Rivals Article (not $): Quarterback U - USC over Michigan
I just thought this article could spark some good debate on which schools produce the best quarterbacks (or most NFL talent - however you want to word it), and specifically where Michigan should fall in that debate.
Steve Megargee, the writer of this article, makes the claim that USC is currently the top producer of NFL quarterbacks (Mark Sanchez, Carson Palmer, Matt Cassel, and Matt Leinart). Michigan, Purdue, Boston College among others are also briefly discussed as candidates.
Personally, it's hard to argue against Megargee. However, I wouldn't be shocked to see Michigan coined as "Quarterback U" in another 8 years. We have some talented quarterbacks on the roster currently, and the future obviously looks bright (Hello: Shane Morris).
Just as a side note, Rivals is putting out an article every day for the next week or two for each position, and this is the first in the series.
Link: http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1354352
April 13th, 2012 at 11:02 PM ^
He didn't even start a game as the QB at USC...
April 13th, 2012 at 11:08 PM ^
April 13th, 2012 at 11:11 PM ^
No, but just because he didn't start for USC doesn't mean he wasn't developed there. It's not like he was picked up by the Patriots because he was terrible, just to transform him into a starter.
April 14th, 2012 at 10:57 AM ^
April 13th, 2012 at 11:14 PM ^
I think its probably a "what have you done for me lately" kind of thing. But if you think about it in the long run. Brady, Harbaugh, Collins, Leach, Grbac. I still think Henne has a shot to be a solid NFL QB. Not to mention the countless back up QBs Michigan had floating around the league at various times. But past 50 years you would be hard pressed to name many schools who have put more QB's in the league. Not to mention we have arguebly the best NFL QB all time in Brady. If Henne pans out I think Michigan might start to get some more credit in the QB department. And I still think he will. Dude has a cannon for an arm.
April 13th, 2012 at 11:49 PM ^
I agree that you have to look at the long view. The criteria should be in the history of the NFL, not just current QBs. That being said Notre Dame, Purdue and Alabama should all be in the conversation.
April 13th, 2012 at 11:59 PM ^
Who from Alabama would put them in the conversation? Joe Namath is one of the most overrated quarterbacks in NFL history, and then there's Kenny Stabler. And...that's about it. If you include Alabama, you have to probably include 20 other schools, too.
April 14th, 2012 at 12:41 AM ^
Bart Starr. I don't necessarily disagree with you. Just throwing some teams out there that I thought of off the top of my head. Definitely don't have the knowledge of NFL history to give a satisfactory answer to the question. I do think, though, that you have to take the entire history of the NFL into account and not just the past 10-20 years.
April 14th, 2012 at 12:08 AM ^
There's not a QB from USC in the league that any team would want as their starter. Before the injury, Henne was playing at the same level as Cassel and Sanchez this season. Actually, Henne had a better QB rating than both of them.
April 14th, 2012 at 12:24 AM ^
I don't know about that. Carson Palmer played decently at times last season. Coming off a long layoff and with a short time to prepare, I don't think he did too badly. And Matt Cassel has had a couple very good seasons in about 4 years as a starter.
I don't think either one is a superstar, but SOME teams would probably prefer to have Palmer or Cassel over what they currently have.
Two current NFL Hall of Famers in Len Dawson and Bob Griese and one future one in Drew Brees, not to mention other NFL QBs like Cecil Isbell, Dale Samuels, Bob DeMoss, Mike Phipps, Gary Danielson, Mark Hermann, Scott Campbell, Jim Everett, Eric Hunter, Billy Dicken, and Kyle Orton. Just saw a fun stat on Wikipedia that Purdue QBs have thrown more NFL TDs than QBs from any other school (probably helped a lot by Drew Brees). Probably Purdue football's one claim to fame.
If those four Trojans are the best any school has contributed to the NFL, no school is doing that well. I wouldn't want any of those guys starting for my team. Brady, Manning, Rogers, Brees, Roethlisberger, Manning (other Manning), Stafford, Vick, Newton...they all went to different schools, and those are pretty much the only starters I'd want on my NFL team.
There is no QBU right now, because it's really hard to crank out good QB talent.
But let's be honest: Michigan is not anything U right now. Rich Rod washed us clean of NFL picks, and it's going to take a couple of years to re-establish the NFL pipeline. Honestly? I think our best chances are O-Line, D-Line, and LBU.
As mentioned above in this thread, you would be hard pressed to find any school that comes close to Michigan in producing offensive linemen. Producting has fallen off a little recently, but Schilling and Molk might keep it going a little bit. Then you have the next generation of kids in the form of Taylor Lewan...and I've even heard speculation out of practice that Schofield looks like an early round pick at right tackle.
Definitely. The sheer number of elite offensive linemen that come out of UM amazes me.
Of that group, Palmer seems to be the only guy who at one point was a top-flight QB in the league, and even then only for a couple of years before injuries caught up to him. Sanchez has been mediocre in NY, Leinert was a major disappointment, and Cassell didn't even play much at USC.
April 14th, 2012 at 11:34 AM ^
Perhaps, one should distinguish between schools that recruit the best talent or produce it. Correct me if I am wrong, but I seem to recall that most of these USC QBs were ranked among the top few recruits in the country, it is debatable how much USC actually contributed to their further development. By contrast, UM QBs like Brady and Griese were not nearly as highly ranked as recruits (Griese, I believe, was a walk-on). So, UM can make a much better case for having contributed to their later success.
Moreover, USC has been found by the NCAA to have cheated during the era that involved many of the QBs mentioned. The benefits given to Reggie Bush lead one inevitably to question how often similar benefits may have been given to other players, including their elite QBs. At the very least, they question how USC’s ill-gotten success and false reputation may have facilitated their QB recruiting. So, should we really honor USC as QB U—or respect any other successes—during this era?