Malik Zaire does not appear to be Happy with the 3 QB situation at Florida
Malik Zaire does not appear to be happy with the 3 QBs decision by Head coach and had this to say:
"Obviously it's not ideal," Zaire said. "I don't think anybody in the quarterback room wants that. But at the end of the day, you just got to do what Coach wants. I feel like Coach should be confident enough to stick with a guy and be able to roll with that guy because that's best for the team. When you have all these quarterbacks, you still have none at the end of the day.
"Being decisive, just like how quarterbacks have to be on the field, is [what's] most important for this team's success. ... I just leave it up to those coaches to make the great decisions that they do. That's why they get paid the big bucks. I just play my game and know I'll be ready when my number's called."
August 24th, 2017 at 9:59 AM ^
Not sure but I think this could cause some locker room problems, or cause the coach to lose the team, especially if it backfires
August 24th, 2017 at 10:05 AM ^
MsU 2016. Three out of nine players, agree.
August 24th, 2017 at 2:37 PM ^
...should it be three out of twelve? or is that too obscure?
August 24th, 2017 at 11:03 AM ^
I'm like 99 percent sure him or Kizer said the same thing when they had the QB competition at ND. And that didn't turn out too well.
August 24th, 2017 at 11:23 AM ^
The fact that he has not been able to outright win a QB battle twice, he has to realize he is the common denominator and that he isn't that good of a QB
August 24th, 2017 at 12:04 PM ^
I've said it a few times now, and been chastised a little for saying it - Ziare is the guy that couldn't beat out the starter on a 4-8 team. When you're the backup on a 4-8 team, your ego probably shouldn't be too large...
August 24th, 2017 at 12:32 PM ^
To be fair, 4-8 team or not, the starter was highly drafted
August 24th, 2017 at 1:22 PM ^
To be fair, SOME teams would be happier with a 4-8 record.
August 24th, 2017 at 3:10 PM ^
And was just named the starter for the Browns.
August 24th, 2017 at 12:53 PM ^
Not beating out a guy who went early in the draft and appears to be in line to start for an NFL team (yes it's the Browns, but still) is one thing. Failing to beat out a talented but extremely raw freshman and another guy who just flat out stinks is far more damming.
August 24th, 2017 at 3:48 PM ^
There is a small but non-zero chance that all this banter is just trying to keep Michigan off-guard. Maybe Zaire is the definitive starter and McElwain is playing games trying to get us to prep for a non-mobile QB (no idea if Del Rio is mobile)? More likely than not, this is as it appears to be and it's a mess in Gainsville, but maybe a little gamesmanship is happening.
August 24th, 2017 at 12:55 PM ^
Oh look, my first double post. I think I'll commemorate this occasion with cake.
August 24th, 2017 at 1:23 PM ^
I'm 1 percent sure that's true.
August 24th, 2017 at 11:30 AM ^
When he says these kinds of things to the press, one has to wonder what is being said in the locker room.
August 24th, 2017 at 12:05 PM ^
who transferred in 2 months ago is unhappy.
There is a message that was probably already clear to everyone. McIlwain needs to sort out his QB situation soon and decisively. Playing all 3 is not a good plan. Doing it in the first game is a way to make a decision. All 3 had better be real close or it makes little sense to do it that way. It will be a baptism under fire, running Nuss' offense against Don Brown and our DL.
August 24th, 2017 at 9:58 AM ^
Wow. Not very subtle.
August 24th, 2017 at 9:59 AM ^
I don't read a single thing into these comments. Venting a little frustration, but understands the situation.
Acknowledges that he has coaches that know more about the situation than he does.
Everyone is excited/nervous/frustrated from the intense practices they've been going through the past month.
When the game starts, all this crap goes out the window.
August 24th, 2017 at 10:01 AM ^
My takeaway is that McElwain's comments about possibly playing all three are true and not just gamesmanship which is what I originally thought.
August 24th, 2017 at 10:10 AM ^
But the message is still "your baby is ugly"
August 24th, 2017 at 11:46 AM ^
it's Uber gamesmanship and McElwain has the starting QB going along with the ruse...
or not.
August 24th, 2017 at 12:24 PM ^
Could be, and the thought crossed my mind. But in the end they're just deciding which guy Nussmeier will be forced to sacrific to Maurice Hurst and Rashan Gary. No reason to be falsely coy about it.
August 24th, 2017 at 2:08 PM ^
In which order you mean. I think more than one will be sacrificed to Hurst/Gary. The question is, who gets it first.
