT be quarterback dependent as much and needs the quarterback, and the passing game to only be a part of the offense. The running game needs to be good enough to stand on it's own and to put the team on it's collective backs rather than to call for the qb to put the team on his back. The offense has to have seperate parts and each part needs to be productive in it's own right. It needs to be 3 dimensional. Yet, the running game needs to be the bread and butter, the one aspect of the offense that can always be counted on regardless of weather conditions and it needs to function against all levels of competition. This is Big Ten Football. When Big Ten teams quit messing around with these fancy little offenses and start remembering that the two keys in Midwest, Big Ten Football are to be able to run the ball and to stop the run first, the Big Ten will always represent itself very well.

The new stadium brings Gopher Football back outdoors. Let there be wind. Let there be rain. Let there be sleet. Let there be cold, icy winds in the month of November. And let the Gophers be efficient at running the football and hanging on to the football. Let them stop the run. Lets see how many teams come into TCF BANK STADIUM in late October and November on a day when Mother Nature decides to be blustery and come out with a victory over the home team. Make a reputation for this stadium to be the coldest stadium in November and sometimes in the end of October. (We know it is not really much worse than the other Big Ten weather but let them all THINK it is colder here. And then let the running game go to work. Mix a few passes and qb options in there and be able to run the clock and dictate to the other team how the game is going to be played. THAT is what Minnesota football needs to be all about. Big Ten Football. Start building a team that is capable of doing that. Have it be a team in which the offense puts the team on it's collective backs rather than just a quarterback. And let the defense stop the run! Late October and November will then become the friend of the Golden Gophers at home and on the road.

I don't look for a qb to be the heart and soul of the Minesota Big Ten offense. I look for the Minnesota offense to be the heart and soul of the Minnesota offense and the thing that allows the Minnesota qb to be effective and to stay healthy and help to win football games. Run the ball. Stop the run. That's Minnesota Big Ten football! The month of November is Minnesota's time! Take on the flavor of Minnesota. Utilize the things that Minnesota has a lot of. BE Minnesota. Don't try to be Texas, Florida or USC. Be Minnesota and let the Big Ten teams come into Minnesota in late October and in November. Run the ball. Stop the run.

There is no need to promote too much hype. There is only a need to put the money where a mouth used to be. Let the players show who they are, how they are and what they are. Let the coaches put together a Big Ten football team that is built for Minnesota and that can run the ball and stop the run. Let the cold winds of October and November be the U of M's friend and a part of the Golden Gopher advantage. Big Ten Football is where Minnesota belongs!
 

watched practice

I had a chance to see practice last week and the team scrimmaged for much of the practice. Defense is ahead of the offense and passing game looked terrible. Things I noticed were Gray may start at some point this year. He is bigger and stronger than I thought, throws a better ball and is more natural at the position. I think Weber is a good QB, but not sure he can get us over the top. He actually looked bad in the practice throwing 2 ints. He has a stronger arm, but Gray had much better touch from what I saw. Granted the top WR's are not taking part in spring practice, I don't think we will know much if anything about the offense this spring. Running game was way ahead of passing game and Bennett looked very good. Whaley and Bennett had all the touches in the practice.

I noticed Alipate and the Olson's at the practice watching, Maresh is working with the 3's, and Eskridge sitting out practice.
 


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