The Time of Shane is Upon Us Comment Count

Seth

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[Fuller]

Per Hoke's press conference this morning, Shane Morris will start the Copper Bowl in place of Devin Gardner, whose fourth metatarsal finally fell off after hanging precariously from a piece of torn cloth that was being used to hold together what remained of his last rib. Or, you know. Per people on twitter Gardner broke his foot against OSU, then kept playing.  Add to the list of people who should never have to pay for beer within 4 miles of Ann Arbor the rest of his life (once he's eligible to have beers bought for him).

In the recent practice report video are guys talking about Morris; you can take Jehu Chesson:

"He does a good job, you know, reading the defense, you know, getting the ball to us. A lot of people talk about his arm; he has a good arm, great arm, um, uh, [shakes head]. The other people talk about does he throw the ball too hard. You know, with Shane, whenever he's going to be in the game, or when he's in the game or what, he's going to make the right throws at the right time and the right decisions because that's what a Michigan quarterback is expected to do."

…and Taylor Lewan:

"He has the potential to be an extremely good player. [Thing about lefty QB means Lewan is no longer blind side]. I think given the opportunity, and if he stays confident and all those things, he's going to be very successful."

…at their words. Or you can read between lines and use your expertise from watching Lie to Me to discern panicky things from Jehu's microexpressions. Being a negative nancy blogger I shall of course do the latter.

Also in that video the starting linebackers are both practicing, so there's that at least.

Comments

Badger

December 26th, 2013 at 5:18 PM ^

Every snap in a real game is invaluable experience for the kid. If for some terrible reason Gardner went pro after this year, this game is damn near necessary heading into next year. If he sticks around, its also entirely possible Morris won't see the field at all in 2014 barring a serious injury.
 
I'm excited about the in-game experience he's going to get, because 2015 is really the year we'll know exactly where our recruiting has taken us. Our schedule sets up nicely that year, with our toughest road games being @Utah to open, and @Penn State. If this team comes together and the talent develops, that'll be the year we could make a national championship run. Shane Morris will be our QB that year, so this bowl game is the first step in planning for it.
 
That being said..
 

Jgruss42

December 26th, 2013 at 7:43 PM ^

If the season ended after ND, maybe Gardner would go pro.

However, he had the rest of the season to play.  After this performance, there is extremely little chance of him going this year, IMO.

Too many turnovers and numerous minor injuries would hold him back.

However, anything is possible and given the huge questions at O-line, he may be legitimately worried about his playing future.

Blaze09

December 26th, 2013 at 5:31 PM ^

Devin is of-age.

So everyone within 4 miles of Ann Arbor should get on their job if they see him out one night.

EDIT: and I realized what you meant about eligible after I posted, stupid NCAA.

Tator Salad

December 26th, 2013 at 5:37 PM ^

Watching the video the last shot of green looked like he has lost some more weight and was more shifty than he looked previously. Hopefully we see a lot of him and smith in the bowl with Shane in there, it'll be a nice preview of 2015

Mgodiscgolfer

December 26th, 2013 at 7:25 PM ^

they play better like they have been doing it all year, not in all cases but in alot. Shane has been told obviously that he will be the starter but he will get all the snaps in practice which is good. I guess you could almost call him a sophmore because he has been with the team all year which is good, but he will have a ton of pressure (just being the QB at UM) on him which may or not be good. He has a young center and gaurds who could also be called a year older due to it being the end of the year, most likely not good. Pass protection should be ok and I personally believe he will throw the ball out of bounds when running for his life rather than trying to make something happen that is not there, also good, punting isn't the worst play in football, close but not the worse. All in all we might as well jump off that cliff but you never know he may be fine I have seen worse scenarios come out ok its just usually for the other team, Penn State a year or two ago comes to mind. Go Blue!! 

UMMAN83

December 26th, 2013 at 8:29 PM ^

complaining about Morris on Dec. 29.  The same non-Michigan fans that missed the ohio game but continue to post.  How come everyone that sat in my section knew Gardner was hurt?  He was hurt since mid-season but low lifes texted death threats.  Really? Pieces of low life garbage. 

I get it now. 

I go have a drink and some idiot that never graduated from UM is complaining about the team. Take him out.

Apparently, the "faithfull" that post here never graduated from Michigan.  Constructive criticism is fine ... but stand true people.  Otherwise, the media and non Michigan forces will win. Ask RR.

Bodogblog

December 26th, 2013 at 8:48 PM ^

I believe your post is obtuse, but I'm having a hard time following it. Are you saying non-alums are attacking Gardner, but graduates are appropriately appreciative and send nothing but love tweets? Because lol that's a generalization based on nothing 

goblue_jb

December 26th, 2013 at 11:03 PM ^

meh, i find myself somewhat spent from the ups and downs of this year in michigan sports.. i'll watch the game on sat, and root like hell for us to win, but i'm not going to get too riled up about any personnel/injury news coming out this week. 

i'm a big fan of devin's, bummed to hear he's hurt (i'd guess he played with varying levels of injuries throughout most of the 2nd half of the season). sure, in a perfect world i'd prefer that our starting QB who was great (almost) all year be our qb this weekend. but i'm also a fan of the potential shane brings to the table & wish him well in his first start. would've prefered he had more time to grow into the starting role, but c'est la vie.  with the # of sacks devin took this season, it felt like it was only a matter of time before he got hurt unfortunately. here's hoping that the full season with the coaches and S&C staff has put the effects of that HS senior year mono in the distant past for shane.

i hope we'll see at least a couple of deep Morris-Gallon bombs that will help put a nice little bow on jeremy's career at u-m. hopefully not too many 'ohmygodwehaveatruefreshmanqb' moments.

figure at this point the team is just playing for some positive momentum into next season & to send a great group of senior student-athletes out on a winning note.  not a whole lot on the line otherwise.

