Beavis

July 7th, 2011 at 10:00 AM ^

They must have made it real easy for QBs to choose Mizzou with Gabbert getting drafted so high, and Chase Daniel having serious success at Mizzou while still making an NFL team (despite being like 5'11").

That being said, I am from Missouri.  I have been to Mizzou countless times.  It's always a fun environment - the students are great.  But, Columbia sucks as a town.  The campus is "meh" at best.  And it's in the middle of nowhere (stuck between KC and STL - about 1.5 hours from STL and 2.5 from KC).  

I guess it came down to Mizzou recruiting him the hardest, and the recent success they have had with QBs.  Because Michigan is a no brainer in every other sense.  

HAIL 2 VICTORS

July 7th, 2011 at 10:12 AM ^

Beavis-Having lived in Kansas City for the last 15 years I could not agree more about your asessment of Columbia Mo.  However that is a fun sytem for a QB and looking at the new alignment in the B12 Mizzou is in a position to make some noise. 

The Mizzou depth chart at QB might be a little more appealing then competing against Morris even with a year head start considering the systems of both schools.  Not to mention the "scenery" at Mizzou is not bad-not bad at all.\

Gary Pinkell is doing a nice job of recruting and all things considered I understand the choice.

Beavis

July 7th, 2011 at 10:24 AM ^

My dad's family is 110% Mizzou.   It's annoying sometimes, but that's what alcohol is for during family events (my mom is OU through and through too, so she hates it even more than I do).  

During Thanksgiving we spent a good 45 minutes watching a presentation Pinkel gave to a class in the business school at Mizzou (the professor was there, he is a friend of my uncle's).  

It was the worst presentation I have ever seen in my life.  Imagine powerpoint slides with 8 point font, filled from corner to corner.  Pinkel might have a brain for the spread offense, but he can't communicate it for shit in the classroom.  I now think he's less of a football genius and more of a guy who decided "let's go to Texas and recruit some kids away".  Essentially, he is Rich Rod's cousin.  Chose a conference where you can avoid major powers (They were in B12 north, so they didn't play both OU and Texas every year, and Nebraska sucked up until 2 years ago) and recruit kids from a major pipeline state (Pinkel - Texas, RR - Florida).  

I can say with 100% certainty that you could replace RR with Pinkel at Michigan and the end result would have been the exact same.  Maybe there wouldn't have been a silver fox and a plush toy involved - but you get the idea.  

Belisarius

July 7th, 2011 at 10:01 AM ^

Actually, with the temperature rising beneath Oregon's program, maybe (just matbe) we could muster up some Hokus-Pocus and pull a Roundtree on the Duck's QB. He was a target of ours (not that I know of any interest on his part). Longshot, but maybe Hoke can use some of that voodoo he do so well.

Belisarius

July 7th, 2011 at 10:30 AM ^

Actually, it's a Cole Porter lyrics reference:  "You do Something To Me." Also covered by everyone from Sinatra to Ella Fitzgerald. I have no idea about Salt and Peppa.

As I said above, I have no idea if he had any interest in us at any time. I was merely positing that, if we wanted a QB, here's one we previously targeted and missed who might be coming around for a second shot. I'm only speaking to opportunity, not to probability of success.

Deli Cuts

July 7th, 2011 at 6:05 PM ^

He seems to be a solid commit, not sure if Hoke wants to go chasin' waterfalls but he ain't too proud to beg either if need be.  We don't for sure need to take a QB so we can be selective, we don't want no scrubs.

Edit: Shit wrong group I was thinking TLC!  Fail.

jg2112

July 7th, 2011 at 10:09 AM ^

This is actually a good thing.

Michigan certainly doesn't NEED a QB in this class given the roster needs. Also, if Russell Bellomy redshirts, he is a de facto 2012 QB. So, I hope the corches fill out other spots.

Belisarius

July 7th, 2011 at 10:14 AM ^

You know, you say that, and I tend to agree (who are we really going to get who's worth the scholarship, if not Fuller) but to put on the other hat quickly, recall that Houston lost their first and second string QB's last year...in the same game...in the third game of the year. It can happen. The real question to me is whether you can get someone who really amtters even if the worst should happen. In otherwords, with no Fuller, etc., do you really benefit from having Nick Sheridan Mk. II waiting in the wings.

jg2112

July 7th, 2011 at 10:40 AM ^

Yeah, I get what you're saying, and it's good to plan for that....but even if Bellomy plays next year, Morris arrives in 2013 and if the need is great they could take 2 QBs in 2013.

As for the injury point, Houston's situation was beyond weird. Put the Cougars aside (not something I do often) - what was the last time Michigan was forced to play its third-string QB as a result of injury (I'm not talking the Feagin experiment in 2008, or the "Gardner lesson" given to Tate last year)? 1985?

wile_e8

July 7th, 2011 at 11:17 AM ^

I still think 2008 should count, even if you discount the Feagin experiment. Chris Forcier was supposed to be a senior, but transferred when Mallett showed up and instantly passed him on the depth chart. Then Mallett transferred with the coaching change. Ideally Sheridan and Threet would have been third string (at best) QBs had they stuck around, but what happened happened and suddenly they were the best options Rodriguez had.

