MGo.licio.us Gardner Video
I wanted to take a moment to encourage everyone to watch the video, as linked in MGo.Licio.us on the side bar, of Devin Gardner's 23 snaps from the spring game. I was there and saw it live, as well as watching the spring game video several times, but for some reason, seeing chopped out sections of the game that show only one players performance really help better frame what it is you're looking at.
It also brings up a question. Since the QB's were in red, were they not supposed to enter a pile at all? At two points, there's a fumble. After the first one, Gardner chases after it and ends up running it off the sideline. After the second, he kinda stares at it with a deer in headlights look till the defense recovers. Did one of the coaches berate him after putting himself in position for heavy contact on the first one, or did he just have a freshman moment on the second one?
Man, I used to think Gardner maybe had an outside shot at playing time this year... but whoo. All separated out? That was a LOT of freshman mistakes.
As for not jumping into piles, I'm sure that is what the coaches desired. Why would they put a red shirt on him to keep him safe and then be upset when he simply protects himself from a potential injury. I don't see it as a lack of effort at all - just obeying the coaches. I think/hope.
Watch it again. He was looking the other way and didn't even see the ball on the ground. It looks like he thought the play was dead. I didn't see a lot of mistakes, either. I certainly didn't see a LOT, in caps. I saw a few, but he looked good for somebody who had only been on campus a few months. Compare DG now to DRob last fall, for example.
a better comparison would be with Tate last spring as he was an EE, also.
BTW, you can comment on MGo.licio.us now. And yes, Gardner showed promise but is still raw and prone to mistakes. I really, really want a redshirt for him to create a 2 year separation between him and Foricer and D-Rob. I'm burnt out on freshmen QBs.
He didn't look all that bad to me. His throwing motion gets a little "shot-put-like" at times, but he wasn't horrible. The music bed is excellent. I would add he's better than Pryor now, IMHO.
He is not better than Pryor now. That is fact.
I wonder if he meant "he is better now than Pryor was when Pryor enrolled'?
DG is better now than Pryor at watching what comes out of his mouth.
Like that's a tough bar to clear.
Poor semantics on my part.
The most significant thing I noticed in process of editing these is how much faster the offense is with Denard. The time between snaps is much shorter and even the plays themselves are shorter. Denard had 5 more snaps but his video is only 8 seconds longer even with Roundtree's 97-yard dash and all of the end zone celebrations. Any requests for the Tate every snap audio?
Please
OK. As per your request, the Tate video will have audio. I'm thinking Metallica and maybe CGI maize jerseys and pyrotechnics.
You RAWK!
... I could watch this thing all afternoon.
Did you notice the quick release on the Roundtree TD pass?
I think it's DXR as #1, bay-bee.
It's not just that he's fast, he's also an elusive, natural runner.
Bring on UConn!
I would suggest the reason why the time between snaps was shorter with Denard was because he was running with the first team offense. There were a number of time where Tate was yelling at guys, mostly freshment, because they were lined up incorrectly.
Not trying to be an ass, trying to be more informative, but we can actually comment on the MgoLicious post now.
Devin is obviuosly very talented and has the potential to be a great player. But, him getting a redshirt as a frosh looks to be in the cards. I love his ability to scramble casually and still move faster then anybody the defense has in the box.
Don't forget that he was just learning the offense this spring. Most guys his age are still in highschool at this point. Is he ready to start yet? No. But hopefully time with the playbook over the summer and fall camp will get him in that position if we need him. Though I do agree with the earlier posters that he would likely benefit from a redshirt.