Iowa QB Jake Rudock graduate transferring to Michigan?
There are rumors flying all over twitter about it this morning and a couple trusted posters on scout have said that they heard from solid sources that he informed Iowa that he will be coming here for his RS senior season. This would obviously be a major shake-up to the most important position on our depth chart.
February 24th, 2015 at 10:52 AM ^
We have more upside with our current QBs, but it would be nice to have someone with significant playing experience step in.
February 24th, 2015 at 10:54 AM ^
If this is true, it's going to be pleasantly crowded at the QB position. I don't know if it necessarily means Harbaugh doesn't have faith in Morris, but he certainly isn't taking any chances. I'm on board.
February 24th, 2015 at 10:58 AM ^
If you redshirt the freshman like you should...you'll have 3 scholarship QBs that can play this season. Not really that big of a deal.
Next year if you redshirt the incoming freshman (Costello)...you'll have 5 scholarship QBs that can play next season including two RS freshman QBs.
It's more, but it's not as overflowing as it feels. It's just different from the Rich Rod/Hoke years where we were lucky to have 3 scholarship QBs on the team, redshirt or no redshirt.
February 24th, 2015 at 11:02 AM ^
Kind of sucks for the kids, since only one can play at a time, but man, that is a great position for UM. With all those bullets in the chamber and a great QB coach, it's a fantastic posistion ot have someone who will be able to play at a high level every year. There will be transfers for sure, but Harbaugh had a penchent of taking 2 QBs per year at Stanford to keep the pipe full.
February 24th, 2015 at 11:02 AM ^
Seriously? I can't think of any prominant, recent example that demonstrates how important it is to have 3 talented, game-ready QBs on the roster. Based on Michigan's approach over the past several years, I thought it was only necesary to have 1.
February 24th, 2015 at 11:21 AM ^
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February 24th, 2015 at 11:46 AM ^
Third-stringers play school and go to class... Starters play football!
February 24th, 2015 at 3:49 PM ^
February 24th, 2015 at 11:17 AM ^
It will be less crowded than that IMO. You will see a transfer or two esp if Morris or Speight is not this year's starting QB.
February 24th, 2015 at 11:25 AM ^
You think he'd transfer if Rudock was the starter this year? Speight is only a RS FR. If Rudock were the starter in 2015 then heading into 2016 Speight would still have 3 yrs of eligibility left and the QB spot would be up for grabs.
February 24th, 2015 at 11:38 AM ^
If O'Korn is someone Harbaugh is very high on I could see Speight leaving with Malzone and Gentry right behind him and O'Korn ahead of him. Gentry and O'Korn being 2 guys Harbaugh selected.
This requires a lot of variables that we don't know about. But if i wanted to transfer for playing time I'd rather do it early in my career rather than wait. He'd be a RS SO who would have to sit out a year and could still play 3 years. I think by spring practice/game 2016 he would have enough data to see what was happening esp if O'Korn was getting reps #1 and Gentry or Malzone reps #2.
So yes it is possible. Is it probable? No idea at all - depends on how good of a QB Speight is. We don't know.
But I am pretty confident someone is going to transfer out - that's just sheer #s. All these QBs didnt come here to carry clipboards. It is not going to be O'Korn because he just transferred in.
February 24th, 2015 at 2:14 PM ^
next spring. He only gets five years from the time he first enrolls. It's tough to transfer after taking a RS, because you lose a year, unless you go down a level or wait to be a grad transfer.
February 24th, 2015 at 10:55 AM ^
That means the other team has no QBs...
Hey Harbaugh!
February 24th, 2015 at 10:59 AM ^
Man, there is a QB log jam for sure. If Ruddock does transfer and wins the starting job, that is the death knell for Morris I think. Shame, but oh well, best players should start. Then next year, there's Morris, Speight, O'Korn, Malzone, Gentry, and Freshman. Woo, that's quite a few QBs.
February 24th, 2015 at 11:10 AM ^
February 24th, 2015 at 11:43 AM ^
If he can redshirt, I think it could work out. But I still think Morris is the best option right now on the roster. He would likely be the primary back up if a hypothetical Ruddock transfer resulted in Ruddock starting. And the primary backup doesn't redshirt. I mean, Morris could start one year successfully, but that seems more like a place holder. And Harbaugh will have O'Korn who has starting experience plus a year of Harbaugh coaching, plus the freshman. And if you have two guys who are equals, you go with the younger guy. It just wouldn't look bright for Morris at that point. But there are a lot of 'what ifs' between that bleak outlook actually happening and the present situation.
