Philip Nelson

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EasCarolina

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What is everyone's thoughts on him as a quarterback? Not really asking about the incident that's a sad situation all the way around. Do you guys think he had a big upside as a quarterback potentially?
 



He came in with a lot of hype but was wildly inaccurate at times and couldn't lock down the starting job. He was told that he would have to compete for the starting job after his sophomore season and then transferred shortly after, supposedly to go somewhere that threw the ball more.
 

Better passer than Leidner, probably faster, not as big/rugged.
 


I think a lot people did when we recruited him. He never settled in as evidenced by the fact he couldn't keep his backup off the field and ended up leaving as a result. His mobility was pretty good but did not have very good arm strength. He was hot and cold with his accuracy but usually seemed cooler more often than warm. What I would be most concerned about is his mental toughness. If he couldn't beat out arguably a mediocre crop of qb's here at the U and left when the going got tough, I don't see him doing well against equal or better competition. He might do okay against D-2 competitors or weak D-1 but don't hold out much hope for him as a Power 5 qb.
 


EasCarolina said:
What is everyone's thoughts on him as a quarterback? Not really asking about the incident that's a sad situation all the way around. Do you guys think he had a big upside as a quarterback potentially?
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Would be a fantastic fit for ECU, imo. In HS he ran the spread option out of the shotgun only. At 6'1" that's works best for him as he can see better than under center. He's also very fast & quick. Came to the Gophers with the promise of running the same offense & then we switched to a more conservative B1G running style, with the QB under center. The style of offense didn't suit him at all & we had a guy on the bench (our current starting QB Mitch Leidner) who was a perfect fit for it. Nelson did lead us to our longest winning streak in decades & played ok overall for an underclassman. While Nelson was the starter, the QB's were splitting time & there are rumors that the coaching staff was divided as to which QB should start. They told him he'd have to compete for his job the next Fall & he could see the writing on the wall. No one knows what was promised or offered to him to come to Minnesota, but he was a huge recruit coming out of HS & it was a minor miracle that he chose Minnesota given the state our program was in at the time & his Dad being a former Wisconsin player. Then they changed the offense and wanted a big moose to run it from under center. Changing offenses on him, perhaps rescinding their promise of the starting spot, none of that makes the copaches bad guys, but it does help explain his unhappiness.

Also, the QB controversy became very divisive. Some people who liked Leidner better than Nelson have convinced themselves that Nelson was mentally weak, a quitter, a bad guy, an entitled brat, etc. His bar fight later on was a godsend for those people because it validated their opinions that he was not just a bad QB, but a really vile human being.

He was a young QB, running an offense that wasn't right for him, who played good, but not great. He later had an unfortunate incident that he was guilty of, but was no some one-sided attack, but rather a street fight gone wrong. I think he'd be a perfect for for ECU.
 

If he's going to play anywhere, the clock is ticking, teams will be starting practice in the next few weeks. He may have to take what he can get, and avoid publicity.
 



Costa Rican Gopher said:
They told him he'd have to compete for his job the next Fall & he could see the writing on the wall. No one knows what was promised or offered to him to come to Minnesota, perhaps rescinding their promise of the starting spot, none of that makes the copaches bad guys, but it does help explain his unhappiness.
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Perhaps getting yanked for poor play in the Texas bowl and the chance of getting beat out by his backup could explain his unhappiness? Kill and his staff don't seem like the type of coaches that promise starting jobs.

For the record, I thought Nelson could develop into a capable starter and was disappointed that he left.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
Also, the QB controversy became very divisive. Some people who liked Leidner better than Nelson have convinced themselves that Nelson was mentally weak, a quitter, a bad guy, an entitled brat, etc. His bar fight later on was a godsend for those people because it validated their opinions that he was not just a bad QB, but a really vile human being.
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Well, that is one way to look at it. Another would be that there were folks (like me) that supported PN9 and felt he should start over ML7, but lost respect for him when he proved he was mentally weak and a quitter by pouting and then quitting when he was not handed the starting spot after his Sophomore year (the entitled brat aspect just came along with it all at that point). However, I still didn't consider him a bad guy until that night in Mankato where he proved that he is just that (the vile human being aspect just came along with it all at that point).

You paint the picture that there was a big group of people rooting against PN9, when the truth is there were a ton of us rooting for him until he started to show his true colors. Maybe he has changed, maybe not. Better for ECU to have to find out than the Gophers.
 





