Official 2011 Gopher Fall Camp Thread: Updates, Analysis, Links, etc.



The only really interesting things about the show were in the last two minutes when they talked about top newcomers and surprise players(?, not sure if that was what they labeled it) for the year. I believe those were Jimmy Gjere and Brendan Beal for top newcomers. Devon Wright and Marcus Jones rounded out the surprise picks.

Actually DiNardo picked Brenden Beal as his top newcomer, he said he will battle for time and the only thing he didn't like was his number 1. Linebackers should not wear 1. Griffith chose Marcus Jones. When it turned to under the radar player, DiNardo chose Jimmy Gjere, Griffith chided at 6'7" and 300 pounds he hardly fits under the radar. Griffith then chose Devon Wright.
 

Is Shortell pretty much guaranteed to not be redshirted? If he is as good as it appears, I'd like to redshirt him so we can get 3 years as a starter out of him.
 

Is Shortell pretty much guaranteed to not be redshirted? If he is as good as it appears, I'd like to redshirt him so we can get 3 years as a starter out of him.

Wouldn't say guaranteed but he does certainly appear to be the #2 QB. Kill likes to use a second QB in the regular rotation for designed runs but not necessarily the true #2 (Foreman looks more suited for this role). So, my take is that if Q completely avoids injury, Shortell could still redshirt while holding the #2 spot, or the staff could choose to get him experience in blowout situations (based on their evaluations of the pros and cons of each). Obviously if Q were to be injured in this scenario, Max would be the quarterback.
 


I'm pretty excited about the amount of talent we have at the QB position right now. It seems like we have a lot of guys with a variety of skills. It's going to be nice having the same OC and QB Coach for the next 3-4 years too. I have to imagine Weber would have benefited from having 1 OC and QB Coach his entire career.
 

MadtownGopher said:
Is Shortell pretty much guaranteed to not be redshirted? If he is as good as it appears, I'd like to redshirt him so we can get 3 years as a starter out of him.

I think you have to play the guys in your two deep no matter what. I think you definitely trade whatever marginal improvement he provides this year over solving a problem in 2015. I agree however that if Gray turns out to be as durable as Weber was, it would be nice to RS Max.
 

I think you have to play the guys in your two deep no matter what. I think you definitely trade whatever marginal improvement he provides this year over solving a problem in 2015. I agree however that if Gray turns out to be as durable as Weber was, it would be nice to RS Max.

I want my 2nd QB to have game experience. Two deeps are only one play away from being the man.

I would get upset when Mason kept his starters in way too long against the many creampuff NC opponents. Plus I felt Brewster should have given Marquis more snaps at QB.

You can never have enough guys with PT on the sideline.
 

August 16th Scrimmage

I was unfortunately not able to make it to the scrimmage today, would love to read some thoughts from those of you who were able to be there.

Would have been a great day to spend at the bank!
 



Forgive me, I am not the football minds of a lot of you, but here were some of my observations today.

Wynn had a left ankle issue, ended up in a boot.

Edwards was 2nd team and then Cobb (he looks like the real deal). Bennett reeled off some long runs after the defense got tired, as did Cobb. Not sure how much the defense was substituting, but they seemed like they were out there a long time.

Shortell was still second team, when in trouble runs right and throws well on the run. Looks to have the best arm today. However, Parish had some nice throws (on the hands) and the best catch went to Harris. He sort of tipped it to himself and caught it falling down. Harris was also talked to about having a digit in his rectum before this catch. Gotta love kill, in the grill…

Keise made a nice leaping grab on the sideline. He can get airborne…

Had more fumbles after Wynn left. Although, Gray had two snaps that hit him in the hands.

Both Gray and Shortell look stiff, like they are still thinking too much. Shortell had a nice bullet rolling right, don’t remember to whom. Gray still looks great on his runs
.
Stoudermire looked good and will blitz, I am guessing. He had two sacks. Also, he was shaken up on a tackle, but seemed all right?

Vereen had nice interception and return on a tipped ball. Carter should have had one but dropped it.

The defense was putting some pressure on the QB position today.

The offense is not in sync yet, as expected. Kill had no problem pulling the whole offense off the field and putting in another. Someone else here will have to say where we are at, but it doesn’t look like a well-oiled machine quite yet.
 

Max should play if he's #2.

I want my 2nd QB to have game experience. Two deeps are only one play away from being the man.

I would get upset when Mason kept his starters in way too long against the many creampuff NC opponents. Plus I felt Brewster should have given Marquis more snaps at QB.

You can never have enough guys with PT on the sideline.

