Does Nussmeier Hire Open Up the QB Competition?
Like most people, I was not expected much of a QB competition this spring. It seemed like it was Gardner's job to lose, barring injury. Now that we have a new pro-style OC coming in, without any history with either QB, I think it could open the QB competition in the spring. Shane Morris obviously has a lot of talent and showed good poise during the bowl game. However, if Nussmeier is as good of a QB developer as advertised, we might finally see Gardner reaching his potential, like we've seen in a few games the past two years, more consistently. Do you all think Gardner still has a big lead on Morris this spring?
January 9th, 2014 at 11:10 AM ^
What in the last time we saw Devin Gardner on the field makes you think that he wouldn't be the starter? I mean, coaches will always have competition for spots, but come on, the guy led our offense to that many points against OSU with a broken foot for half the game. I put the chances of Gardner not starting as whatever the percent chance is of Gardner being hurt and unable to start.
January 9th, 2014 at 11:11 AM ^
January 9th, 2014 at 11:11 AM ^
January 9th, 2014 at 11:14 AM ^
is will his hire result in a functional offensive line that can move the ball 1 god damn yard when they need it?
January 9th, 2014 at 11:21 AM ^
no but having another year of S&C and coaching for the young guys will help a ton
January 9th, 2014 at 11:32 AM ^
Along with the dismal results, that Borges waited until late in the season to simplify the schemes shows a coaching staff that was out-of-touch (or stubbornly, willfully ignorant) with what was happening in the trenches.
January 9th, 2014 at 11:15 AM ^
January 9th, 2014 at 11:19 AM ^
This does open the competition but as others said....it should be open regardless. Both should improve over the Spring, Summer, and Fall going into the season with this guy.
If Devin does win the job, he won't have as much slack if they are strugling. I really don't know how Devin will react considering he seemed to be a shell of himself after they lost a couple games and lost confidence. He played well aginst ohio but November was an ugly month.
I think the starting position is up to Devin to decide.
January 9th, 2014 at 11:17 AM ^
am much more worried about the competion and improvement on the offensive line. If it remains a tire fire, we might end up having no choice but to see both get blugeoned to death.
January 9th, 2014 at 11:19 AM ^
For all the Gardner haters, the stat you probably are forgetting is that while he threw 10 picks in his first 6 games, he only threw 1 in his last 6...and he was getting abused at the same time. He's going to be a serious weapon next year, and we'll have a really good backup.
Where it changes the QB picture is with regard to 2015 recruiting where folks are already discussing a potential flip for Ricky Town. Maybe this makes us even more appealing to Josh Rosen, who simply needs a visit to A2 to see a large contingent of tribe honies to make him feel at home.
January 9th, 2014 at 11:22 AM ^
I don't know what "tribe honies" are or even could be, but it sounds vaguely racist.
January 9th, 2014 at 11:28 AM ^
Oh, my gentile friend. "Tribe" refers to the Jewish people; we often call ourselves "tribe" (members of the tribe). "Honies" are attractive girls. There are many "tribe honies" in Ann Arbor, and any self-respectiing Hebrew would notice the same. Personally, I'd be psyched to see a Jewish QB as his nickname could only be "The Hebrew Hammer".
January 9th, 2014 at 11:36 AM ^
I was actually as confused by the "honies"( I read it as rhyming with "ponies") as I was with the use of tribe as an adjective. I believe the plural of honey is "Honeys".
January 9th, 2014 at 11:43 AM ^
Yeah, slang often times has unexpected spelling. That said, we probably do have some good ponies too, but maybe a bit further out from campus.
January 9th, 2014 at 3:19 PM ^
That must be some serious slang, 'cause Google hasn't even ever heard of "tribe honies" before... Though they do suggest that maybe I had a stroke and really meant "tribe honeys", not that it knows what that is either.
January 9th, 2014 at 11:38 AM ^
Agreed. Swing him by AEPhi or SDT and I promise he'll have a good time.
January 9th, 2014 at 11:45 AM ^
easier to grasp if you had used "honeys".
January 9th, 2014 at 11:21 AM ^
Yeah there will be a competition, and if Shane improves so much over the off-season that he actually threatens to bench DG then that should be a win for the team because if you're looking optimistically that means the team now has a very competent backup.
In the end though, I don't think there will be much of a competition because Gardner has many more tools than Shane does right now. Of course, Shane will never have the legs DG does, but besides that why would they go with anyone but the guy who has started 1 1/2 years already? Unless, DG has regressed that badly and is so shell-shocked from last year he just can't be a starting quarterback. Something that seems highly unlikely.
January 9th, 2014 at 11:22 AM ^
January 9th, 2014 at 11:23 AM ^
Gardner wins the position for 2014, but Michigan has a fine option in Soph. Shane Morris when needed.
January 9th, 2014 at 11:24 AM ^
January 9th, 2014 at 11:37 AM ^
I don't agree with that.
Was there that many people who wanted Gardner benched last year? I was on this board and I don't remember that many.
January 9th, 2014 at 11:40 AM ^
January 9th, 2014 at 11:47 AM ^
want changed was the turf in the stadium, and I suspect that is only because they don't post.
