Sid: Coaches will take a good look at RS freshman Chris Streveler next spring at QB


They'll be taking a look to see if he should be 3rd or 4th string. No possible way he's named starter next year. You can't be continuously successful starting freshman QBs year in and year out...
 

The coaches will make those determinations and play the people they feel give them the best chance to win. Like they always do
 

If they feel he can handle second string duties, Leidner will move to TE.

No inside info, just speculation on my part.
 

If they feel he can handle second string duties, Leidner will move to TE.

No inside info, just speculation on my part.

My speculation is that Streveler has at least a 50/50 shot at being #2 and seeing the field.
 


They'll be taking a look to see if he should be 3rd or 4th string. No possible way he's named starter next year. You can't be continuously successful starting freshman QBs year in and year out...

kill plays who he feels is best... if this kid goes out in spring practice and fall practice and blows phil an mitch away...you damn well better believe he will start..
 

kill plays who he feels is best... if this kid goes out in spring practice and fall practice and blows phil an mitch away...you damn well better believe he will start..

Exactly right. It wouldn't surprise me to see a new starting QB next year. It's not like Phil or Mitch were the second coming of Ricky Foggie last year.
 

I never understood why some people think it's a bad thing or bad for the program if an experienced starter is overtaken or beat out. If a better player can play, it's a good thing. Period.

During the BTN Gophers season preview, DiNardo said something to the effect that if Nelson is NOT the starter for the next several years, it would be a bad sign. I kind of get where he's going but if someone can beat out Nelson next year one even 2015, then it means there's a better guy taking the reins.

How is that a bad thing?
 

I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing, it's just usually a sign that you don't have a good QB. Very few QBs are ready to step right in and be good Big 10 QBs when they are a FR.

To those talking about Mitch switching positions, I really don't get it, at least not next season. We are pretty deep at TE, we don't have a huge need for TE depth (QB depth is more important) and Leidner is a capable Big 10 QB. I do think it's entirely possible that Streveler plays some WR next season. The staff talked about it this spring and summer, he's extremely fast and we could use more depth at WR.
 



I just do not think that Leidner or Phillip could start at any other B1G school.
 

I never understood why some people think it's a bad thing or bad for the program if an experienced starter is overtaken or beat out. If a better player can play, it's a good thing. Period.

During the BTN Gophers season preview, DiNardo said something to the effect that if Nelson is NOT the starter for the next several years, it would be a bad sign. I kind of get where he's going but if someone can beat out Nelson next year one even 2015, then it means there's a better guy taking the reins.

How is that a bad thing?

I have to believe with fifteen extra bowl practices with Maxx, Isaac, DJ, Woli, etal that Nelson and the offense can only improve provided Nelson avoids getting hurt. Kill will put the best product out. I agree it will be a set back if Nelson can't start from experience & serious injury (concussions) standpoint. On the hand, if Streveler is really that polished and can overtake Nelson it is a good thing. But, I think it is more between him and Leidner at No. 2. If Streveler overtakes Leidner, it means we have three decent QBs in the line up.
 

I do think it's entirely possible that Streveler plays some WR next season. The staff talked about it this spring and summer, he's extremely fast and we could use more depth at WR.

I think it is possible Streveler moves to WR permanently next year.
 

I think it is possible Streveler moves to WR permanently next year.

The recent Nelson teeth gnashing is weird. It's like people are looking for something to be pissed about, or something to rip on for the offseason.
Nelson had a stretch this season when he was rated in the top 5 of all college qbs, he's a soph, he had nothing but freshmen at wr after engel went down. He will not miss those passes everyone is obsessing about next year, his freshmen receivers will not drop those passes they did this year in the future. Again, be patient and we'll be laughing at these threads as ridiculous in 2 years.

As far as Streveler goes, I do think he plays WR if better players don't step up at that position.
 



The recent Nelson teeth gnashing is weird. It's like people are looking for something to be pissed about, or something to rip on for the offseason.
Nelson had a stretch this season when he was rated in the top 5 of all college qbs, he's a soph, he had nothing but freshmen at wr after engel went down. He will not miss those passes everyone is obsessing about next year, his freshmen receivers will not drop those passes they did this year in the future. Again, be patient and we'll be laughing at these threads as ridiculous in 2 years.

As far as Streveler goes, I do think he plays WR if better players don't step up at that position.

How do you know that?
 

The recent Nelson teeth gnashing is weird. It's like people are looking for something to be pissed about, or something to rip on for the offseason.
Nelson had a stretch this season when he was rated in the top 5 of all college qbs, he's a soph, he had nothing but freshmen at wr after engel went down. He will not miss those passes everyone is obsessing about next year, his freshmen receivers will not drop those passes they did this year in the future. Again, be patient and we'll be laughing at these threads as ridiculous in 2 years.

