The Athletic: Big Ten post-spring QB outlook

[BleedGopher]

Per Scott:

Minnesota​

The Gophers opened the spring with a wide-open competition, but by the midpoint, redshirt freshman Drake Lindsey established himself as the likely starter. Lindsey, who completed four passes and a touchdown over three appearances in 2024, was supposed to compete with Georgia Tech transfer Zach Pyron. Lindsey outperformed him in spring practice, though, and Pyron transferred to South Alabama this week.

“Drake’s playing at a really high level,” Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck told reporters. “Probably at a higher level than any other young player I’ve ever had at that position.”

Big Ten post-spring QB outlook: Where Julian Sayin stands, how Nico Iamaleava fits

From potential Heisman Trophy contenders to youthful prospects, there is no shortage of intrigue among Big Ten quarterbacks.

www.nytimes.com

Go Gophers!!

 

[Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0]

A lot of pressure will be on Drake to produce, but he might be the type to thrive under pressure.

 

[MNVCGUY]

A lot of pressure will be on Drake to produce, but he might be the type to thrive under pressure.

Need the O-Line to be solid in front of him. Scary having a QB with very little experience but he had a great chance to learn under Brosmer last year so hopefully that that translates to success for him this year.

 

[Schnauzer]

I hope he becomes the Kaliakmanis we always wanted.

 

[caliGopher]

Need the O-Line to be solid in front of him. Scary having a QB with very little experience but he had a great chance to learn under Brosmer last year so hopefully that that translates to success for him this year.

Hard to be a good QB, particularly when you're young, when you're running for your life the whole game, or the opposing team does not need to respect the run game

 

[TNGophfan]

We'll see how much Max taught him and how much he absorbed.

 

[MNVCGUY]

We'll see how much Max taught him and how much he absorbed.

Given their dynamic last year I would hope Max would have been really open to working with Drake. Drake wasn't a threat to take his job but was also very likely the QB of the future so assuming Max wanted to help the U out it would make sense for him to do whatever he could to help Drake develop for 2025.

 

[GopherEnEspaña]

So, is Wittke our number two? Looking at the roster I'm trying to have some solace if Drake needs to sit out. Has anyone here been to a practice and seen the other guys throw the ball? How does it look?

 

[Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0]

So, is Wittke our number two? Looking at the roster I'm trying to have some solace if Drake needs to sit out. Has anyone here been to a practice and seen the other guys throw the ball? How does it look?

By all indications, yes Wittke is qb2.

 

[MNVCGUY]

So, is Wittke our number two? Looking at the roster I'm trying to have some solace if Drake needs to sit out. Has anyone here been to a practice and seen the other guys throw the ball? How does it look?

QB is a scary room in terms of experience.....that said.....in this current era where QBs move all over the place most teams are going to struggle to have much of any quality depth in their QB room.

The fact that the coaches are not scrambling to find a transfer QB who is good enough to start tells me they saw enough in Drake to feel he is ready for the job. Hopefully they are right. Wittke would seem like the most likely 2 but knock on wood....we never have to find out for sure who the #2 and #3 guys are outside of whatever garbage time reps they get of course.

 

[Ski-U-Ham]

I hope he becomes the Kaliakmanis we always wanted.

It would be difficult to be worse than the Kaliakmanis we got

 

[MNVCGUY]

It would be difficult to be worse than the Kaliakmanis we got

difficult.....but not impossible.....we all remember 2017 and the QB situation we had that season.....

 

[Word]

difficult.....but not impossible.....we all remember 2017 and the QB situation we had that season.....

As bad as AK was, there will always be Croft.

 

[Ski-U-Ham]

As bad as AK was, there will always be Croft.

At least he was better than Rhoda!

 

[BleedGopher]

CBS chimes in:

Big Ten QB outlook in 2025 season​

New starter: Non-transfer edition​

Drake Lindsey, Minnesota; Demond Williams, Washington

Guys who weren't starters last season sticking around to inherit the starting role? What is this? 2014?

OK, so technically, Williams started Washington's bowl game, but it was his only start last season, even if he did play 297 snaps overall. There's a lot of positive buzz about Williams coming from Seattle, and for good reason. He showed ability as a true dual-threat option when given the chance, and not in the "look at him run, now let's just hope he can hit the broad side of a barn with his passing." Williams completed 78.1% of his pass attempts last year, averaging 9.0 yards per attempt.

As for Lindsey, I'm proclaiming the 6-foot-5 redshirt freshman as Minnesota's starter because he's currently the only scholarship quarterback on the roster. I'd expect that to change with the transfer portal currently open and guys looking for an opportunity, but considering Zach Pyron transferred to Minnesota over the winter only to leave this spring, it certainly looks like Lindsey's job to lose at the moment.

Nico Iamaleava to UCLA: Big Ten QB outlook in 2025 season as Bruins join short list of teams with stability

UCLA suddenly finds itself on solid ground compared to much of the Big Ten entering this season

www.cbssports.com

Go Gophers!!