[fyao]

We have enough quarterbacks, although I see he also plays safety.  I\'m sure he has his merits, but I would have preferred to use the schollie on a OL/DL.  If he were a 5 star qb like Luck was I could see it, but otherwise I\'m puzzled.

[fyao]

We have enough quarterbacks, although I see he also plays safety.  I\'m sure he has his merits, but I would have preferred to use the schollie on a OL/DL.  If he were a 5 star qb like Luck was I could see it, but otherwise I\'m puzzled.

[ealtice]

I\'m just waiting to see how the whole process works out.  Those star ratings often get adjusted during the course of the player\'s senior year, so maybe Harbaugh and Co. see something more in him.  Rivals, for one, has him rated significantly higher than Crower right now.  And, of course, we are a long way from signing day, so we maybe the coaches are just being sure they get at least one good QB through the whole process.

[ealtice]

I\'m just waiting to see how the whole process works out.  Those star ratings often get adjusted during the course of the player\'s senior year, so maybe Harbaugh and Co. see something more in him.  Rivals, for one, has him rated significantly higher than Crower right now.  And, of course, we are a long way from signing day, so we maybe the coaches are just being sure they get at least one good QB through the whole process.

[stanfan]

Check out the kid\'s highlight video on youtube.   He appears to be an extremely accurate passer.  He doesn\'t hit receivers, he hits them on the numbers...he\'s big and mobile.  I  don\'t know where he\'ll play, but it could be QB.

[stanfan]

Check out the kid\'s highlight video on youtube.   He appears to be an extremely accurate passer.  He doesn\'t hit receivers, he hits them on the numbers...he\'s big and mobile.  I  don\'t know where he\'ll play, but it could be QB.

[Redrum]

Maybe they\'ve looked at our backups: Loukas (no future w/ us), Nunes (hasn\'t done anything to separate himself from others), Picazo ( a competitor, but with a ceiling on his abilities),  

Anyway, it\'s a plausible conclusion for JH to draw.  If Luck isn\'t healthy or goes pro, we are screwed. and help that will arrive will be late and inexperienced.

Commits due on campus this season: Nottingham (unknown quantity at collegiate level).    Greg Olson (walkon? greyshirt?)Darren Daniel (on idea, not highly rated),

Commits:  Dallas Lloyd (Mormon mission, not here until 2012), Taysom Hill (ditto), Skyler Mornhinweg (supposedly a talented jr. dad has coaching rep).

I guess Harbaugh is either OCD about quarterbacks or chasing more talent that can arrive sooner is his way of dealing with what talent he sees already on the field.

[Redrum]

Maybe they\'ve looked at our backups: Loukas (no future w/ us), Nunes (hasn\'t done anything to separate himself from others), Picazo ( a competitor, but with a ceiling on his abilities),  

Anyway, it\'s a plausible conclusion for JH to draw.  If Luck isn\'t healthy or goes pro, we are screwed. and help that will arrive will be late and inexperienced.

Commits due on campus this season: Nottingham (unknown quantity at collegiate level).    Greg Olson (walkon? greyshirt?)Darren Daniel (on idea, not highly rated),

Commits:  Dallas Lloyd (Mormon mission, not here until 2012), Taysom Hill (ditto), Skyler Mornhinweg (supposedly a talented jr. dad has coaching rep).

I guess Harbaugh is either OCD about quarterbacks or chasing more talent that can arrive sooner is his way of dealing with what talent he sees already on the field.

[JohnR34231]

If the QB situation behind Luck really does look lackluster you start to wonder a bit about JH\'s judgment as he recruited just about all these guys.

I think it\'s one more example of his philosophy that you bring in the best athletes you can find and worry about where they are going to play later. Of course, QB is one position you definitely don\'t want to be caught short at.

My guess is that Luck\'s successor will be either Nottingham or Crower, and while whoever it is may not make us forget AL, we\'ll be happy with his production.

Anyway I smell a possible Tai-ler Jones situation here. The kid\'s got ties to ND, lives much closer to the Irish campus, and has yet to be offered. If ND decides to extend one, well, we\'ll see.

[JohnR34231]

If the QB situation behind Luck really does look lackluster you start to wonder a bit about JH\'s judgment as he recruited just about all these guys.

I think it\'s one more example of his philosophy that you bring in the best athletes you can find and worry about where they are going to play later. Of course, QB is one position you definitely don\'t want to be caught short at.

My guess is that Luck\'s successor will be either Nottingham or Crower, and while whoever it is may not make us forget AL, we\'ll be happy with his production.

Anyway I smell a possible Tai-ler Jones situation here. The kid\'s got ties to ND, lives much closer to the Irish campus, and has yet to be offered. If ND decides to extend one, well, we\'ll see.

[washingtonismoney]

Well, recruiting is inherently a crapshoot. The only guys Harbaugh has seen play in a college context are Nunes and Picazo. The latter is a walk-on, and so can\'t be expected to do well (it\'s a nice surprise when they do). Nunes, on the other hand, was highly recruited, but these players fail all the time. They\'re less likely to fail than their lightly-recruited counterparts, but most recruited players don\'t do all that well. So really, only one player has failed (if this interpretation of Harbaugh\'s behavior is correct).