I completely agree. If Kill trusts his ability to recruit and develop QBs, there will somebody ready to start in 2015. If Shortell is solidly in the #2 position, he needs to play this year, start to develop and be ready to go if Q goes out. You learn much more in a real game than in practice. Who knows, maybe he beats out Q for #1 next year? Either way, it's a good problem to have.
 

The Harris catch was a thing of beauty: good coverage, good throw and great catch. Cobb and Bennett both ran well. Tinsley was also shaken up and sat out the rest of the scrimmage with Stottlemeire. I though the passing seemed better than it has during other practices.
 

Morning Scrimmage pics: http://www.goldengophergridiron.com/news_article/show/99851?referrer_id

Q looks like a predator with the helmet, dreds, jacked body, armbands and sleeves. I wouldn't mess with him on the field. A shoulder cannon would be sweet though.


mm6_predator_photo_01_dp.jpg
 



I have been at every Gopher practice open to the the public. There is NO chance that Shortell doesn't get a lot of playing time this year. And I would not be shocked if he becomes our starting QB before the season ends (either by injury to Gray or perfomance).
 


Will Stoudemire be on the punt coverage unit? He seems like a guy who would block a couple.

Maybe this guy wins the new Hornung award?
 


Let's just wait a little bit. You are being way to premature in your pronouncements.

I have been at every Gopher practice open to the the public. There is NO chance that Shortell doesn't get a lot of playing time this year. And I would not be shocked if he becomes our starting QB before the season ends (either by injury to Gray or perfomance).

I also was at the scrimmage this morning and watch a couple of other practices last week. From that experience and reading what is being said we all know that Shortell is significantly ahead of everybody else for the second QB position.

From what I have seen it is also clear that he is a better passer than Gray. But to say “And I would not be shocked if he becomes our starting QB before the season ends (either by injury to Gray or performance)” is a little premature. We haven’t even been able to evaluate very well this spring what Gray brings to the table with his running ability. It is just not possible to get a true picture when practices are understandably conducted with no tackling of the QB. We do know though, that Gray’s running ability will be a significant factor in the success of our offense in 2011. We just need to look at what happened when he ran the ball at the QB position last year.

Also we know that Kill and the coaching staff would like to mix it up and use multiple players during a game so I think we will see more than one QB playing this year. I wouldn’t even be surprised if we see Dexter Foreman in the wildcat this year.
 

Why would Dexter Foreman run the wildcat this year when M. Gray is our QB? Is he not a run/pass threat already? As far as i can tell, Foreman is neither a better passer than Gray nor a better runner. Hardly makes sense to bring him in.
 


The fumbling by Gray is a bit disconcerting. He needs to resolve that problem or else he may not be the starting qb by mid-season. There is no question that Kill will pull anyone if he is not performing.
 


Why would Dexter Foreman run the wildcat this year when M. Gray is our QB? Is he not a run/pass threat already? As far as i can tell, Foreman is neither a better passer than Gray nor a better runner. Hardly makes sense to bring him in.

It's something Kill has done in the past even when he has a mobile starting QB. Q will get plenty of runs from the normal flow of the offense but it doesn't hurt to take a few hits off the starting QB, especially in situations where several QB runs in a row are desired. If nothing else you prevent the signal caller from wearing down in such situations.
 

sure hope ryan wynn is going to be okay and the boot on him was just a precaution. would really like an experienced guy like him starting at center all season long. anyone have more details?
 

The fumbling by Gray is a bit disconcerting. He needs to resolve that problem or else he may not be the starting qb by mid-season. There is no question that Kill will pull anyone if he is not performing.

from the main practice thread it sounds like the majority of fumbled snaps by gray were after ryan wynn was taken off the field with a foot and/or ankle injury. may explain some of it (i.e. guessing gray and wynn have their timing down with each other much better). just hope wynn is going to be okay. would like an experienced guy like him starting at center all season long.....especially with it being gray's first full season under center.
 

The fumbling by Gray is a bit disconcerting. He needs to resolve that problem or else he may not be the starting qb by mid-season. There is no question that Kill will pull anyone if he is not performing.

Pull him now. He sucks. Replace the best athlete with a Freshman.

Why don't we wait and see how he looks, oh, I don't know, 3 to 10 weeks from now???? :banghead:

Holy crap.
 



You lose your center it is like losing your big toe. The boot on Wynn could be the sign of a high ankle sprain. That could shelve him for 2-3 weeks.
 

ruppertflywheel said:
You lose your center it is like losing your big toe. The boot on Wynn could be the sign of a high ankle sprain. That could shelve him for 2-3 weeks.

Stripes reference?
 




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