Philip Nelson Is Leaving The Gopher Program UPDATED 1/29: Transferring to Rutgers

[MNVCGUY]

If the coaches knew Nelson was leaving, then why did he play in the bowl game, let alone start? Everything we've seen about this staff points to them doing whatever it takes to build a winning program and playing Nelson as much as they did doesn't do that.

I would agree that if they knew for certain he was going to transfer they would have started Mitch and only played Nelson in and emergency or injury situation. I am sure they had seen some indications that he was not happy with things in general but if they knew for sure he was gone he would not have seen the field against Syracuse in order to give Mitch as many game reps as possible.

 

[monk10]

It is too early to joke that Rutgers lost their WR commit when Nelson showed interest?

 

[MaxyJR1]

Rutgers closing in on ex-Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen as offensive coordinator according to twitter sources.

 

[Curseislifted33]

It is too early to joke that Rutgers lost their WR commit when Nelson showed interest?

hahahaha

 

[tjgopher]

This is strange. Rutgers is a train wreck right now. They were humiliated last year on the field, losing six of their last 8 games, have a staff on the hotseat, lost multiple recruits over the past two months, including another WR yesterday, have no current offensive coordinator on staff, and are in turmoil.

Nelson is leaving a perceived rising program in Minnesota for possibly there?

 

[RodentRampage]

This is strange. Rutgers is a train wreck right now. They were humiliated last year on the field, losing six of their last 8 games, have a staff on the hotseat, lost multiple recruits over the past two months, including another WR yesterday, have no current offensive coordinator on staff, and are in turmoil.

Nelson is leaving a perceived rising program in Minnesota for possibly there?

I don't know what their QB situation is, and I don't know that we are really sure what Nelson is really looking for. Maybe he feels that if he transfers to Rutgers he will be the starter. He probably could guarantee himself a position as a starter if he went to the FCS level. It's possible that he could transfer to Rutgers and wind up on the bench.

 

[tjgopher]

I don't know what their QB situation is, and I don't know that we are really sure what Nelson is really looking for. Maybe he feels that if he transfers to Rutgers he will be the starter. He probably could guarantee himself a position as a starter if he went to the FCS level. It's possible that he could transfer to Rutgers and wind up on the bench.

I know, that's the thing. There are no more guarantees at Rutgers than there were here. He could have stayed here and probably been the starter and had his family 90 miles away. But, he wants to ditch that and potentially run to that brush fire?

 

[RodentRampage]

I know, that's the thing. There are no more guarantees at Rutgers than there were here. He could have stayed here and probably been the starter and had his family 90 miles away. But, he wants to ditch that and potentially run to that brush fire?

It's hard to say. Perhaps he didn't like the uncertainty of not knowing if he would be the starter on any given week, or didn't like being benched in the game. It would be a shame to transfer to become the every-game starter, only to ride the bench.

 

[Governor Sibley]

Nelson must've been miserable here.

That kind of bums me out.

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

Reality sucks.

If I only had a dollar for every kid who was "the man" his entire HS career, hit campus to find out he's not all that, and quit or transfer after two years or less. Sobering....

 

[Oregon Gopher]

Nelson must've been miserable here.

That kind of bums me out.

A soft side to Studwell? Nice to see- might live up to your moniker one of these days. Scott was always great around sick kids- struck me as a class act.

 

[e.bigelow]

Interesting article I stumbled across this morning. For those of us interested in PN9's final destination. Interesting to read more "comments" from Philip's father.

Rutgers football: Transfer decision by former Minnesota QB Philip Nelson will be made by Friday

Former Minnesota quarterback Philip Nelson's visit to Rutgers last weekend went "really well," according to his father, Pat. The question is if that visit left enough of an impression for Nelson to accept Rutgers' scholarship offer. The answer will come within the next 72 hours.

http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/i..._qb_philip_nelson_will_be_made_by_friday.html

 

[2nd Degree Gopher]

Interesting article I stumbled across this morning. For those of us interested in PN9's final destination. Interesting to read more "comments" from Philip's father.

Rutgers football: Transfer decision by former Minnesota QB Philip Nelson will be made by Friday

Former Minnesota quarterback Philip Nelson's visit to Rutgers last weekend went "really well," according to his father, Pat. The question is if that visit left enough of an impression for Nelson to accept Rutgers' scholarship offer. The answer will come within the next 72 hours.

http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/i..._qb_philip_nelson_will_be_made_by_friday.html

Thanks for the info. I have been sort of surprised that it has taken this long, figuring that he will want to get into school someplace for spring semester.

 

[jaymil]

Rutgers is a mess and Kansas St. likes to run the ball and run it with their QB's. There's also no guarantee he ever starts for either team. Best of luck to him though, I think his reasoning of leaving for a passing team may have just been an excuse. He just needed a change of scenery.

