Shane Morris - the great lefty hope
You can count the left-handed quarterbacks left in the NFL on one hand.
Twenty-two quarterbacks were taken in the 2012 and 2013 NFL drafts - none of them were lefties. The 2014 NFL draft looks to be devoid of left-handed quarterbacks too.
Shane Morris truly may be the great lefty hope. Is Shane aware that he’s got an entire fraternity of current and former NFL players relying on his prized left arm?
August 30th, 2013 at 11:27 PM ^
August 30th, 2013 at 11:33 PM ^
August 30th, 2013 at 11:36 PM ^
Math bummer...
August 30th, 2013 at 11:37 PM ^
As long as it's your left hand.
August 30th, 2013 at 11:38 PM ^
August 30th, 2013 at 11:54 PM ^
most teams carry 3...further emphasizing your point.
August 31st, 2013 at 12:41 AM ^
I incorrectly read it as starting QBs at first.
So, fine in a perfect mathematics world there should be 9.6 lefty QBs. But, of course, lefties have a hard time getting quality coaching growing up, so it's not surprising there are fewer lefties that make it compared to the general population. Plus, baseball.
In short, lol wut.
August 31st, 2013 at 3:40 PM ^
August 30th, 2013 at 11:59 PM ^
Lefties that can throw play baseball
August 31st, 2013 at 9:35 AM ^
Strong armed left handers are much more likely to be steered towards baseball than football as young children
August 31st, 2013 at 12:02 AM ^
I attended school in the Catholic League (importantly not CC) so there's a soft spot in my heart for Shane Morris. He may be my favorite incoming QB since Drew Henson - a guy I loved so much I once picked grass from Brighton HS just because Henson had played on it.
August 31st, 2013 at 12:52 AM ^
August 31st, 2013 at 3:02 AM ^
I was 9 when Henson was in high school, so hopefully that takes the creepy out. He was the first Michigan player I ever knew who grew up where I grew up, something that was shocking to the younger version of myself.
August 31st, 2013 at 3:10 AM ^
I was 17 and picked grass from the end zone after my final home game of my senior year, I can dig it
August 31st, 2013 at 11:24 AM ^
Les Miles is in his 50's and both picks and chews on field grass. He is doing quite well for himself (actually in spite of himself some might say).
August 31st, 2013 at 12:08 AM ^
If Shane gets to the next level, even if there aren't as many left-handed QBs as there once were, he is still in decent company in the context of NFL history. I mean, Jim Zorn, Boomer Esiason, Stece Young, Eric Wilhelm amd several others. This was interesting, however:
“Maybe it was a disadvantage being left-handed because it became a bit of a challenge for the traditional right tackle. When I was in, he had to block the blind side. Play-callers, too, had to flip the calls around,” adds Huard. "
It was also interesting to see Phil Simms mention his theory that left-handers are - in his mind - going where the money will be for them; baseball
August 31st, 2013 at 12:23 AM ^
No lefty QB list is complete without the USS Scott Mitchell.
August 31st, 2013 at 12:50 AM ^
August 31st, 2013 at 10:18 AM ^
August 31st, 2013 at 12:40 AM ^
Less than 15 hours.
August 31st, 2013 at 12:50 AM ^
Who cares. They are here to play for UM and get an education. If they go to the NFL or not, should not matter to you as a Michigan football fan. And yes I get that a better college football player traditionally turns into an NFL draft pick but ... we are not here to be NFL's draft system or AAA team. This is Michigan fergodsakes.
August 31st, 2013 at 1:09 AM ^
August 31st, 2013 at 1:12 AM ^
/s just in case
August 31st, 2013 at 1:47 AM ^
No I hope they all go to the NFL and turn into Woodson or Brady. But what they do in the NFL has no effect on how the Michigan football team is going to do while they are here playing for U of M. So yes great stats - lefties suck in the NFL or leties usually fail in the NFL - thanks for the information. Those stats don't have anything to do with how Shane will do at the college level which is the main focus of MICHIGAN football as opposed to NFL TRAINING GROUNDS football.
August 31st, 2013 at 7:44 AM ^
August 31st, 2013 at 10:24 AM ^
August 31st, 2013 at 1:40 AM ^
So let me preface this with... I don't know shit about football and it's just a stupid hypothesis... but when I reverse the spin on a frisbee and throw it underhand with my thumb instead of the usual way, the drop rate from the guy catching it is at least double, and probably triple or quadruple. People catching a frisbee are expecting a certain spin and don't realize that the spin is coming opposite. The difference is extremely subtle, but there are hundreds of hours of practice that go into making you really good at catching a frisbee without thinking about it and I believe a tiny change can have an effect. I wonder if the same thing may happen with a football thrown by a lefty. The spin is completely reversed making the most subtle difference. Sure you can get used to it, but it's still different than 90% of all the other footballs you've caught in your life. Obviously, the spin on a football is less of a factor than it is with a frisbee and clearly this isn't the only reason why there are few lefty QBs, but every time I throw a frisbee with reverse spin and the guy drops it (which is a lot) I think about Shane's lefty spin. Dumb hypothesis, but it's better than any other explanation I've heard yet.
August 31st, 2013 at 2:05 AM ^
August 31st, 2013 at 10:00 AM ^
I think there's something to this. I've read that receivers can have some challenges when the ball has a reverse spin.
But ... that can be overcome fairly quickly with practice and reps.
You mentioned Frisbee, but that's a case where you are alternating the spin throw by throw. That would be like an ambidextrous QB throwing either righty or lefty, depending on the situation. If such a QB existed*, my guess is the receivers would have to be trained to focus a bit more.
* Has there ever been a QB that could throw equally well with both hands? Imagine that skill coupled with the ability to throw on the run ... roll right and throw right, roll left and throw left.
August 31st, 2013 at 3:12 PM ^
Not a QB, but there was a pitcher in the Yankees system who was ambidextrous a little while ago. IIRC, he was trained by his parents to throw with both hands since he was a kid.
I imagine that anyone with the skill of being ambidextrous would naturally go toward baseball, where it is much easier to use the skill. And, it's hard enough for players to throw properly while practicing with only one arm, can you imagine if they had to split their time between both arms? I don't think it could work.
August 31st, 2013 at 2:11 AM ^
If you are a lefty who can throw, you typically play MLB baseball...
August 31st, 2013 at 2:20 AM ^
major league baseball baseball
August 31st, 2013 at 3:04 AM ^
August 31st, 2013 at 2:15 AM ^
No idea why there is so much hostility in this thread. He is just passing along a cool article that talks about Shane. Sheesh.
August 31st, 2013 at 2:19 AM ^
Gary Harris apparently messed up his ankle pretty bad.
August 31st, 2013 at 6:10 AM ^
August 31st, 2013 at 8:20 AM ^
August 31st, 2013 at 8:42 AM ^
August 31st, 2013 at 11:40 AM ^