Meanwhile, his recruits next year have some promise, but Harbaugh has only seen them play in high school--what happens when they step on the practice field in college? What if they aren\'t good? Or get injured? Harbaugh may just be building in some redundancy just in case.

[washingtonismoney]

Well, recruiting is inherently a crapshoot. The only guys Harbaugh has seen play in a college context are Nunes and Picazo. The latter is a walk-on, and so can\'t be expected to do well (it\'s a nice surprise when they do). Nunes, on the other hand, was highly recruited, but these players fail all the time. They\'re less likely to fail than their lightly-recruited counterparts, but most recruited players don\'t do all that well. So really, only one player has failed (if this interpretation of Harbaugh\'s behavior is correct).

Meanwhile, his recruits next year have some promise, but Harbaugh has only seen them play in high school--what happens when they step on the practice field in college? What if they aren\'t good? Or get injured? Harbaugh may just be building in some redundancy just in case.

[Redrum]

Also, although Harbaugh has offered some (many?) of the highly rated QBs,  he has made it clear through his words and actions that he is looking for more than good high school stats and good mechanics.  Harbaugh is looking for something less quantifiable. He wants football players.  This is almost an ineffable quality.  You know it when you see it in game situations.  A guy who can make good things happen.  Competitors who can impose their will despite imperfect technique.

In short,  Harbaugh is looking for himself.  As both a college and pro QB, he was never as gifted as some of his peers.  Not without talent, but it was his drive, his competitiveness that made him special.  He was a winner because that approach to football was instilled in him via his football coach family.   He believes that is the magic essence that is more important than anything else, at least for QBs.   So he has cast his nets wide, offering less highly rated guys because he thinks he sees that football player spark in them.  That is why, I think, that walk-on Picazo got such opportunities at Stanford.  He has that "it" factor that Harbaugh values...he just doesn\'t have the physical gifts to match.
(That is why losing Loukas last year hurt more than we know, because Harbaugh loved his competitiveness and saw physical ability better than Picazo that could have been molded into a credible passing QB.  But he\'s lost that development year)

That, or it\'s just complete psychobbable on my part.

[Redrum]

Also, although Harbaugh has offered some (many?) of the highly rated QBs,  he has made it clear through his words and actions that he is looking for more than good high school stats and good mechanics.  Harbaugh is looking for something less quantifiable. He wants football players.  This is almost an ineffable quality.  You know it when you see it in game situations.  A guy who can make good things happen.  Competitors who can impose their will despite imperfect technique.

In short,  Harbaugh is looking for himself.  As both a college and pro QB, he was never as gifted as some of his peers.  Not without talent, but it was his drive, his competitiveness that made him special.  He was a winner because that approach to football was instilled in him via his football coach family.   He believes that is the magic essence that is more important than anything else, at least for QBs.   So he has cast his nets wide, offering less highly rated guys because he thinks he sees that football player spark in them.  That is why, I think, that walk-on Picazo got such opportunities at Stanford.  He has that "it" factor that Harbaugh values...he just doesn\'t have the physical gifts to match.
(That is why losing Loukas last year hurt more than we know, because Harbaugh loved his competitiveness and saw physical ability better than Picazo that could have been molded into a credible passing QB.  But he\'s lost that development year)

That, or it\'s just complete psychobbable on my part.

[washingtonismoney]

One additional note: Crower, I believe, is slated to do the two-sport route (football and baseball). Which I doubt Harbaugh\'s against per se, but it does mean he\'ll miss many spring practices in favor of baseball, practices that could hinder his development as a QB (necessitating, perhaps, the QB redundancy).

[washingtonismoney]

One additional note: Crower, I believe, is slated to do the two-sport route (football and baseball). Which I doubt Harbaugh\'s against per se, but it does mean he\'ll miss many spring practices in favor of baseball, practices that could hinder his development as a QB (necessitating, perhaps, the QB redundancy).

[ealtice]

One more thing to think about in this regard:  in most recruiting classes, only about half of the players recruited become real strong contributors (starters or primary backups).  There may be exceptions to this on teams that are talent-starved, where a higher percentage of players will play a major role on the team, but really, if you have roughly 80 scholarship players, most of them are not going to end up playing critical roles on your team.  

Quarterback is such a crucial position on any successful team, there is an argument to be made for using an extra spot or two on the team to improve your chances of getting a real contributor at the most important single position on the field.  Now, if the spot given to a three-star quarterback means the team loses out on a chance at say a 4* or 5* player, then the decision is questionable.  But if the position means the team passes on a 2* DT, then I\'ll take my chances on the QB, and figure we can find/develop a DT somewhere along the line.

[ealtice]

One more thing to think about in this regard:  in most recruiting classes, only about half of the players recruited become real strong contributors (starters or primary backups).  There may be exceptions to this on teams that are talent-starved, where a higher percentage of players will play a major role on the team, but really, if you have roughly 80 scholarship players, most of them are not going to end up playing critical roles on your team.  

Quarterback is such a crucial position on any successful team, there is an argument to be made for using an extra spot or two on the team to improve your chances of getting a real contributor at the most important single position on the field.  Now, if the spot given to a three-star quarterback means the team loses out on a chance at say a 4* or 5* player, then the decision is questionable.  But if the position means the team passes on a 2* DT, then I\'ll take my chances on the QB, and figure we can find/develop a DT somewhere along the line.