 

[e.bigelow]

Rutgers is a mess and Kansas St. likes to run the ball and run it with their QB's. There's also no guarantee he ever starts for either team. Best of luck to him though, I think his reasoning of leaving for a passing team may have just been an excuse. He just needed a change of scenery.

I found Pat's comments surprising that all Philip wants to do is 'win' and that he enjoys a strong QB competition for the starting nod. Didn't he have that here? I think he was just sick of running the football here and getting dinged up.

All in all, MV over on The Daily Gopher had a good summary on what PN9's decision to leave was that I am in agreement with pretty fully. It is in the comments section of the Melvin Holland commitment post. Was a good read.

 

[Breakin' The Plane]

Rutgers is a mess and Kansas St. likes to run the ball and run it with their QB's. There's also no guarantee he ever starts for either team. Best of luck to him though, I think his reasoning of leaving for a passing team may have just been an excuse. He just needed a change of scenery.

I have nothing to go on, but I really think his old man had a big hand in this. I think his dad really thought Phil was going to play pro ball and realized it was not going to happen with his numbers here, so he staryed pushing for a transfer.

 

[Winnipegopher]

In a way it is sad. Transfers have no idea of value until they declare. In many cases (Shortell, Nelson, Harbison), their value is likely far less than what they perceived their value to be. It would be a mess but one wonders if it would be better for players to have a short window to discuss potential transfers with potential suitors. If no demand was there, they go back to their original school.

 

[fan of Ray Williams]

Interesting article I stumbled across this morning. For those of us interested in PN9's final destination. Interesting to read more "comments" from Philip's father.

Rutgers football: Transfer decision by former Minnesota QB Philip Nelson will be made by Friday

Former Minnesota quarterback Philip Nelson's visit to Rutgers last weekend went "really well," according to his father, Pat. The question is if that visit left enough of an impression for Nelson to accept Rutgers' scholarship offer. The answer will come within the next 72 hours.

http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/i..._qb_philip_nelson_will_be_made_by_friday.html

Thanks for posting.

"That was one of the talking points that we had with Coach Flood," Pat Nelson said. "We asked what his expectations were for the new OC coming in and he was pretty clear about staying in the pro-style offense and what this coordinator's attributes have to be. We're very comfortable with that. Although they've changed OCs quite a few times, it's always been the same (style), so we're comfortable that it's going to be the same pro-style offense. The way Rutgers plays offense is really more suited toward Philip's talents and Philip was very comfortable with that."

 

[Costa Rican Gopher]

I found Pat's comments surprising that all Philip wants to do is 'win' and that he enjoys a strong QB competition for the starting nod. Didn't he have that here? I think he was just sick of running the football here and getting dinged up.

All in all, MV over on The Daily Gopher had a good summary on what PN9's decision to leave was that I am in agreement with pretty fully. It is in the comments section of the Melvin Holland commitment post. Was a good read.

Agreed. Nelson signed up to run a certain system & then they changed it. It's a system he's not as well suited to as the one he signed up for.

Add in the politics among the coaching staff as to who should start, his winning streak, playing with injury & I can see why he wanted out. No one has to be the bad guy.

 

[Maximus]

Agreed. Nelson signed up to run a certain system & then they changed it. It's a system he's not as well suited to as the one he signed up for.

Kill changed his system? Serious question....I thought it was the same from their NIU days?

"I had a chance to sit down with Coach Zebrowski and watch film from their Northern Illinois days. The coaches told me that they are really interested in me and that they think I am a really good fit for their offense and I have to agree. They run a very complex offense and it fits exactly what I do best. They use multiple formations and use the quarterback from every possible spot, under center, the pistol, and shot gun. I am not a running quarterback, but a quarterback who can run and that is what the coaches feel fits their offense. They use their quarterback in a lot of different ways and that is very exciting to me and has me very interested in Minnesota." - Nelson after he signed

 

[t-docious]

purely specualtion, but i find it interesting that no one has brought up a female speculation. Maybe he had his heart torn out or has a stalker.... that would could make a guy want to leave...

 

[Iceland12]

This could be what Mr.Bigelow was referring to over at The Daily Gopher.

 Nelson's ceiling
Remember, Mankato West’s offense was based upon very quick reads and progressions with a goal of getting the ball out quickly. Nelson had a mastery of that style of offense, especially from the gun, and could see where the blitz was coming from to locate the hot routes. His fast release and short-mid accuracy were perfect for that style, which is a scheme similar to what Limegrover ran at NIU.

When they moved to the Big Ten (specifically by the time they played TTU), the offense shifted away from the NIU “power spread” to a more traditional play-action heavy, under center based passing attack. The routes, in turn, become longer, the offensive line needs to protect differently and the QB needs to locate the rusher quickly after he turns back around/gets a wider view of the field. Nelson simply wasn’t as good at that as Mitch, plus some additional factors that contribute to why there was a push from some of the staff to get Leidner more snaps this season opposed to just letting Nelson be the man.