As far as Streveler goes, I do think he plays WR if better players don't step up at that position.

Nailed it. I don't get it either. When Nelson was healthy and not playing against a top 10 defense he was outstanding despite having to play with Engel and a bunch of freshmen. He struggled against two great defenses in cold weather without Engel and now people are up in arms.
 

I just do not think that Leidner or Phillip could start at any other B1G school.

Check your stats brother! Nelson has the 4th highest qb rating in the B1G. If Nelson had protection that other teams offer, he'd be that much better. Nelson raises ceilings, not lowers them.
 

Competition at all of our positions makes everything better. Thinking back to a couple of times when I was being pushed by a younger player, I hit harder, ran harder and lifted more. Competition fuels hard work.
Often times as a leader or coach, your greatest skill is motivation. Often it can come intrinsically, but sometimes you need to find the right buttons to push.

That's one of the great things about Nelson, Leidner and Streveler.....I don't care the name, I'm looking for the qb who will help us win games and for the first time in many years, we have some skill at the position.
 

Nailed it. I don't get it either. When Nelson was healthy and not playing against a top 10 defense he was outstanding despite having to play with Engel and a bunch of freshmen. He struggled against two great defenses in cold weather without Engel and now people are up in arms.

Yep. Another thing, and I realize this is almost blasphemous on this board because it involves Maxx. I love 88 and he has been fantastic as a freshman, but he had multiple opportunities the last 2 weeks to help his QB out by making a play. Balls were put on his body, but he couldn't come up with the tough catch. I think he will develop the ability to get the jump balls as he matures. But there were a few 3rd downs where he could have kept the drive going. That is what our QB's have dealt with this year with the youth at the playmaking positions.
 

Nelson doesn't appear to be the kind of QB that will be able to win games with his passing with any consistency. Since Leidner has a stronger and more accurate arm I expect him to take over the No.1 QB spot once he fixes his fumbling problem and learns how to move around the pocket. If Streveler proves to be a better passer than both Nelson and Leidner he will get his chance next year if the offense is struggling. Kill and his staff are not afraid to take risks with younger players.
 

Nelson doesn't appear to be the kind of QB that will be able to win games with his passing with any consistency. Since Leidner has a stronger and more accurate arm I expect him to take over the No.1 QB spot once he fixes his fumbling problem and learns how to move around the pocket. If Streveler proves to be a better passer than both Nelson and Leidner he will get his chance next year if the offense is struggling. Kill and his staff are not afraid to take risks with younger players.


+1

Nelson did look good during our 4 game stretch but against who? Indiana has no defense, Northwestern was 1-7 in BT play, Penn State is average this year, Nebraska is the one game I'll give him and say that the Huskers have athletes on the D side of the ball but it is still a down year. Against Iowa, MSU and Wisco he was brutal. If it was just 1 game then I don't think it would be a big deal but it was fairly obvious in all 3 of those games that he was over matched. Regardless of reshman WRs or all seniors he just didn't seem to be able to compete against top tier defenses the way we need him to.
 

Nelson doesn't appear to be the kind of QB that will be able to win games with his passing with any consistency. Since Leidner has a stronger and more accurate arm I expect him to take over the No.1 QB spot once he fixes his fumbling problem and learns how to move around the pocket. If Streveler proves to be a better passer than both Nelson and Leidner he will get his chance next year if the offense is struggling. Kill and his staff are not afraid to take risks with younger players.

News to me...
 

Can never have too many good QBs, especially the way our offense uses them. I wouldn't be surprised to see all 3 start a game next season.
 

That's one of the great things about Nelson, Leidner and Streveler.....I don't care the name, I'm looking for the qb who will help us win games and for the first time in many years, we have some skill at the position.

I agree 100%. This goes to my trust that Kill has recruited and developed 2-3 good options at the position.

If Streveler is 3rd team, he will likely split duty at WR. If Nelson or Leidner is 3rd team, they will stay at QB. JMO.
 

+1

Nelson did look good during our 4 game stretch but against who? Indiana has no defense, Northwestern was 1-7 in BT play, Penn State is average this year, Nebraska is the one game I'll give him and say that the Huskers have athletes on the D side of the ball but it is still a down year. Against Iowa, MSU and Wisco he was brutal. If it was just 1 game then I don't think it would be a big deal but it was fairly obvious in all 3 of those games that he was over matched. Regardless of reshman WRs or all seniors he just didn't seem to be able to compete against top tier defenses the way we need him to.