February 24th, 2015 at 12:51 PM ^
To make that work, you have Speight come in at garbage time and then burn Morris' redshirt if Ruddock were to actually get injured. Basically, if Ruddock is healthy for the full season, then Speight gets some experience and Morris gets a redshirt. If Ruddock gets injured, then the better of Morris/Speight gets the start. and presumably becomes the leader for the spot next year.
February 24th, 2015 at 11:12 AM ^
Not necessarily. There are plenty of guys who play only in their SR year and given 2 regimes and three OCs in his three years, Shane can be forgiven his lack of development (if it happens). His physical tools will keep him in the mix as a SR when competition opens again. Especially if Ruddock is the starter. Your death knell is more likely if Shane and Ruddock are beaten out by on of the Frosh.
February 24th, 2015 at 8:45 PM ^
In fact there is no log jam at all...we'd just have a normal QB roster. Let's try something different for a change.
There once was a time where we had a solid D1 QB, a future national champion and a future top 3 QB in NFL history all on the same roster.
There was another time when we had THREE top 4 QBs on the roster. 2 are/where in the NFL and the other is a starting pitcher in MLB.
The curse of David Cone is over. We can go back to real QB depth.
February 24th, 2015 at 10:59 AM ^
I'd be all for this if it ends up happening. He has two years starting experience in the B1G, he improved from year 1 starting to year 2 (most importantly cutting down on the INTs from 13 to 5), and this was done with Greg Davis as his OC, who is in a word awful.
Is he going to be an All-B1G QB for us? No, probably not. But I've been on record as saying I don't think we need a great QB to win us games this year, we just need one who doesn't lose us games. Ruddock can do this. He's already at a much higher level than Morris or Speight, in terms of experience and results, and I think he would immediately be the best QB on our roster if he transferred here.
Also, if anyon can improve him immediately and make him a QB who will win us some games instead of a QB who doesn't lose us games, it's Harbaugh.
February 24th, 2015 at 11:09 AM ^
I'm confused. It seems like we've taken on a bunch of QB's since Harbaugh got here....how are all of these guys going to fit and how many do we expect to transfer out of here?
February 24th, 2015 at 11:14 AM ^
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February 24th, 2015 at 11:17 AM ^
Roster balance at that position is pretty good, but not great. If Ruddock transfers, in 2015 it'd be FR, FR, RS FR, JR, RS SR (with O'Korn ineligible). In 2016...FR (2?), RS FR (2?), RS JR, SR. They all easily "fit"
February 24th, 2015 at 11:23 AM ^
We were woefully low on QB depth when Harbaugh arrived.
We didnt have a 2012 QB on the roster because if you believe the rumor mongering Hoke promised Morris no competition ahead of him.
Russ Bellomy was not a Big 10 QB.
So you effectively had 2 QBs on the roster who had any hope of playing in the Big 10 - Morris and Speight. One of those is going to be a RS FR this year.
So you've added a guy who would be that "2012 QB" in O'Korn and then you added a high ceiling / maybe low floor type QB in Gentry. And now if Rudock would come you are adding a 1 year rental. So you'd actually hav a reasonable depth chart
- SR - Rudock
- JR - Morris
- RS JR (ineligible) - O'Korn
- RS FR - Speight
- FR - Malzone
- FR - Gentry
On non troubled teams you would not even consider starting a true freshman so Malzone and Gentry would not even be part of the conversation on squads that are established without a big pile up f****** up their QB recruiting. The lack of upperclassmen competition for Morris is the main issue right now. So this would alleviate it for 1 year and then O'Korn would alleviate it next year. Then you have a realistic competition after that among the underclassmen in the out years (2017 forward).
February 24th, 2015 at 11:51 AM ^
The situation may be a little more dire than you even state. You state Bellomy wasn't a B1G QB, yet Speight is? Based on what evidence? Both were identified by QB inept Al Borges, but Bellomy was actually committed to Purdue. And had a ton of lower level offers. When Speight committed, he had absolutely zero offers, and that was after re-classifying to gain an extra year of high school (and thus being a year older than everyone else). I know the reported offers can be a little murkey but 247 reports no other offers other than UM at all, and Rivals shows an NC State and Miami offer. I would say other coaches thought less of Speight than they did Bellomy coming out of high school. Except for Borges. Hooray.
February 24th, 2015 at 11:09 AM ^
February 24th, 2015 at 11:26 AM ^
If Morris is not an eventual Big 10 championship quality starter there is no reason to RS him. (Other than if Speight passes him up to be a backup to a Rudock type). If you dont see him being that impactful starter there is no reason to keep that scholarship reserved for another year - it is best to let the relationship end in 4 years and move on.
February 24th, 2015 at 11:54 AM ^
That can be done with our without a redshirt though. And they may not know for sure until some point in or after the 2015 season.
