Russell Wilson to Wisconsin
according to Bruce Feldman:
RT @SportsCenter: Former NC State QB Russell Wilson will transfer to Wisconsin, sources told ESPN.
I know there's a thread below, but figured his actual decision merited a new one. If I'm wrong, please remove.
but i think the thing that makes it a bigger story is that wisconsin already has a strong team coming back, so even though wilson might not be a game-changing piece by himself, he could make wisconsin downright dangerous with the rest of the offense in place.
I have to be really careful with my words because I don't want this to come across as a slam on Denard.
It's just my opinion that Wilson is a significantly better decison maker (just look at TO ratio) with a more accurate arm. Yes, Denard is faster and can MAYBE throw a ball harder/further but I don't know if that's exactly what makes a good QB, especially in Wisconsin's system.
If Denard is 80% of what Wilson has been over the past three years, he'll do well in Borges' offense (make good decisons, make things happen with his feet on third down....).
It may take Wilson a while to adjust to the new system. Wisky doesn't seem very complicated offensively so I'm sure that he'll do well.
I would agree, more or less. I've been saying I think Wilson is the more seasoned player, but he's also a year older, and has been starting since his freshman year, so passed his trial-by-fire stage long ago. In that sense, the fact that he is mentally ahead of Denard is no surprise.
If I disagree on anything, it's not just that Denard has the better arm, it's that I don't find Wilson's arm all that impressive. Now, the meaning you take from that is relative. Obviously, Brian Griese wasn't big, wasn't fast and didn't have a good arm, and he led his team to a championship. Less was needed of him, true, due to the quality of his team, but Griese also did his part by virtue of his leadership, courage and relative consistency. He played better than his physical attributes, in other words.
Wilson is the same. More gifted than Griese, probably, but the point is that I find him physically underwhelming, on his feet and by his arm both. His arm simply isn't that good. He makes up for it by being a solid player with good decision making. I'd want him, if he wanted to transfer to us...but I'd play Robinson first, and use wilson as my Forcier Mk. II Effective Backup Droid.
Again, it's all about perpective. There is a lot of hype around this. Rosenberg on ESPN is getting a "good and maybe elite quarterback" or something to that effect. This is the echo chamber of media sensationalism. Before that, he mentioned it's by not means a sure thing that Wilson will get the starting spot. I think's that's the more honest assessment, but it makes for a less exciting story.
I think that Wilson red-shirted his freshman year so that makes him two years older than Denard. He was the ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2008. He holds the NCAA record for most pass attempts without an interception.
Denard was ideally suited for the RR "zone read" offense. You could make the argument that no other QB has ever run it better (or at least nobody put up better numbers).
However, this is a whole new ball game. Russell Wilson has lead a football team with a semi-tradional offense for three consecutive years. Denard lead a team with a non-traditional offense (which has since been scrapped) for one season.
Given the circumstances, I don't think that it's really close at this point. I think that Wilson would be more successful than Denard running Borges' system this year. In fact, he's probably the ideal candidate to do that.
Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade Denard for the world. I'm just not convinced that he's the best candidate to do what he'll be asked to do this fall. He hasn't demonstrated good decision making or downfield passing skills. At this point, we just know that he's fast. Wilson is a more complete QB.
I can't believe that I'm defending Wilson because I really, really don't like NC State. It's just that I've seen him play and the guy is pretty impressive.
I see what you're saying and your point is well taken. I'm saying that the difference is one of mental development and experience, and you're agreeing with me. When I say I'd play Denard, it's because I'm crediting his physical strengths as giving him a higher ceiling I believe he can reach. That's subjective. He may never adapt to the new offense, but that would be Borges's fault as much Robinson's for not adapting. I'm inclined to believe Denard will be better than Wilson by the time he is done. I don't condemn you for disagreeing, or simply erring on the side of experience. That's why I cited Griese, as an example in your favor.
I'm really not trying to phrase this as a Denard vs. Wilson argument. It's more about comparing QB's with good intangibles either naturally or from experience. Again, you can think of it as Griese vs. Denard, if you'd like.
As to Denard's cerebral qualities, that's what comes with experience. That's why I wouldn't play wilson ahead of Robinson, because with his physical advantages, if Robinson gets more experienced, I think he will be better by far. Of course, some QB's never get to that level and will always make bad decisions, or be jittery under fire, but again, I'm making an inference based on observation.
Wilson is good. He's had a lot of time to become good, and even some of his...well, I mention it below. He is sacked quite often, and part of that is NC State's line, but part of it is becayse he'd rather try and fail to make plays with his mistake than take a chancy pass when a play breaks down. Conventional wisdom does say a pass is better than a TO, but that's one of the reason's his TO rate is so low. He's also thrown a few more picks as he tries stretch his wings more. So he never made some of the bad decisions Denard has, that's because he's picking a different poison. Is he perfect for Wisonsin? Not really. Andrew Luck would be perfect. A real slinger with the instincts and arm combined would be perfect. But Wilson's not that bad.
This dude has been screwing around all summer with baseball and his decision and not learning his new O with his new teammates putting in the work, as a teammate (IMHO) he would need to really set an example not to foul up the locker room. I'm not trying to knock on him I just would be worried about the team even if the guy is a star.
I sort of agree, but if he comes in and works hard once he gets there and wins football games for them, his teammates will like him just fine.
That is a good point that you make. I didn't even think about the team chemistry aspect. I'm just glad that it seems like our players are being accountable to each other and really enjoy being teammates.
Can someone tell me which recruiting site is the best out of Rivals, 247sports, Scout, or Espn insider? I'm looking to get a subscription but can't decide on which one i want.
ESPN Insider blows for FB recruiting. They're the last to report everything and have almost no updates with visits and stuff.
On the other hand, becoming an ESPN Insider means you get access to all of ESPN's Insider info and ESPN the mag.
I use Rivals for FB recruiting info. I don't know much about 247 or Scout.
Hope that helps
Mr. Wilson took a good long look in the mirror and said to himself, "I want to be a Leader (TM)." Good for him.
I look forward to seeing him against M in the B10 championship game. Barring that, he doesn't matter since Wisky isn't on M's schedule (till roughly 2020).
Wilson is an exceptional QB. He throws an extremely accurate deep ball and outside of a couple of games in the middle of the season last year, he makes good decisions. He's smart, a great leader, a charismatic guy, and has decent speed.
NC State has had a terrible receiving corp for his entire time in Raleigh. Outside of his TE, George Bryan, his receivers are small, have average hands, and average speed. Wilson's a winner and he'll make Wiscy better.
We all know he's a decent QB, and definately upgrades a position Wis needed, but my question, if anyone knows, is the difference between schemes/playbook from NC State to Wis.
He only has 2 months before his first game, so he's missed out on alot, not to mention forming team chemistry. Just curious if anyone thinks the transition from one college to another within a short amount of time is something for us to even worry about? Granted we don't even play them this year, but still...
It will be interesting to see how he adjusts from throwing the ball over 500 times to 250 - 300 at Wisconsin. Does he hold the ball too long or was NC State's 0-line horrible last year? Those would be the only explainations for a dual-threat qb to get sacked 39 times!
Edit: The o-line must have been bad for a while. He's been sacked 94 times over 3 years.
He is sacked on a regular basis. NC State's O-Line is a part of the problem, but it's also one of the reason's for his low TO ratio. When he get's caught, he scrambles, kind of like Forcier. Instead of taking a bad shot which may get picked off, he either carries the ball down or tries to make the play with his feet, which sometimes worked and sometimes turned into a sack.
Tolzien is no longer there, so "Yah, you betcha!"