PiPress: Gophers to give Moses Alipate a shot at quarterback

[zipsofakron]

Frankly, it's been nauseating not seeing either Gray or Alipate, one of which is taking over next year, getting extended time in a season that has been lost for weeks.


Snippet from Marcus' article below:


<I> University of Minnesota interim football coach Jeff Horton hinted after Saturday's 31-8 loss at Michigan State that he wanted to get redshirt freshman and former Bloomington Jefferson High School quarterback Moses Alipate some experience this week against Illinois.

Horton thought it was only fair to give Alipate, the No. 3 quarterback, an opportunity because he might compete with backup quarterback MarQueis Gray, a sophomore, for the starting spot next season when Adam Weber is gone.

Gray got his first true opportunity at quarterback against Michigan State after previously playing wide receiver this season. But Horton said Sunday that playing three quarterbacks might be difficult for the Gophers (1-9, 0-6 Big Ten) to do unless the games get out of hand — and that's not ideal.

"It's hard getting two guys ready, much less three," he said. "You never know down the stretch here. You hope games aren't away from you where you have to do that. I would like to have every opportunity to try to get (Alipate) in the last two (games). I don't know if that's going to happen, though."

Horton said the 6-foot-5, 245-pound Alipate has worked hard in practice all season and "does a good job preparing." Alipate looked more accurate than Gray with limited repetitions in the spring game, which had fans speculating that he would become Weber's backup.

Weber is likely to finish this season as the starter, Horton said. But Minnesota's first-year offensive coordinator said Gray is clearly ahead of Alipate now because of his running ability and game experience, albeit limited.</I>

 

[MrGopher]

Good!!

I don't even care if he totally sucks it up on the field. Get this guy some experience.

There is even a slim possibility that the rest of the team rallies around a new guy (just like the common effect of putting a backup goalie in) and actually plays with a bit more urgency and crispness.

 

[Silvio]

So let me get this straight. The #2 QB comes into the game and has some success in the limited action he sees, but we can't keep playing him because it isn't fair to the #3 QB? Or is it "I can't work to develop players for next year, because that would be unfair to the players I wouldn't have time to develop."

 

[MrGopher]

So let me get this straight. The #2 QB comes into the game and has some success in the limited action he sees, but we can't keep playing him because it isn't fair to the #3 QB? Or is it "I can't work to develop players for next year, because that would be unfair to the players I wouldn't have time to develop."

I think it's more like "Gray will have nobody to throw to if Gray is not a reciever."

But you're right, it would seem a bit more productive to put Gray in there. But I'll take Alipate given what we've seen the last 4 seasons.

 

[Silvio]

What have you seen from Gray at QB in the last four seasons to suggest he can't be the starter?

 

[MrGopher]

What have you seen from Gray at QB in the last four seasons to suggest he can't be the starter?

I meant what we've seen from Weber in the last 4 seasons.

Don't get me wrong, I would definitely put Gray in there over Alipate. I just think that playing Alipate is way more productive than playing Weber.

 

[MaxyJR1]

I think it is more that Horton sees the effort that some players are giving and wants to reward it by giving them some time in these last few games. It also gets some action on film for the next coach.

 

[goldengophers]

What have you seen from Gray at QB in the last four seasons to suggest he can't be the starter?

Are you honestly complaining about giving the 3rd string QB a chance to play in a 1-9 season? I want to see both Gray and Alipate play QB in these last two games.

 

[GRGOPHER]

I've been watching our away games on TV and attending the last home game to see one thing....Gray @ QB and the coaches try something new.
(At least the playbook is better..which BTW confirms that Horton should never have been calling the plays...at least Hammock doesn't send a back into the center of the line play after play after play...except for that 4th and 1).
I've seen what happens when playing the group that "gives us the best chance to win". In fact I've seen it over and over again.
(How's that working out for you Mr. Horton????).
Insane!
(I have no problem with giving Moses some snaps...I mean it should have been done long ago. I mean think about it...AW could have broken a leg on the 1st snap of the season!).

 

[MaxyJR1]

Maybe Brewster was the pound the rock guy and Horton was just doing what was asked of him. Just a thought.

 

[station19]

Maybe Brewster was the pound the rock guy and Horton was just doing what was asked of him. Just a thought.

And maybe Hammock is just doing what Horton asks of him.

 

[MrGopher]

And maybe Hammock is just doing what Horton asks of him.

And brew was just doing what maturi told him... and so on and so on.

I knew there was a way to pin this on Obama, and now I found it!

 

[diehard]

This would be good. Gray getting several series and Alipate getting one. As long as we do not burn the redshirt of next year's starting QB.

