Quarterbacks will be the story at several big-time NCAA football programs this year, and the spring game will be the first big opportunity to shine for several of these quarterbacks. It will also be the first chance for college football fans to see their Gridiron Generals take control of the offense and hopefully show what they can do at the collegiate level. There’s going to be a lot of nervous and excited fans in the stands, but even more nervous quarterbacks on the sidelines as this is the moment that they’ve worked all of their lives for – a chance to be the starting QB in Division I college football!
Tate Forcier – Michigan Wolverines – True Freshman
Tate Forcier is slightly undersized at 6′1″ 185 pounds but he’s extremely fast, with 40 yd dash times ranging from 4.55 – 4.63. He comes from a quarterbacking lineage with two older brothers currently playing quarterback – one at Stanford and one at UCLA. He’s very accurate, and with his size and speed is very well-suited to a college spread-offense. Tate can run well with the ball, and with his older brothers beating on him growin up, you know he’s got the toughness and that quarterback mentality deeply ingrained. Michigan had the worst season in its history last year and there’s nothing stopping them from starting Tate Forcier as a freshmen to help rebuild the program. As Eric Hubbs noted in his recent post regarding Michigan Football being in shambles:
“…Rich Rod pulled in the #7th ranked recruiting class which included two quarterbacks – Tate Forcier who has already enrolled in classes and is practicing with the team, and Denard Robinson. Starter Steven Threet (who does not fit the spread system well) recently transferred. This transfer though is one that I think will help us out. On a whole, Michigan’s recruiting class consists of one 5 star recruit (DT Will Campbell), and thirteen 4 star recruits. So at least that’s one definite thing going our way.”
I totally agree with Eric. Now keep in mind, I’m a season ticket holder and life-long fan of the Buffalo Bulls program and I watched us go from one of the worst teams in the nation to the MAC Champions in 3 years because coach Turner Gill recruited one amazing class after another and started a ton of freshmen and sophomores right from day one. That was the road to success for the Buffalo Bulls, and could likely be the same for the Michigan Wolverines.
One last note – now I don’t know about you, but this guy has the size, the quarterbacking style, and the athletic ability of one quarterback that just had one hell of a workout at the NFL combine in 2009 and that’s Pat White, formely of the West Virginia Mountaineers. This is not always considered a good thing, as most NFL scouts have Pat White pegged as a wide receiver. Oh well. Tate is perfect for the college game, and we’ll see where that leads down the road.
Matt Barkley – USC Trojans – True Freshman
Matt Barkley is the man coming out of high school, but will not likely make an impact with the USC Trojans this year – because it’s a school that’s full of the men. However, Matt is likely the future of USC football. At 6′3″ 222 pounds, he’s already got NCAA size and arm strength. He’s your prototypical pocket passer. He’s extremely accurate, throws a very catchable ball when he sets his feet, addresses his target and steps into his throw, and he’s tough and willing to stand in and take a hit. Matt Barkley has all of the necessary tools and clearly has been well-coached.
Barkley was voted the 2007 Gatorade’s Male Athlete of the Year and Gatorade’s National Player of the Year. He was also California’s Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior. Barkley was also voted Los Angeles Times Player of the Year and the Inaugural Joe Montana Quarterback of the Year. Wow…..let me catch my breath here.
A good point made in one blog regarding the new USC recruit:
“Barkley took the helm as a freshman (in high school) and never looked back. He has a few things going for him, though, that separate him from the rest of the QB prospects…the fact he operated from a “pro-style” offense and has the requisite footwork and his alma mater (Mater Dei High School – one of the best in the country), which means he played against some of the best high school competition in the country.”
One thing that’s often tough to determine is how well a guy will play against real competition, because so many college athletes were freaks vs. very soft competition in high school. That is not the case for Matt Barkley.
Stay tuned as next time I’m going to cover a couple of freshman quarterbacks for the Georgia Bulldogs.
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I am not a USC fan or anything like that but I can’t wait to see this kid play. Calling him a kid is not really that right term to use because of if you watch his film he looks like a man among boys. It is astounding how efficient Barkley is and he has got a pretty good arm too. ESPN was saying there is an outside possibillity that he could start as a freshman. Carroll and new USC Jeremy Bates is leaving the QB competetion completely open. He is competing with Aaron Corp and Mitch Mustain. I think Barkley plays sometime this year as in he takes over as starter. This guy is a true talent.
You know who you should do an article about, Mitch Mustain(former national HS player of the year, all-everything QB out of Arkansas). You could call it “My how the mighty have fallen!”. 3 years ago this February 2006- Stafford, Tebow, and Mitch Mustain were the top 3 recruited QB’s in America. Stafford is about to be a top draft pick and Tim Tebow couldn’t be more successful or popular at Florida. Mustain, on the otherhand, is the odd man out. All the potential in the world and nothing to show for it. If that is not a tragic story, I don’t know what is.
You know, I can’t believe you mentioned Mustain because I swear to God that really was the next blog I was gonna do! I was fascinated by that too. I haven’t gotten enough details as to why he left Arkansas. That guy was supposed to be the next superstar and he disappeared. I’m inclined to believe his reasons for leaving Arkansas must have seemed legit or Carroll would have never brought him on board. I’m really shocked he went to USC, though. You’ve gotta figure he wanted to be “thee man on campus” at a big school but you’re taking a huge chance at a football factory like USC. You hear about guys like Matt Cassell who hadn’t started a football game since high school before taking over for Tom Brady because he was always “the next great thing” behind superstars in front of him.
It’s going to be real hard keeping Barkley on the bench if he’s able to pick up on the USC offense quickly. Mustain must have thought he could beat out Sanchez – because nobody would have predicted before the 2009 season that Sanchez would leave early for the NFL. Mustain has the best chance he’ll ever get right now. If Barkley takes the helm, Mustain is shot. That would really be tragic for him. It’s going to be really interesting to watch. I’m hoping their spring game will be televised – I haven’t checked yet.
There was an article in ESPN the magazine about Missouri QB Chase Daniel and his back up QB Chase Patton. The argument that the article was trying to make was while Daniels was having an incredibly successful career, it was Patton who was more likely to make it in the NFL. He was more likely to perform at a combine and had a much more protypical body for the NFL 6-4 220; plus a stronger arm than Daniels. Mustain is still talented and most NFL coaches look at him and say, “There is nothing I can’t teach him or fix.”
Georgia had a QB named Preston Jones who backed up Georgia legend, Eric Zeier, who set all kinds of SEC and Georgia records (1991-1994). He never played much at all but Preston Jones still had a 10 year NFL career as a backup for Philly and other places. Being the back up still pays just ask Matt Cassel.