Who will emerge from spring ball....

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Hey can we lay off the Shortell and gray going to be in competition for the starting spot. Also can we lay off that shortell is gunna be automatic 2nd string Qb. He has a lot of hype coming in but he hasnt threw a pass in a gophers practice jersey yet.
in addition what makes shortell so much better than parish or alipate.
 

killcrew said:
Hey can we lay off the Shortell and gray going to be in competition for the starting spot. Also can we lay off that shortell is gunna be automatic 2nd string Qb. He has a lot of hype coming in but he hasnt threw a pass in a gophers practice jersey yet.
in addition what makes shortell so much better than parish or alipate.
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I agree! I love Max's confidence and bravado but I sure hope he'd be open to red-shirting this year.
 

common sense maybe?

killcrew said:
Hey can we lay off the Shortell and gray going to be in competition for the starting spot. Also can we lay off that shortell is gunna be automatic 2nd string Qb. He has a lot of hype coming in but he hasnt threw a pass in a gophers practice jersey yet.
in addition what makes shortell so much better than parish or alipate.
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If the coaches are saying Shortell and Gray are competing for the job...it would seem Shortell has a little better pedigree than Alipate or Parish and you might want to read between the lines a little. Alipate didn't win very many games as a high school quarterback. That is the job of a QB.
This staff didn't recruit Alipate or Parish. They did recruit Gray and Shortell. Alipate looks like a left tackle, which doesn't mean he can't play QB but also isn't typical.

Shortell was a big time high school QB. Think Joe Mauer leading his team to the state tournament. That is the Shortell hype. In addition to his high school coaches, he is being trained by a guy who has developed Heisman and NFL draft picks at QB. This guru feels Shortell is the real deal. Shortell understands the position at a higher entry level than a typical freshman.

You are right in that we don't know who will emerge as the two best quarterbacks, but Gray and Shortell should or we are probably in trouble. Maybe Parish surprises everyone but the coaches don't talk about him. (They have done background on these guys...watched tape, gathered opinions, supervised conditioning etc)
 

60's Guy said:
I can't be the only person who heard Coach Kill say on different occasions that Tommy Olson would play as a freshman. Am I?
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Both Kill and Limegrover have said in recent interviews that they think Olson will compete for PT as a freshman. I'd expect him to have a shot at one of the guard spots unless, as some have speculated, he could play center? Ed Olson and Gjere have tackle spots locked up, Bunders and his 28 career starts should take one guard spot, and I suppose Wynn has the inside track on the starting center job.

Man, I can't remember the last offseason where I really paid that much attention the o-line, but I'm really excited to see what happens with these guys.
 

60's Guy said:
If the coaches are saying Shortell and Gray are competing for the job...it would seem Shortell has a little better pedigree than Alipate or Parish and you might want to read between the lines a little. Alipate didn't win very many games as a high school quarterback. That is the job of a QB.
This staff didn't recruit Alipate or Parish. They did recruit Gray and Shortell. Alipate looks like a left tackle, which doesn't mean he can't play QB but also isn't typical.

Shortell was a big time high school QB. Think Joe Mauer leading his team to the state tournament. That is the Shortell hype. In addition to his high school coaches, he is being trained by a guy who has developed Heisman and NFL draft picks at QB. This guru feels Shortell is the real deal. Shortell understands the position at a higher entry level than a typical freshman.

You are right in that we don't know who will emerge as the two best quarterbacks, but Gray and Shortell should or we are probably in trouble. Maybe Parish surprises everyone but the coaches don't talk about him. (They have done background on these guys...watched tape, gathered opinions, supervised conditioning etc)
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I think it only makes sense that they haven't talked much about the current guys on our roster and that's because they don't know anything about them (especially a guy who plays a cerebral position like QB where you can't measure him in the weight room). They recruited Shortell and they have seen gametape of Gray. To me, I think any comments about Alipate or Parish's QB ability at this point (from this staff) would be somewhat disingenuous because it is likely they've never seen either of them throw a football.