January 9th, 2014 at 11:24 AM ^
What is the schedule for coaches and players direct contact / coaching this time of year? How much time does he have to go over his playbook etc. before the spring camp?
January 9th, 2014 at 11:24 AM ^
I don't think there is any way Morris starts over Gardner. Gardner would have to be racking up the turnovers for that to happen, but it is possible that we could see Morris in stretches during games.
January 9th, 2014 at 11:24 AM ^
I don't know of any examples of a true sophmore replacing a 5th yr senior with several school records and instances of carrying a team to victory almost single-handedly (ND).
January 9th, 2014 at 11:27 AM ^
To clarify, I agree with most of the comments that this is still Gardner's job to lose, but I think it is worth discussing because I think the competition is more open than it was under Borges, simply because Nussmeier is less familiar with the two. I also think tat this could mean Gardner is on a shorter leash if he struggles and we might see Morris go in for a few drives if things aren't going well.
I also agree that Gardner was not really the issue in 2013. Fix the offensive line and Gardner will be great.
January 9th, 2014 at 11:28 AM ^
hopefully the new OC will have him running a lot less to protect his health. Also, I think Nussmeier will get Gardner's passing skills to a new level, which will greatly help. It will be interesting to see what he does with the receiving corp in terms of player development, formations, etc. Alabama seemed to use a lot of different guys.
January 9th, 2014 at 1:02 PM ^
January 9th, 2014 at 11:29 AM ^
Even if Borges was back there would be a competition for the starting QB spot. I defintely feel that Gardner would win out, but the competition will still be there. Morris, Bellomy and Speight will push to make Gardner even better.
January 9th, 2014 at 11:29 AM ^
January 9th, 2014 at 11:37 AM ^
January 9th, 2014 at 11:39 AM ^
"However, if Nussmeier is as good of a QB developer as advertised, we might finally see Gardner reaching his potential, like we've seen in a few games the past two years, more consistently." - from the OP
As others have mentioned, he was the OC for Jake Locker, so there is some experience in handling / developing QBs who are both good in the air and with their legs. Experience alone probably dictates that the job is Gardner's to lose, and I doubt that there would be any real controversy. What you said here though strikes me as interesting - if Nussmeier can maximize the potential of Gardner, then there is every reason to let Shane shadow Gardner, if you will, for another year, as a much-improved performance here makes Shane that much better (and his bowl performance was encouraging) for the learning, in my opinion.
January 9th, 2014 at 11:40 AM ^
January 9th, 2014 at 12:36 PM ^
Not sure (but optimistic) how much better Nussmeier will be as an OC, but I am comfortable that he will, in fact, be head and shoulders better than Borges as a QB developer---because (1) he couldn't be worse and (2) your dismissal of Denard as "no hope" says everything about where you are coming from.
January 9th, 2014 at 1:46 PM ^
He didn't just have one season of Devin. He coached him three years, and Devin started 1.5 of them. His track record at developing QBs is a mixed bag - some successes, some failures.
Nussmeier's track record at developing QBs is pretty much universally positive.
January 9th, 2014 at 11:43 AM ^
Sorry if this has already been clarified, but could someone tell me when Devin Gardner's foot will be healed? Will he be ready for spring ball!?!?
January 9th, 2014 at 11:51 AM ^
He was the champion, leader, and hero of the offense.
January 9th, 2014 at 12:18 PM ^
January 9th, 2014 at 11:47 AM ^
because it means we probably have ourselves a good back-up next year. DG and Shane will compete, and DG will win it no questions asked
January 9th, 2014 at 11:50 AM ^
Gardner is the starting QB barring injury.
January 9th, 2014 at 11:51 AM ^
I think it depends on the receiver and running back positions. If we need a receiver we can put Gardner back in that position and start developing Morris who has a laser for an arm. However if we can't get a runnning back to produce we will have to depend on Gardner's arm and legs.
January 9th, 2014 at 11:53 AM ^
There's almost no chance that Gardner is a better option at WR than what we can pull from our depth there.
January 9th, 2014 at 12:14 PM ^
Just . . . no. Devin is head and shoulders our best QB. People overrated him at WR -- he really wasn't that good there. Now, that may be because of limited experience, but he would still have limited experience at WR even if we moved him back there for 2014. Devin will be our QB, our field general, for 2014, barring injury.
January 9th, 2014 at 12:56 PM ^
Gardner was great at running and bailing us out of bad situations, but he was also great at putting us in those bad situations.
January 9th, 2014 at 11:51 AM ^
January 9th, 2014 at 11:52 AM ^
I don't understand how some people on the board have said they 'hoped' Morris wouldn't play great in the bowl so as to create a QB controversey. That is ridiculous. Gardner is by and far the starter on this team, but a competent to decent backup Sophomore QB is very ideal, especially considering the delicate nature our QB depth was this past year. I think the new OC will be able to develop both QBs to excel at what they do best individualy, and if Morris is called up, he will hopefully be prepared.
January 9th, 2014 at 12:01 PM ^
Morris (or whoever is deemed #2) getting significant quality game experience. Nuss is not going to head into 2015 with a guy who hasn't played enough. He will have one eye on 2015 QB situation throughout the whole 2014 campaign.
It's Gardner's unless he regresses, but either way you will see the understudy getting much more time.