"All models are wrong but some are useful."


 To expand
The offensive staff was evenly split between Nelson and Leidner. From my understanding, the Leidner faction felt he was “grittier” or more of a gamer than Phil, whereas Nelson had very strong skills of his own and folks recognized they were asking him to refine is style a bit. Without knowing who is on either side, my guess is Coach Z was a Leidner guy since I recall reports from early on last Spring that he was pushing for Mitch (and Streveler) to get even more reps in practice and some game snaps.

One thing I do see in Mitch, at least from a TV viewing angle, is his expression doesn’t change behind the line. Sure, he gets fired up after big plays, but he never appears to get rattled by pressure or the moment. I mean, he calmly marched down the Big House, twice, on extremely long 1st half drives in his first ever Big Ten start. He also appears to grow in the bowl game, so hopefully he take expand on his game a bit and make that second year jump.

"All models are wrong but some are useful."

by Matt H. on Jan 28, 2014 | 3:11 PM up reply

 

[e.bigelow]

Exactly, Iceland12. Thanks.

 

[tikited]

This could be what Mr.Bigelow was referring to over at The Daily Gopher.

 Nelson's ceiling
Remember, Mankato West’s offense was based upon very quick reads and progressions with a goal of getting the ball out quickly. Nelson had a mastery of that style of offense, especially from the gun, and could see where the blitz was coming from to locate the hot routes. His fast release and short-mid accuracy were perfect for that style, which is a scheme similar to what Limegrover ran at NIU.

When they moved to the Big Ten (specifically by the time they played TTU), the offense shifted away from the NIU “power spread” to a more traditional play-action heavy, under center based passing attack. The routes, in turn, become longer, the offensive line needs to protect differently and the QB needs to locate the rusher quickly after he turns back around/gets a wider view of the field. Nelson simply wasn’t as good at that as Mitch, plus some additional factors that contribute to why there was a push from some of the staff to get Leidner more snaps this season opposed to just letting Nelson be the man.

"All models are wrong but some are useful."


 To expand
The offensive staff was evenly split between Nelson and Leidner. From my understanding, the Leidner faction felt he was “grittier” or more of a gamer than Phil, whereas Nelson had very strong skills of his own and folks recognized they were asking him to refine is style a bit. Without knowing who is on either side, my guess is Coach Z was a Leidner guy since I recall reports from early on last Spring that he was pushing for Mitch (and Streveler) to get even more reps in practice and some game snaps.

One thing I do see in Mitch, at least from a TV viewing angle, is his expression doesn’t change behind the line. Sure, he gets fired up after big plays, but he never appears to get rattled by pressure or the moment. I mean, he calmly marched down the Big House, twice, on extremely long 1st half drives in his first ever Big Ten start. He also appears to grow in the bowl game, so hopefully he take expand on his game a bit and make that second year jump.

"All models are wrong but some are useful."

by Matt H. on Jan 28, 2014 | 3:11 PM up reply

A lot of this explains why I like Mitch better. I still worry we are years away from that special QB, but I have more faith in Mitch than I did with Phil.

 

[positively4thstreet]

Rutgers just hired Ralph Friedgen as OC. Good hire for them.

 

[Maximus]

This could be what Mr.Bigelow was referring to over at The Daily Gopher.

Answered my question about the switch in offense as well. Thanks

 

[beavergopher]

Rutgers just hired Ralph Friedgen as OC. Good hire for them.

He got the shaft by Maryland.

 

[positively4thstreet]

He got the shaft by Maryland.

And now they get to play him and the "coach-in-waiting" they let slip away, James Franklin.

 

[e.bigelow]

Thanks for posting. "That was one of the talking points that we had with Coach Flood," Pat Nelson said. "We asked what his expectations were for the new OC coming in and he was pretty clear about staying in the pro-style offense and what this coordinator's attributes have to be. We're very comfortable with that. Although they've changed OCs quite a few times, it's always been the same (style), so we're comfortable that it's going to be the same pro-style offense. The way Rutgers plays offense is really more suited toward Philip's talents and Philip was very comfortable with that."

These are the comments I was most surprised to read. Really makes me think Daddy had a lot to do with his leaving.

 

[Nate]

10 Big Ten stories you should read today

With Philip Nelson gone—likely to Rutgers or Kansas State–Mitch Leidner’s role on the Minnesota football has changed. It looks like his quarterback job to lose.
I think he’ll do just fine. But I wanna see what some of the young signal-callers look like this spring, especially Chris Streveler.


http://btn.com/2014/01/29/10-big-ten-stories-you-should-read-today/?cmp=user+shared+twitter