 

[thailleagle]

I think it's more like "Gray will have nobody to throw to if Gray is not a reciever."

McKnight???

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

I would love to see a situation where Gray and Alipate essentially split the snaps in the next couple of games.

For me, it's more than getting the guy into the game (and not just play 4 plays), it's that I want Alipate and Gray to have experience knowing they are playing the game. I don't really buy the idea that we wouldn't have anyone to throw the ball to if Gray was playing QB. I would think a combo of Lair, McKnight, Eure, Allen, and Bennett could be targeted and even Kiese, Barker, and Carpenter could fill a spot to allow our future QB to get some snaps in at the end of our two most meaningless football games.

 

[calminnfan]

Actually the receiver corp is starting to look good. I am kinda curious how Allen will do with some more experience. That actually should be a strength next year.

 

[Rosemountian]

I would love to see a situation where Gray gets all the snap that hypothetically would go to Alipate, because if Alipate is the QB the program is going nowhere.

I don't know enough about Gray to say something one way or the other, But I have seen enough of Alipate to know that if he is the QB for the next 3 years it is going to be a long 3 years regardless of the coach.


Also, if you read articles from other sources about what Horton was actually saying after the game, it was less of a "hint" and more of a subtle jab at all the people who have been calling for Weber's job. I doubt Alipate sees action.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

I would love to see a situation where Gray gets all the snap that hypothetically would go to Alipate, because if Alipate is the QB the program is going nowhere.

I don't know enough about Gray to say something one way or the other, But I have seen enough of Alipate to know that if he is the QB for the next 3 years it is going to be a long 3 years regardless of the coach.


Also, if you read articles from other sources about what Horton was actually saying after the game, it was less of a "hint" and more of a subtle jab at all the people who have been calling for Weber's job. I doubt Alipate sees action.

I think it is pretty hard to judge a player who is unquestionably talented on how well he was able to perform on a lousy HS team. I've seen very average HS QBs at Cretin put up gaudy numbers and I remember guys who weren't setting the world on fire statistically in HS (but were impressive athletes) became good players. I just think a position like QB, which is so dependant on other players, is hard to judge at the HS level by stats alone.

 

[Rosemountian]

I think it is pretty hard to judge a player who is unquestionably talented on how well he was able to perform on a lousy HS team. I've seen very average HS QBs at Cretin put up gaudy numbers and I remember guys who weren't setting the world on fire statistically in HS (but were impressive athletes) became good players. I just think a position like QB, which is so dependant on other players, is hard to judge at the HS level by stats alone.

I am not judging by stats alone, but thank you for telling me how I came to my conclusions as I was previously unaware.

You make a good point that stats are not everything. But I did not say they were. You make a good point in saying that mediocre QBs can put up good numbers in the right system and good QBs can have bad numbers in a good system. But I did not say these things were not true.

You claim he is unquestionably talented, I beg to differ. It is questionable. He unquestionably has a big frame. He unquestionably has a strong arm. It is very questionable how accurate his arm is (as I have seen in Multiple games I have seen him play). It is very questionable how good of a decision maker he is (as I have seen in multiple games I have seen him play). In order to determine if he is talented, one would first have to define talent. But by my definition of QB talent, his level of talent is definitely in question. People like to point out how good and accurate he looked in the spring game, but they also like to ignore that he was playing against the 2s and 3s of a bad Minnesota defense, with no threat of being hit at any point during any play. They also like to make claims about how good he looked based on a sample size of no more than 10 plays and single digit throws.


Could he prove me wrong? Sure.
Would I bet on it? I would bet heavily against him proving me wrong.
Am I making judgments based on stats? No
Am I making judgments based on a sample size of observation that is larger than most if not all of those arguing to the contrary of my opinion? Yes
Is it possible that I am not a great evaluator of talent? Yes
If you asked coaches from the Old Lake Conference (pre-realignment) if they thought he had a chance to be a good Big ten QB (I have asked multiple), would they think he does? I have found none that gave me an answer of yes, and that include coaches from 4 different schools, including 2 head coaches.

If he ever is the starting QB, do I hope he succeeds? Yes
If he ever is the starting QB, What will I expect? Mediocrity at best

 

[gold04]

They should name Moses as the starting quarterback this week and keep Gray at receiver. I would be shocked if Moses doesn't pass for at least 300 yards.

 

[Oneoldgopher]

Spring Game

Alipate was handing off to backs play after play. He may have thrown 2 or 3 balls. He has good motion and a quicker release than Weber. His time was so short, there were not even enough snaps to give an honest assessment of what type of player he would be. And, his receivers looked awful that day. So, the whole question of his abilities needs a good game day assessment. Give him a whole drive or two. What can we loose here? We have everything to gain.