August 24th, 2017 at 10:31 AM ^
"Acknowledges that he has coaches that know more about the situation than he does." Eh, maybe.
But then he says, "I feel like Coach should be confident enough to stick with a guy and be able to roll with that guy because that's best for the team. When you have all these quarterbacks, you still have none at the end of the day." And he said that in conjunction with, "Being decisive, just like how quarterbacks have to be on the field . . . ." So he's publicly contradicting the coach's management at this point.
To put it another way: Imagine if one of UM's QBs said such a thing about the competition that Harbaugh has going on.
August 24th, 2017 at 10:50 AM ^
All three of them (on Michigan) are thinking exactly what Zaire is. They wish this shit wasn't going on and they knew what was happening.
I'm not saying what he's said is right and proper, but I really do not have a big deal with it.
August 24th, 2017 at 11:27 AM ^
It seems you are assuming the QB's here do not know exactly where they stand in the battle that wages on. I suspect they all know exactly who would be the starter on a day to day basis. From all reports I have ever heard UM coaches and especially Harbaugh make it very clear to the players where they stand. Do they share those specifics with the outside world? No. Nothing to gain by doing so.
Some of our guys may not like where they are on the depth chart, but I bet they all know where they stand.
August 24th, 2017 at 11:30 AM ^
I'd guarantee the opposite at UM. These guys are either JH recruits or have been in his system for long enough to know that competition is part of being on a JH team. I can't see why any of them would be frustrated with what they willingly signed up for.
August 24th, 2017 at 1:12 PM ^
Cannot be thinking exactly what Zaire is because JH is not doing the same thing FL is. JH is having a competition which will result in a winner. Perhaps the winner has been decided (especially for game 1). Others will play to get seasoning and exerience as the games allow. Competition will continue, but a #1 will be playing.
At FL, there are three winners (or losers) in the competition. Apparently, nothing has been decided at FL yet.
August 24th, 2017 at 11:26 AM ^
Agreed. I was less concerned that McElwain hasn't named a starter, because we haven't either, and I don't think that's a bad sign. It could just be misdirection.
But once Zaire started publicly questioning it and challenging the coach's decisiveness by not naming a starter, I realized it wasn't McElwain trying to make us game-plan for 3 different QBs, and that there may actually be some issues with this unit.
August 24th, 2017 at 11:29 AM ^
Harbaugh declares a winner to the competition. Or least has the leader board up. The Florida coach isn't doing that, and that's why he's upset.
August 24th, 2017 at 9:59 AM ^
Publicly second-guessing your coach just weeks after joining the team?
Bold strategy.
August 24th, 2017 at 10:13 AM ^
Let's see if it pays off.
August 24th, 2017 at 11:41 AM ^
I'm sure it will help him win the job.......
August 24th, 2017 at 10:01 AM ^
After UF changed the rules to allow Zaire to get away from the purple people eater and play immediately
August 24th, 2017 at 10:02 AM ^
is imploding.....the sky is falling.......
August 24th, 2017 at 10:04 AM ^
he's older than the others and probably feels entitled; maybe SharkHumper told him he'd have the job if he transferred. I'd guess he will have a hold on the job by mid-season; we are catching a break, I think, by getting them before they are locked in to a QB.
August 24th, 2017 at 12:11 PM ^
I'm not sure that having them locked into a QB, or not, would make any difference at all. I don't see any way that offense can stay competitive against Don Brown's defense. Just don't see it - not enough weapons, not enough talent, not enough scheme flexibility.
August 24th, 2017 at 10:05 AM ^
This plus the coach humping sharks definitely has to have the Qbs doubting their coach. Glad we don't have that kind of drama.
August 24th, 2017 at 10:06 AM ^
Could you imagine the fallout from Schembechler Hall if this happened here?
August 24th, 2017 at 10:11 AM ^
there are no sharks in the Huron River.
August 24th, 2017 at 10:23 AM ^
Yep, exactly.
August 24th, 2017 at 10:59 AM ^
Probably not much fallout. His comments aren't really that bad.
August 24th, 2017 at 10:06 AM ^
Comes in, HIT the QB, the kid is running.
August 24th, 2017 at 10:08 AM ^
Yeah!
August 24th, 2017 at 10:09 AM ^
Surprised to see such passive aggressive remarks from a guy who spent the last four years getting screamed at point blank by a purple ogre.
August 24th, 2017 at 10:12 AM ^
A happy camper.