Against B1G competition. You can downplay whatever you want, but winning 4 B1G games as a true soph is not a small feat.
You downplay the freshmen receivers like thats all on Nelson, which makes no sense.
He was overmatched? How? We rushed for how many yards against Iowa? Cobb and Williams fumbled against wisky along with Nelson, and the receivers had 5 or 6? drops.
MSU has one of the best defenses in the country and probably 3 NFL caliber corners and at least 1 NFL caliber safety. Braxton Miller will struggle against them this week.

You're setting yourself up for failure if you simply expected Nelson to be perfect against all of our opponents. He needs to improve, but he's been damn good this year.

Leidner and Streveler can improve too, but they did nothing this year to make anyone think either will be the starter next fall.
 

What a non-story.

"Coaches will take a good look at every player on the roster next spring at every position"

There's your article.
 

Nelson doesn't appear to be the kind of QB that will be able to win games with his passing with any consistency. Since Leidner has a stronger and more accurate arm I expect him to take over the No.1 QB spot once he fixes his fumbling problem and learns how to move around the pocket. If Streveler proves to be a better passer than both Nelson and Leidner he will get his chance next year if the offense is struggling. Kill and his staff are not afraid to take risks with younger players.

You haven't watched any games apparently. Leidner is not a more accurate passer, period. If you watch, Mitch can't make it thru progressions which is obvious. Even BTN analysts consider Mitch a run first qb. Mitch also owns the most turnovers on the team. He has accounted for 80% of all the times Minnesota put the ball down on the field. And this is who you want for a qb. REALLY!! Not. Sorry.
 

Do we not allow for off-season improvement? Nelson was fine this year. Good, not great. He's clearly the guy the Gopher coaches like the most right now. They see something in him. He had a nice stretch of games this season, and had a few rough patches at the end where there were some throws he'd like to have back. Still, he's better than Leidner, and he's going to come into next year after bowl practices and another spring with a mastery of the offense and a lot of confidence. He'll be the man to beat.

Streveler is probably the best athlete of the 3 QBs and i'm sure the coaches will see how he stacks-up vs. Leidner. I think they'd like to find a more dynamic runner at the position and develop a bit of a 2-headed monster there (similar to their days at Northern Illinois, or what we see at Northwestern with Simien and Coulter). Streveler may turn out to be our Coulter, and i'd love to see it.

Leidner is good. He's a solid, if not spectacular, as a runner. He's a decent passer. He'd do a fine job. I just think the other 2 guys bring things to the table that are slightly better than Mitch does. BUT......i don't see any scenario in which he changes positions. We need him at QB with the style of offense we run. Also, he made a huge leap from his 1st year to his 2nd......there's nothing that says he can't do that again.

I like our depth at QB.
 

I don't think it is terrible if a younger player passes an older player, I just don't think a RS freshman in going to create enough confidence to replace a junior starter who played well in at least 6 games as a true soph.
I do think he has a chance to be the back up by year end. The fact he is two classes behind Nelson is about perfect. If he is the backup, he will play.
 

You haven't watched any games apparently. Leidner is not a more accurate passer, period. If you watch, Mitch can't make it thru progressions which is obvious. Even BTN analysts consider Mitch a run first qb. Mitch also owns the most turnovers on the team. He has accounted for 80% of all the times Minnesota put the ball down on the field. And this is who you want for a qb. REALLY!! Not. Sorry.

I've watched all the games and I stand by my post. You apparently believe that a RS Freshman QB with minimal game experience is incapable of learning from and correcting his mistakes. Leidner has a stronger arm and is a more accurate downfield passer than Nelson. Once he gets more game experience (and he will whenever the team struggles with Nelson) Leidner will grab the No.1 QB spot and hang on to it. But I do believe that Kill has clearly demonstrated that he is not wedded to only one QB in his system. He is willing rotate them in and out whenever the team struggles.
 

Nelson doesn't appear to be the kind of QB that will be able to win games with his passing with any consistency. Since Leidner has a stronger and more accurate arm I expect him to take over the No.1 QB spot once he fixes his fumbling problem and learns how to move around the pocket. If Streveler proves to be a better passer than both Nelson and Leidner he will get his chance next year if the offense is struggling. Kill and his staff are not afraid to take risks with younger players.

If this was really the case the coaches would see it everyday in practice. They also wouldn't have been chomping at the bit to get Nelson into the games he didn't start. Notice there was not the urgency to do the same with Mitch. I think reports of there being a real QB controversy earlier in the year were exaggerated. This staff makes it known they will play multiple, but I thought it was telling that they gave the impression this year that they felt a less than healthy Nelson > Leidner. I hope they both continue to develop, but you don't have to be Gruden to see that Nelson is the leader of the offense.
 




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