The Next Chad Henne, BCS Goodness, and Herbie
Michigan may have found the next Chad Henne. No,
Michigan’s next quarterback will not play in
the style of Henne – a pure drop back passer
– but he will likely start his career versus
the Buckeyes in the same manner Henne began (and
ended) his days as a Wolverine starter … with a
loss.
At the moment, Steven Threet is the frontrunner for the starting spot in the fall with Nick Sheridan and Justin Feagan being the backups (photo gallery). Threet is big – 6’5”, 228 lbs. – which is not typical for a running quarterback (save for Vince Young). And, he is not a burner. I doubt the Buckeyes coaches are nervous about a player, whose former high school coach calls him a “mid 4.7 guy.” He seems to be winning the job because of his stronger arm and greater grasp of the offense.
But that grasp sounds pretty tenuous according to Threet. He said the spring wasn’t pretty, but progress was made. Still, Threet is expecting to win the job and the eventual right to be pummeled by Laurinaitis and company in November. “‘If I don’t win the job, I’m going to be very disappointed in myself. If I don’t win it then it’s basically a letdown.’” Perhaps, he is attempting to adjust to the pressure he will see from the Silver Bullets this fall but putting undue pressure on himself.
As the Detroit Free Press points out, he is not the prototypical spread quarterback but he did run a little spread in high school. It remains to be seen exactly how well he can operate the offense. He will need to learn quickly because he will face a challenge from incoming freshman Justin Feagan, a more natural fit for Rodriguez’s offense. So, making it to the end of the season is not a given for Threet.
In addition, The Wolverines have two quarterback recruits coming in 2009, who will certainly compete for the starting job as soon as they hit campus. Kevin Newsome is a speedy, strong-armed recruit from Virginia who has drawn comparisons to a young Donovan McNabb. Shavodrick Beaver may not be as athletic as Newsome but he has some passing ability.
BCS Talk: ESPN is focusing on the BCS all week by looking at the good and bad, past and future. It started Monday with an increasing rare celebratory tone by college football writers Ivan Maisel, Ted Miller, and Chris Low mentioning the highlights of the BCS system after 10 years.
As usual, Maisel captures the mood of fans and the BCS as it stands today. It is a nice read.
Miller offers up his Top 10 BCS bowl performances and there is no real point in taking issue with any of his choices. I would say, however, that if Oklahoma is getting serious props for slowing down a Florida State minus its best playmaker (at the time), Snoop Minnis, then Ohio State should get credit for its performance in regulation against a far superior Miami team. I was also surprised that no Boise State player made it on the list.
Low’s breakdown of the 10 Best BCS Games is a nice walk down memory lane. I can say with absolute certainty that I watched each of those games live and they were great with the exception of the 2006 Orange Bowl with Penn State. That was sloppy and featured a 5-loss FSU squad. You will not hear any gripe from me because the 2003 Fiesta Bowl was second. I may be biased towards that game, but I totally understand the objective categorization of the Vince Young Show against USC as the best BCS Game ever – or any college football, for that matter.
Interestingly, SportsNation voted Ohio State’s 2003 Fiesta victory third behind the 2006 Rose Bowl and the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. If you want to affect those standings, click here to vote.
Local talking head: Looking for more of our favorite local college football celebrity? Herbstreit breaks down some players that are under the radar for this coming season, thus removing them from that status. Of course, there are no Ohio State players on this list because (a) most of the team is nominated for some sort of award, and (b) Herbstreit typically goes out of his way to avoid any appearance of bias towards the Buckeyes. That being said, I think Marcus Freeman could be considered a player “under the radar.”
At the moment, Steven Threet is the frontrunner for the starting spot in the fall with Nick Sheridan and Justin Feagan being the backups (photo gallery). Threet is big – 6’5”, 228 lbs. – which is not typical for a running quarterback (save for Vince Young). And, he is not a burner. I doubt the Buckeyes coaches are nervous about a player, whose former high school coach calls him a “mid 4.7 guy.” He seems to be winning the job because of his stronger arm and greater grasp of the offense.
But that grasp sounds pretty tenuous according to Threet. He said the spring wasn’t pretty, but progress was made. Still, Threet is expecting to win the job and the eventual right to be pummeled by Laurinaitis and company in November. “‘If I don’t win the job, I’m going to be very disappointed in myself. If I don’t win it then it’s basically a letdown.’” Perhaps, he is attempting to adjust to the pressure he will see from the Silver Bullets this fall but putting undue pressure on himself.
As the Detroit Free Press points out, he is not the prototypical spread quarterback but he did run a little spread in high school. It remains to be seen exactly how well he can operate the offense. He will need to learn quickly because he will face a challenge from incoming freshman Justin Feagan, a more natural fit for Rodriguez’s offense. So, making it to the end of the season is not a given for Threet.
In addition, The Wolverines have two quarterback recruits coming in 2009, who will certainly compete for the starting job as soon as they hit campus. Kevin Newsome is a speedy, strong-armed recruit from Virginia who has drawn comparisons to a young Donovan McNabb. Shavodrick Beaver may not be as athletic as Newsome but he has some passing ability.
BCS Talk: ESPN is focusing on the BCS all week by looking at the good and bad, past and future. It started Monday with an increasing rare celebratory tone by college football writers Ivan Maisel, Ted Miller, and Chris Low mentioning the highlights of the BCS system after 10 years.
As usual, Maisel captures the mood of fans and the BCS as it stands today. It is a nice read.
Miller offers up his Top 10 BCS bowl performances and there is no real point in taking issue with any of his choices. I would say, however, that if Oklahoma is getting serious props for slowing down a Florida State minus its best playmaker (at the time), Snoop Minnis, then Ohio State should get credit for its performance in regulation against a far superior Miami team. I was also surprised that no Boise State player made it on the list.
Low’s breakdown of the 10 Best BCS Games is a nice walk down memory lane. I can say with absolute certainty that I watched each of those games live and they were great with the exception of the 2006 Orange Bowl with Penn State. That was sloppy and featured a 5-loss FSU squad. You will not hear any gripe from me because the 2003 Fiesta Bowl was second. I may be biased towards that game, but I totally understand the objective categorization of the Vince Young Show against USC as the best BCS Game ever – or any college football, for that matter.
Interestingly, SportsNation voted Ohio State’s 2003 Fiesta victory third behind the 2006 Rose Bowl and the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. If you want to affect those standings, click here to vote.
Local talking head: Looking for more of our favorite local college football celebrity? Herbstreit breaks down some players that are under the radar for this coming season, thus removing them from that status. Of course, there are no Ohio State players on this list because (a) most of the team is nominated for some sort of award, and (b) Herbstreit typically goes out of his way to avoid any appearance of bias towards the Buckeyes. That being said, I think Marcus Freeman could be considered a player “under the radar.”