I doubt something like that would happen again, but if Bellomy doesn't like his spot on the depth chart when Morris shows up, and then Morris gets injured/transfers/bombs out/whatever, the depth chart could get interesting. I don't think an additional line on the depth chart to prevent that would hurt.

Magnus

July 7th, 2011 at 11:28 AM ^

The earliest Morris gets to campus is January 2013, and the latest is June 2013.  From what I can tell by looking at the calendar...well...I can't, actually, because they haven't made calendars for 2013 yet.  He's anywhere from 18 months to 23 months away from arriving in Ann Arbor.  Anything can happen between now and then, including changing his commitment or (I certainly hope not) a severe injury.  We're all giddy about Jordan Payton decommitting from USC, but we ignore the possibility that it might happen to us.

Not taking a quarterback this year puts us in a very precarious position, especially with one QB who gets hurt 2/3 of the time and another QB who missed most of the year with...ahem...back problems.

detrocks

July 7th, 2011 at 10:12 AM ^

Echoing the comments above, Mizzou's offense is a great fit for Mauk.   My guess is that he'll do well there.    I'd also be in favor of just tabling QB recruiting until the fall and seeing if someone moves up the charts or using that schollie on an extra DL/OL stud.

maizeandblue21

July 7th, 2011 at 10:24 AM ^

even though i wasnt a big fan of Mauk as a QB he wouldve made a good backup plan. Hopefully we can land Devin Fuller or a surprise QB later in the high school season

icefins26

July 7th, 2011 at 10:37 AM ^

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Kiel rumored to be between Indiana and Missouri?  Obviously this changes things for him if Missouri was his top choice.  It sounded like Kiel has cut Alabama but now that this has happened, I bet Oklahoma is the favorite.

JohnnyBlue

July 7th, 2011 at 10:38 AM ^

fuller or wait and see what the class looks like in November.  too many 5 stars and high 4 stars still on our board, would rather have one of them instead of a 3 start project

HarBooYa

July 7th, 2011 at 10:42 AM ^

I thought GK was thinking about Mizoo too, no?  Wonder if it has any incremental impact on him and his decision.  Can't see Kiel going to IU.  I also amd starting to think Hoke is tempted to is starting to be tempted do the strange (break the QB a year pattern) and not take a QB this year if its not Kiel and then double up next year or the year after.   

wlubd

July 7th, 2011 at 10:45 AM ^

It probably means Mizzou's out for him but nothing would really surprise me with Kiel. And I wouldn't count out Indiana so quickly; they're close to home, his brother plays there and Oklahoma's OC just became their head coach. All of that plus probable early playing time and there's a lot of reasons why he could choose Indiana.

JimLahey

July 7th, 2011 at 10:48 AM ^

I can't see Gunner Kiel being afraid of competition from Maty Mauk. No offense to Mauk, but Kiel could commit go Mizzou and turn Mauk into a career backup if he wanted to.

turtleboy

July 7th, 2011 at 4:55 PM ^

of a spread 'n shred offense as RR runs. Ideal for Mauk, but I can't see Kiel buying into that kind of system. To your point I don't see Kiel shying away from competition either. Apparently he wouldn't compete with his brother, but still have a year or so with him at Indiana, but he likely wouldn't be fazed by Morris either. I wouldn't expect him to commit to a school that already has a qb in the 2012 class, though.

detrocks

July 7th, 2011 at 10:52 AM ^

I'm still surprised that ND doesn't appear to be anywhere close to being on Kiel's list of finalists.   Given that he's an Indiana kid and that he's got a family history there, I would have thought that ND would have been in his top 5.    Given that Mizzou is one of his finalists, he doesn't appear to be adverse to playing in a spread.   

Don

July 7th, 2011 at 10:57 AM ^

But he's got a pretty solid career as a HC under his belt. He was at Toledo for a decade, had just one losing season, with 9-, 10- and 11-win seasons. Mizzou had been more or less moribund since Dan Devine was HC from '58 to '70, and Pinkel's three double-digit win seasons at Mizzou are the first since Devine had 11 in 1960. Yes, Pinkel struggled some in Columbia during the first several years, with two embarrassing losses to Bowling Green along the way, and his less-than-sparkling personality led some disgruntled Mizzou fans to call him Gary Pickle. Since then, perhaps as a result of his Texas recruiting efforts, things have gotten significantly better. Given the fact that the recruiting base in Missouri is not significant, it's hardly a criticism of him that he's dipped down into Texas for recruits. OK has been doing that forever.

Both my parents and my sister were MIzzou grads, my grandfather was a longtime physics professor there, and I spent many summer days in Columbia when I was a kid, so I always root for Missouri. I hope Mauk does well in Pinkel's offense.

Belisarius

July 7th, 2011 at 11:42 AM ^

The entire Big 12/10 runs on Texas athletes. Always has, always will, right up until the day the conference dissolves. You look at the rosters of Iowa State, Nebraska and Kansas St., it's going to be the same story: Texas athletes in unsuspected quantities. If Mizzou is recruiting Texas well, that's to Pincky's credit.