Now about Shortell's pedigree. It is impressive but it is really similar to Parish's coming out of HS. They both were QBs for really good HS football teams and they were considered at right about the #15-#22 ranked QBs in the country coming out.

Another thing, I don't think you can really blame Alipate for not winning games. In HS, there can be such a talent difference between the good and the bad teams, a guy like Moses never had a chance. For instance, I don't think Ryan Grant showed a ton of ability as a QB despite QBing some great teams. I don't think Nance (from Cretin) would have been a great collegiate QB, etc.
 


Jeffrick said:
Both Kill and Limegrover have said in recent interviews that they think Olson will compete for PT as a freshman. I'd expect him to have a shot at one of the guard spots unless, as some have speculated, he could play center? Ed Olson and Gjere have tackle spots locked up, Bunders and his 28 career starts should take one guard spot, and I suppose Wynn has the inside track on the starting center job.

Man, I can't remember the last offseason where I really paid that much attention the o-line, but I'm really excited to see what happens with these guys.
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I think Bunders is the most automatic of all of the locks :) and he will likely be our best OL next season.

However, what makes you so sure that Gjere will beat out Michel (possibly Orton too) at OT? I think he has a good chance, but is the general consensus that it is a lock?
 


Has anybody heard Michel is actually working out and eligible for spring practice? I was, maybe incorrectly, under the impression he had lingering impact from the concusiion that kept him out in the fall.
I hope Bunders is ready to start, I'm just not sure he is the biggest lock. If he is that is great, because I think E Olson will play very well this year. If Bunders is better than that, terrific.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I think it only makes sense that they haven't talked much about the current guys on our roster and that's because they don't know anything about them (especially a guy who plays a cerebral position like QB where you can't measure him in the weight room). They recruited Shortell and they have seen gametape of Gray. To me, I think any comments about Alipate or Parish's QB ability at this point (from this staff) would be somewhat disingenuous because it is likely they've never seen either of them throw a football.

Now about Shortell's pedigree. It is impressive but it is really similar to Parish's coming out of HS. They both were QBs for really good HS football teams and they were considered at right about the #15-#22 ranked QBs in the country coming out.

Another thing, I don't think you can really blame Alipate for not winning games. In HS, there can be such a talent difference between the good and the bad teams, a guy like Moses never had a chance. For instance, I don't think Ryan Grant showed a ton of ability as a QB despite QBing some great teams. I don't think Nance (from Cretin) would have been a great collegiate QB, etc.
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Ryan Grant and Nance happened to be the quarterback on very talented teams. Just because the teams won doesn't automatically make them good quarterbacks. We agree on that. I didn't see Alipate play. I don't know how bad his teammates were. My point is if someone like that is "special" then he elevates those around him and wills his team to compete. He finds a way to get it done. There has to be somebody to throw to in a big school....he spends the summer becoming totally in sync with the guy. They dream together. Or the guy has enough smarts to transfer. One or the other but you gotta figure out a way to win if you are a quarterback. Maybe he'll become Jon Elway. I'm just stating my opinion about the basic requirement to play the position. His lack of resourcefulness, his inability to find a way to win would make him somebody I'd let someone else recruit or make a position change. I could be 100% wrong. I have just seen him standing in a uniform and read his high school scores. But in a couple years I don't think I've heard a wow comment from a teammate or coach about Alipate. I have heard positives about Pride's work ethic. I have heard tiny whispers that maybe Parish can play and he does have pedigree. Alipate is a workout warrior....looks good, big arm etc. More to it than that.

I guess all I really wanted to say is that the coaches have picked Gray and Shortell as the front runners in the comments I have heard. To me that means they are doesn't it? Not a done deal. They want to win games. They'll play the best guy but if for example Parish is going to win the job he can't be just a smidge better than the two front runners. He'll need to be clearly superior to leap them to number one. Again just my opinion.
 



Bob_Loblaw said:
I think Bunders is the most automatic of all of the locks :) and he will likely be our best OL next season.

