It will be really interesting next year, won't it? I feel like we'll have 4 legitimate options next season.
The bar has been raised at Minnesota in terms of the caliber of QB play we should expect to see going forward. Sure, the improved WR and OL play had a lot to do with it, too, but we've gotten solid QB play this season and it should only continue to get better going forward. So, while we have some uncertainty going in to next season, it's fair to expect that whoever wins the job will perform even better than our QBs this season.
Here's a summary of our team QB rating by season the past 5 years:
2014: 119.5
2015: 120.2
2016: 114.7
2017: 105.5
2018: 129.5
With how young our offense is, these numbers should only trend upward going forward, so I feel like we'll be in good hands regardless of who wins the job because that person will have beaten out multiple other legitimate options.
Burns discussed the incoming QBs Clark and Kramer on one of his recent podcasts. He mentioned Kramer's HS offense is significantly different from what the Gophers run so he may face a steeper learning curve, but is very athletic and talented. Said the staff has sky high expectations for Clark, who has been tearing it up his senior year and it sounds like is on the verge of a 4 star bump.
It will be really interesting, and I am so excited for next season in general. The schedule is favorable, and we are not losing a ton of seniors. We will miss Greene, Weyler, Cashman and a few others, but we will (hopefully) be getting back Smith, Brooks, and Winfield, and hopefully our incoming 2019 recruits can have a similar impact to our 2018 class. If they do, we'll be in great shape. If our offense can minimize mistakes, and our defense plays the way it has since Rossi took over, I see no reason we can't win at least 8 games.
Sorry, I strayed a little bit off topic! I am admittedly still basking in the glory of beating Wisconsin, and was getting more and more pumped for next season as I continued to type. The kool-aid tastes great!