February 24th, 2015 at 11:11 AM ^
The most important thing to remember when looking at his Iowa stats is that he was playing in Greg Davis' offense.
February 24th, 2015 at 11:14 AM ^
Steve Deace appears to be a right-wing political commentator.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/feb/23/steve-deace-jesus-says-obama-isnt-christian/
In that article, he claims that Obama isn't a christian based on his reading of the scriptures.
He also posts a ton about conservative politics and recently re-tweeted James O'Keefe.
Regardless of your politics, he is not a sports guy. His agenda is political in nature.
February 24th, 2015 at 11:16 AM ^
February 24th, 2015 at 11:20 AM ^
February 24th, 2015 at 12:48 PM ^
His opinions on Obama are completely irrelevant here. I have no idea why you posted them.
February 24th, 2015 at 1:32 PM ^
It isn't. That's precisely my point.
Would you go to Bill O'Reilly or Rachel Maddow for basketball commentary?
How about J.A. Adande or John Clayton for updates on the Middle East?
You wouldn't.
This guy spends his time talking politics, so I'm skeptical of his credibility on sports.
February 24th, 2015 at 2:10 PM ^
I have no opinion on Deace's board posting on Rudock leaving, because he doesn't name his source(s).
However, Deace cut his teeth in sports radio and was a prominent sports radio talkshow host. He's as wired as anyone, and probably moreso than the print media guys, on rumors such as JR.
In regard to all the ranting about his politics, he's a prominent social and religious conservative, and he's deeply influential within that community. Any social conservative running for president has to kiss his ring. He's syndicated and published nationally.
But the important point is that is that dismissing him because he now does politics is quite foolish. He's formerly a professional sports radio jock in the Des Moines market.
Rudock is pre-med, very bright, and very serious, apparently, about trying to be a pediactric surgeon. Unless he mistakenly thinks he can play in the NFL, I would be surprised if playing one year for Harbaugh makes sense to him longterm. But the Iowa staff has really screwed up the QB position the past three years, functionally and politically, so who knows how much bad blood is on the floor. All I can compare the bowl game, and subsequent announcement that Beathard is now the #1, to is how the Redskins manage their QBs.
February 24th, 2015 at 2:40 PM ^
Thank you for the highly informative background information. Very good to know.
February 24th, 2015 at 11:15 AM ^
Hypothetical scenario: If Rudock does come and end up starting, should Morris try to redshirt this year? I know that the best players are going to play and be backups, but Speight already has his redshirt year and if he is at the moment at the same level as Morris, it might be a good idea to get him backup snaps and Morris gets another year to learn the system and improve under Harbaugh.
February 24th, 2015 at 11:30 AM ^
If he is beaten out by Speight this year for the backup and Rudock came in as a starter, I would envision Shane redshirting to save a year of eligibility and then transfer out. Maybe not next year but in 2 years when he would not have to sit out a year as a 5th year grad. Or maybe right after this year - in either scenario his 2016 would sort of be lost (the writing would be on the wall for his UM career IMO). Right now he doesnt even have that option down the road because he was not redshirted.
Sitting here for a year getting 3rd string snaps (i.e. not many) as a RS is not going to make a quantum leap in Shane Morris' development.
February 24th, 2015 at 11:31 AM ^
IMO, it all depends on where he is on the depth chart. If Rudock were to win the starting job and Morris wins the back up job, why would you redshirt him? It's been a loooong time since UM has had a starting QB take all the meaningful snaps over the course of a season. Now if Morris ends up buried on the depth chart then he'd probably be eligible for redshirt due to never seeing the field. However, if he's buried on the depth chart I'd guess he might consider transferring.
February 24th, 2015 at 11:20 AM ^
If this is true, competition at QB is going to be white hot. Okay, it's already going to be white hot. You get my point...
February 24th, 2015 at 11:25 AM ^
February 24th, 2015 at 11:31 AM ^
not much of an upgrade for us and no guarantee of playing time for him.
February 24th, 2015 at 12:29 PM ^
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February 24th, 2015 at 12:30 PM ^
February 24th, 2015 at 12:55 PM ^
Didn't read the article but Rudock has to graduate from Iowa first. If he isn't scheduled to graduate until May, then I don't think he can transfer until the summer.
February 24th, 2015 at 1:50 PM ^
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February 24th, 2015 at 6:39 PM ^
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February 24th, 2015 at 12:34 PM ^
The guy has two years' starting experience. I'll gladly take him if he wants to come.
February 24th, 2015 at 12:53 PM ^
I once remember playing a team from Iowa. But that seems like many moons ago.