However, what makes you so sure that Gjere will beat out Michel (possibly Orton too) at OT? I think he has a good chance, but is the general consensus that it is a lock?
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No disrespect intended, but are you related to Bunders? I have no reason to believe he will not start, but you are the only person saying he is a lock. Sharing your reasonng would be helpful if you expect us to understand your confidence.
No one has answered the question about whether Michel is healthy enough to play. Does anyone know?
I would not dismiss Lenkewiecz, he was one of the freshman O-line guys Coach Horton really believed in.
 

corcoran1 said:
No disrespect intended, but are you related to Bunders? I have no reason to believe he will not start, but you are the only person saying he is a lock. Sharing your reasonng would be helpful if you expect us to understand your confidence.
No one has answered the question about whether Michel is healthy enough to play. Does anyone know?
I would not dismiss Lenkewiecz, he was one of the freshman O-line guys Coach Horton really believed in.
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No, I'm not.

I guess my reasoning is that he has started 28 games over the course of his career already. For some reason, it seems (to me) that a lot of people lump Wynn, Orton, and Bunders into the same category and Bunders has really emerged from the rest of that group. Unlike the other two guys (Wynn and Orton), he was a starter from day 1 and didn't get spot starts due to injuries. I was actually pretty impressed with him last season and I thought he was the 2nd best OL on the team. Lastly, Bunders is a guy who has started almost every single game in the last 3 seasons and he will be a 5th yr SR.

Not that matters, but I don't think i'm alone in thinking Bunders is a lock. The article in the Daily Gopher describes him as an iron clad lock to start.

http://www.thedailygopher.com/2011/...ll-could-tommy-olson-start-as-a-true-freshman

I think Dpo also described him as a lock.

As far as Michel, well the good news is that he is back in school and it sounds like he is working out with the team. Guys who have really bad concussions (like he did last season), often have a hard time even working out (think Justin Morneau last year). I thought I heard that he is working out, so as of now, I'd have to assume that he is on pace to play next year.

You are right about that class of RS FR. I've heard some grumblings about Gjere but other than that Eggen, Epping, Lenkewicz are a bit of a mystery. I've also heard some people talk about Haney (kid who transferred from SCSU) and hint that he might eventually be a player.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I think Dpo also described him as a lock.
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Correct.

I just don't foresee a scenario in which a 2-year returning starter (who is also a 5th-year senior) does not play every snap of every game barring injury.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
You are right about that class of RS FR. I've heard some grumblings about Gjere but other than that Eggen, Epping, Lenkewicz are a bit of a mystery. I've also heard some people talk about Haney (kid who transferred from SCSU) and hint that he might eventually be a player.
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I've been wondering about last year's RS freshmen as well. Out of sight, out of mind, I guess. And Kill & Co haven't seen them either. Hopefully a year in the weight rooms and practice squads has put them ahead of the incoming HS seniors and at least one or two will pop out in spring ball.
 



Bob_Loblaw said:
Another thing, I don't think you can really blame Alipate for not winning games. In HS, there can be such a talent difference between the good and the bad teams, a guy like Moses never had a chance. For instance, I don't think Ryan Grant showed a ton of ability as a QB despite QBing some great teams. I don't think Nance (from Cretin) would have been a great collegiate QB, etc.
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I don't fully blame Alipate for losing games either. Jeffersons coaching staff has done a mediocre job at best the last 5 years. Jefferson's talent isn't nearly as bad as their record shows though. Jefferson has more depth of talent than Kennedy every year, yet Kennedy competes in most games and Jefferson gets blown out.

I think some of Alipate playing poorly is definitely on that coaching staff, but I do not think he is nearly as good as recruiting services would have you think. That is from seeing him play probably 5-6 games in his 3 years as a starter. To me he was a borderline FBS prospect. If you just looked at play on the field and not at measurables he is probably a borderline D2 prospect (But you can't ignore measurables). I don't have a problem with him getting a scholarship from the U. I hope he works out. If he is the starting QB early in his career I think that it tells you that the gophers are extremely far away. I do think it says something that he had 3 FBS offers, 2 of the coaches who offered are no longer employed with the other having a 5-32 record and likely entering his final year at Washington State.
 

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