Ecky Pting

December 27th, 2013 at 12:14 AM ^

What's this?  A freshman southpaw wearing No. 7 starting at QB for Michigan?  Been there. Done that.  Although the last time it happened the freshman started all 12 games (including the bowls), and the same the next 3 years.  Lost his first game against the Buckeyes on an unfortunate late interception returned deep and converted into a game-winning score.  After that, he never lost to the Buckeyes again.  He still holds the NCAA record for highest TD completion percentage.

But - looking at this game as a casual observer might, I can't imagine this game is going to have a great number of viewers simply based on the time the game starts - 10:15 EST on a Saturday night?  Sheesh - this game is outside of prime-time for half the country before the end of the first quarter.  I can only imagine the 3rd-tier commercial sponsors, notwithstanding the namesake of the Bowl.  Nevermind that the next day coverage will be runover by the NFL final week runup.  On that basis alone, it's a dog of a game.

That said, Michigan has nothing to lose here, which bodes well for Morris to get a much-deserved start and do well outside an intense spotlight.  And it's fair just on the basis that his redshirt was sacrificed long ago to no avail.  Recruits will look at this however they feel - some will see opportunities to contribute early, others will see a program that's not going to compete immediately on a national scale.  I'd rather have the former than the latter, if you ask me, so fair thee well Dashawn and George.

In the meantime, Get well soon, Devin - looking forward to seeing you out there next season.

uminks

December 27th, 2013 at 2:33 AM ^

I hope the extra practice time has allowed the interior line to improve. KSU will focus on stopping the run, so there should be some open receivers. I hope Shane has a bit of time to find them and may be the short passing game will cause KSU not to keep 8 or more in the box and we will see the running game improve after the first QTR.

Michigan should want to win every game they play! The goal should be winning this game but I will be interested to see how Morris performs.

Franko J Rasputin

December 27th, 2013 at 7:34 AM ^

At least we should know pretty quickly in the game if Shane can hack it.

 

KSU is going to blitz the living crap out of him.  I am not really worried about his throwing.

 

I am more concerned with his poise.

 

Poise is everything for a QB....ask Kramer.

Leonhall

December 27th, 2013 at 9:33 AM ^

Nobody should make any immediate declarations about Shane's future regarding one bowl game, Christ, I can already see people writing him off if he has a poor game. I can see more bitching about the coaching staff. People need to recall right now that Shane missed his entire senior season practically. He is going to look like a freshman many times tomorrow night. Lets not derail the kid tomorrow if he plays poorly.

Derek Gorgonstar

December 27th, 2013 at 7:01 PM ^

I think people know better.

Circumstances dictate he could struggle, although I think the deep bomb to Chesson might show up a few times, I'd like that. Imagine if K-State has to worry about that in addition to Gallon, Funchess, and Butt. 

west2

December 27th, 2013 at 11:59 AM ^

M has nothing to lose.  The betting line has widened 3.5 to 4.5 points in favor of K-State since the announcement that Morris is starting.  If M loses they have an inexperienced frosh QB to use as an excuse.  On the bright side they have starting LBs returning that should improve run D and offensively the play calling will likely feature runs, play action and high percentage/low risk passes like screens and out routes, which is what most of us have wanted Borges to call more of anyway.  I think this game is a no pressure, out of the limelight game for M and they will perform well.  K-state had a 10-2 season last year beating Missouri, Miami-of Fla, Oklahoma, Ok State, Tex tech, TCU  and Texas so this year going to the BWW bowl is more of a dissapointment than it is for M.  Michigan will play their best game of the year on Saturday...Go Blue!!

wingverine

December 27th, 2013 at 12:04 PM ^

Will be just fine tomorrow!  I can't wait to read the comments on here when he rip's apart the secondary of Kansas State. Yes, he throws hard and has a quick release, he gets the ball out quickly...isn't that the point?  My god people, I can't figure out if you want MICHIGAN to win or Loose?  Every game is IMPORTANT!  Or is it you have never played sports in your life? Do you have an athletic bone in your body? I'm assuming no. If you were as smart as you think you are you would'nt be posting on here you'd be employed by a national network. I don't care how many MGOpoints you have or how many I don't have...what exactly does that warrant anyway?  

Seriously....... get behind this TEAM and expect to WIN that is what MICHIGAN is all about!!  I've been with this TEAM since BO, you all like to quote BO on a regular basis. Bo  would be disgusted and embarrassed that his fan base acts the way most of you do. 

Brian should change the name of this site to N GOBLOG from all the negativity spewed on this site. If you haven't got something good to say ...don't F#*king say it!!!!

THIS IS MICHIGAN fer GOD SAKES ..Now act like a MICHIGAN FAN cut the NEGATIVE BULLSHIT and get behind these players!

GO BLUE!!!

Mgo-Bo

December 27th, 2013 at 12:26 PM ^

100% with you.

Except it's Lose not Loose.

But yes, I honestly can't tell if the people posting here hate Michigan football or are just leftovers from a highschool debate class half the time.

DC_BLUE

December 27th, 2013 at 12:43 PM ^

Please Mgoblog community, please do not rip into Shane if he plays poorly, he is a freshman, he will improve and has not started a game in 2 years.  Some rust / trying to hard type play is expected. 

Ryno2317

December 27th, 2013 at 5:26 PM ^

This board is going to go f*cking nuts when we lose this game.  I for one will not check in at all tomorrow as I know what the vast majority of posts are going to say.