MarQueis Gray

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Surprised there is not a thread on MarQueis Gray's performance today. For the second straight year, he made multiple clutch plays to bring/keep Floyd home. That third down run today with about 1:35 left was about as clutch as it gets. His scramble and throw to McKnight was another big time play late in the game as was his 4th down TD run to the corner of the end zone. I would say Gray was the best player on the field today, but that honor has to go to Coker.
 

He looked very good today. Kill has been saying all along that he's their best player but people need to be patient with him.
 

They looked to throw a few new looks at Iowa. It looked like they were using McGarry as the "safety" option and Gray checked back to him almost automatically a couple of times.
 

Just like Coach Kill said after the game, "Today Marqueis became a Quarterback".
 



Today Gray was a leader!!! Just what we have been waiting for.
 

Played great today. Was decisive with the ball. Was the best player on the field for Minnesota. Where are all the bench Gray play,
Shortell guys now?
 


Loved the "everyone loves you Marqueis but you can't be every body's best friend. You have to be a leader". Marqueis even talked postgame how he used some words he rarely uses in the huddle and sideline.
 



I thought he made smart decisions with the ball, including not throwing into the flat when he was rolling left.

He also scrambled out of the tackle box a couple of times and threw it to the coach.
 

His GF is about to birth twin boys, hopefully Kill offers them shortly after delivery.....
 

Did MG have a bad pass all day? I think maybe one to McGarry that was about a foot overthrown but that was it.
 

Definite improvement

ButchNashGuy said:
Did MG have a bad pass all day? I think maybe one to McGarry that was about a foot overthrown but that was it.
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I don't remember any bad throws. A few were a bit off target, but there was definite improvement. A couple of the throws were very good, including a post he threaded between defenders to the TE (McGarry?) who made a great catch. It's great to see Gray figuring it out!
 



Dude was beast mode.

I think we played him well. First of all, give him passes he can make. He can hit guys running down the seam and down the sideline. Second, design rollouts and runs. He can shake tackles and outrun people. Third, be patient and let him make mistakes on some series. He's not perfect but playing Shortell a few series a quarter takes Gray out of rhythm. I don't care what anyone says, playing two QBs means you don't have full confidence in either one and both will know that. Pick a horse and ride it. Thankfully Gray just made that decision easy on the coaches. By the way, anyone who thinks Shortell is ready should look at the 2pt conversion where McKnight was WIDE open and Shortell hit some pigeon lineman in the chest with the ball - a blessing in disguise because the pass was headed about 5 feet behind McKnight. I like Max, but he'll have his chance when Gray is playing on Sundays.
 

So, when we lose there are 10 threads about benching Gray, but when we win and he plays great, we get about five people mentioning that he kind of sort of did ok. Noted.
 

fej said:
So, when we lose there are 10 threads about benching Gray, but when we win and he plays great, we get about five people mentioning that he kind of sort of did ok. Noted.
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The alternate side to your holy post is one game a career doesn't make. He had a good game, no doubt about it. The offense looked more effective than it has all year with him leading the way. But now he needs to show consistency and give a decent effort against MSU next week. I don't care if we lose by 30, just keep progressing. Fans will be fully behind him as our QB as long as he can consistently show he belongs out there. Therefore, if next week is an awful performance where we see deer in headlight looks on his face, you'll hear folks questioning whether he's the answer...
 

This was by far Gray's best day throwing the ball this year.

I could be wrong but it looked to me like this was the first game where he just THREW the ball, instead of steering it and guiding it like has previously. He just looked more natural throwing the ball, just cutting it loose. Hopefully it's a sign of things to come.

Two things that probably helped his confidence; not being behind by 20+ points for most of the game, and the Gophers actually did a really good job of protection.
 


Torres9 said:
Dude was beast mode.

I think we played him well. First of all, give him passes he can make. He can hit guys running down the seam and down the sideline. Second, design rollouts and runs. He can shake tackles and outrun people. Third, be patient and let him make mistakes on some series. He's not perfect but playing Shortell a few series a quarter takes Gray out of rhythm. I don't care what anyone says, playing two QBs means you don't have full confidence in either one and both will know that. Pick a horse and ride it. Thankfully Gray just made that decision easy on the coaches. By the way, anyone who thinks Shortell is ready should look at the 2pt conversion where McKnight was WIDE open and Shortell hit some pigeon lineman in the chest with the ball - a blessing in disguise because the pass was headed about 5 feet behind McKnight. I like Max, but he'll have his chance when Gray is playing on Sundays.
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DT got his hand on the ball, making a great play. no fault on max.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
I could be wrong but it looked to me like this was the first game where he just THREW the ball, instead of steering it and guiding it like has previously. He just looked more natural throwing the ball, just cutting it loose. Hopefully it's a sign of things to come.
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There was at least one replay where you could see him go through three or four different options before he made a throw. If I remember right it was incomplete, but I swear that was the first time I saw him go through the full progression. Partial credit has to go to the line, obviously, but from what I could see in the stands it looked like he was making better decisions on his throws and the read options (and there was a time very recently where I would have told you that he made all his decisions on the options before the ball was snapped.) Don't know what it is but it feels like something clicked for him recently.
 

He just seemed so much more comfortable than he has in the past. On the first long pass to Crawford-Tufts, Gray did a great job of looking off the safety. I also think the OL did a solid job of pass-pro.
 

It's amazing what time, coaching, and game experience can do to help a guy improve. Honestly, I think there was a lot of people far too impatient with him, and he's still got a ways to go, but that game was a piece of what he is capable of. If we can get that kind of play from Gray with any sort of consistency next season, we might be pleasantly surprised with the results.

Like I said, he's still learning. Going to MSU next weekend is a different beast. Let's not have everyone overreact if there's some struggles, their defense is tough to say the least.
 


Overreact Here?

Monty519 said:
It's amazing what time, coaching, and game experience can do to help a guy improve. Honestly, I think there was a lot of people far too impatient with him, and he's still got a ways to go, but that game was a piece of what he is capable of. If we can get that kind of play from Gray with any sort of consistency next season, we might be pleasantly surprised with the results.

Like I said, he's still learning. Going to MSU next weekend is a different beast. Let's not have everyone overreact if there's some struggles, their defense is tough to say the least.
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Great idea but I am afraid few people here have here the patience of a four year old. No, that is not correct; my four year old granddaughter has more patience than they do.

We have a long ways to go but it is just that, a journey. So we might as well enjoy it, bumps and all. I personally find watching Kill and his staff doing their thing very interesting, informative and exciting.

GO GOPHERS!
 

The ability to run the ball with at least marginal effectiveness made a big difference. Running the ball is critical not only to Limegrover's offense, but also to Gray's effectiveness.
 

105 rushes 500 yards 4.8 ave. 3 TDs 37 Long 71.4 ave./g
114.52 efficiency 67-132-4 50.8% 940 yards 4 TDs 61 long 134.3 ave./g

His first year at QB is coming together nicely...go Q!
 

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