Some people call this the most important position on the field. It would be hard to argue against that, which is why it is important for a smooth transition on this Spartan team. With the graduation and drafting of senior Kirk Cousins, Andrew Maxwell is the new starter for MSU. Andrew Maxwell is a junior who has been developing under Kirk for the past three years. For his career Maxwell has only 294 yards and 1 touch down. That is not a whole lot of action. I can remember the touch down, I believe it was to Dion Sims and then pretty much all I can remember is him getting injured against Alabama. Maxwell missed the spring game with a knee injury but has since made a full recovery. His scrimmage stats are solid, though skewed because they are scrimmage stats. One thing that has been coming out of scrimmages and practices is that Maxwell does not make mistakes. I don't need to spell out why this is a good thing. Along with that Maxwell is said to possess a stronger arm than Cousins. What is obvious about Andrew is that he is more athletic, I expect Andrew to run for short third downs rather than forcing passes. Andrew will benefit from limiting his mistakes in the first few games. Confidence will be key. Outside of that, I have no idea what to expect. We will get a good glimpse of that this Friday.
Behind Andrew, MSU has Connor Cook. Cook is a redshirt freshman. During the spring game, Cook played for both teams due to Maxwell's injury. His stats were solid, but again this was a glorified scrimmage. What is being said about Cook is that his spring game time, and reps with the first team have been incredible for his growth. Cook is a quarterback in a similar vain to Maxwell. He has a strong arm and is a more mobile quarterback. Should an injury occur to Maxwell, Cook would be our guy. While he has a solid grasp of the offense having spent the summer studying the plays, this would cause me to lose what little hair I still have (on my head).
From there MSU has Tyler O'Connor who is expected to redshirt. O'Connor was an excellent high school athlete, even kicking for his high school team. Finally there is Peter Badovinac. Peter is in his final season after playing one year at Drake in 2008. Pete was fairly successful there though he only played in 5 games. Pete is another quarterback with the ability to run the ball.
This was pretty short for the Spartans mostly due to the lack of experience. There is not a lot to comment on. I am very excited about the potential of Maxwell. I think he will be a good quarterback for us. It will be nice having a player that scrambles a bit more, Especially if that means first downs and not forced down field passes. Spartan fans should temper their expectations for now. Cousins was a great quarterback with boundless poise. It will be interesting to see what Maxwell looks like when this Boise State game is close.
UM
Denard. Everyone knows this story. One of the most dynamic athletes in all of football. This is his swan song, his last chance to win big at Michigan. I wish Denard would have redshirted his freshman year because he still has a lot of room for development and growth, but then again we would have missed out on this:
Denard needs to limit his turnovers and stay healthy but with a little more development in the passing game he is solidly in the Heisman Trophy mix. He is probably the best (and most important) player in the Big Ten conference. As MSU fans can attest, senior QBs are good to have leading your team. Michigan finally gets just that this season. Denard also gets to play in year 2 of Al Borges' offense and should be much more comfortable than last year in what was a transition year.
For MSU fans, if you haven't seen many Michigan games other than the UM-MSU game, you probably don't understand all the hype around Denard. His two worst games in his entire career have come against Michigan State. Some credit for that needs to go to Dantonio and Narduzzi, and maybe they have his number, but he needs to step up his play his best against the very best competition. A positive sign in that direction was Denard's performance in last season's finale against the Buckeyes.
Next in is Devin Gardner. He's such a good athlete that he's likely going to be Michigan's most dangerous threat at receiver this season. He worked his way into a bunch of playing time last season, even seeing snaps when Denard was totally healthy. I'm not sure how much of that we will see this season. Gardner would still be very raw if he is forced to start games for Michigan this season. He's in the mold of Minnesota's Marquies Gray and provides height, speed and a strong arm.
Redshirt freshman Russell Bellomy is the third guy on the depth chart for the Wolverines. Bellomy has been receiving a lot of hype out of spring and fall camp and Hoke has even stated he would be comfortable if Bellomy had to play. Sorry coach, I wouldn't be comfortable with it. Bellomy was a Purdue commit before flipping to Michigan and in his scrimmage footage he looks about like a typical Purdue QB. He's mobile, has a decent arm and good touch but I've never seen him make those throws on a rope that elite college QBs are capable of making.
Overall this is the best unit on Michigan's team. Their best player and their second best athlete are both QBs (though Devin may play more WR this year). Anything less than All-Big Ten for Denard is a massive disappointment.
The Comparison
Spartan fans probably haven't had such a combination of being excited and nervous for a season opener in quite a few seasons and that is mostly due to having such high expectations, a great opening opponent and massive uncertainty at the QB position. We know Maxwell is the guy, we just don't know how effective he will be. Spartan nation will be watching closely each time Maxwell drops back with keen interest. He could be anywhere from a liability, making MSU a one dimensional offense, to a fresh on-the-scenes superstar who is immediately one of the Big Ten's best quarterbacks. That's a giant range. I expect Maxwell to be a steady, consistent performer who makes a few mistakes as all first time starters usually do while making a few throws that showcase an NFL caliber arm down the road.
It's difficult to envision a scenario where both teams have healthy quarterbacks and this is anything but a huge edge for Michigan. Denard should be further improved as a passer and all the while be on his way to breaking records on the ground. Denard is special, Maxwell would have to be that special type of talent as well.
Edge: Michigan (big)
No comments:
Post a Comment