We have a very talented but untested quarterback by the name of Kurt Benkert that's expected to start. ECU just graduated a record-setting quarterback by the name of Shane Carden. Kurt has a huge arm and people like Phil Steele are big on him. Phil has Kurt ranked as the fourth best quarterback in The American Athletic Conference (old Big East) before he has even started a game so Nelson would have to beat him out for the starting job.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
Would be a fantastic fit for ECU, imo. In HS he ran the spread option out of the shotgun only. At 6'1" that's works best for him as he can see better than under center. He's also very fast & quick. Came to the Gophers with the promise of running the same offense & then we switched to a more conservative B1G running style, with the QB under center. The style of offense didn't suit him at all & we had a guy on the bench (our current starting QB Mitch Leidner) who was a perfect fit for it. Nelson did lead us to our longest winning streak in decades & played ok overall for an underclassman. While Nelson was the starter, the QB's were splitting time & there are rumors that the coaching staff was divided as to which QB should start. They told him he'd have to compete for his job the next Fall & he could see the writing on the wall. No one knows what was promised or offered to him to come to Minnesota, but he was a huge recruit coming out of HS & it was a minor miracle that he chose Minnesota given the state our program was in at the time & his Dad being a former Wisconsin player. Then they changed the offense and wanted a big moose to run it from under center. Changing offenses on him, perhaps rescinding their promise of the starting spot, none of that makes the copaches bad guys, but it does help explain his unhappiness.

Also, the QB controversy became very divisive. Some people who liked Leidner better than Nelson have convinced themselves that Nelson was mentally weak, a quitter, a bad guy, an entitled brat, etc. His bar fight later on was a godsend for those people because it validated their opinions that he was not just a bad QB, but a really vile human being.

He was a young QB, running an offense that wasn't right for him, who played good, but not great. He later had an unfortunate incident that he was guilty of, but was no some one-sided attack, but rather a street fight gone wrong. I think he'd be a perfect for for ECU.
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This - I think he would be a good fit for ECU
 


I think there were rumors floating around that he didn't like getting hit a lot which is pretty hard in our offense with the read option.
 

In my opinion, PN is being blamed for basically taking over at QB when the pass protection was porous, and he was a freshman who was not ready to play. The blame really belongs to the program for having no one more ready than a freshman to go on the field. Most of the same points apply to Leidner the following year. PN was more ready to play coming out of HS than ML was in terms of understanding defenses and coverages, but that does not mean he was ready to start, he was not.
That does not say PN has a higher upside than ML because ML has the stronger arm. PN had a strong enough arm to be a good college QB, but running for his life as a freshman definitely rattled him and affected his passing and development.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
Would be a fantastic fit for ECU, imo. In HS he ran the spread option out of the shotgun only. At 6'1" that's works best for him as he can see better than under center. He's also very fast & quick. Came to the Gophers with the promise of running the same offense & then we switched to a more conservative B1G running style, with the QB under center. The style of offense didn't suit him at all & we had a guy on the bench (our current starting QB Mitch Leidner) who was a perfect fit for it. Nelson did lead us to our longest winning streak in decades & played ok overall for an underclassman. While Nelson was the starter, the QB's were splitting time & there are rumors that the coaching staff was divided as to which QB should start. They told him he'd have to compete for his job the next Fall & he could see the writing on the wall. No one knows what was promised or offered to him to come to Minnesota, but he was a huge recruit coming out of HS & it was a minor miracle that he chose Minnesota given the state our program was in at the time & his Dad being a former Wisconsin player. Then they changed the offense and wanted a big moose to run it from under center. Changing offenses on him, perhaps rescinding their promise of the starting spot, none of that makes the copaches bad guys, but it does help explain his unhappiness.

Also, the QB controversy became very divisive. Some people who liked Leidner better than Nelson have convinced themselves that Nelson was mentally weak, a quitter, a bad guy, an entitled brat, etc. His bar fight later on was a godsend for those people because it validated their opinions that he was not just a bad QB, but a really vile human being.

He was a young QB, running an offense that wasn't right for him, who played good, but not great. He later had an unfortunate incident that he was guilty of, but was no some one-sided attack, but rather a street fight gone wrong. I think he'd be a perfect for for ECU.
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Ecu, look for yourself. This is Philip's last game as a Gopher, the Texas Bowl vs Syracuse. Starting at about 1:13:45

http://youtu.be/5Sk0fBi5AY4

You will see Philip play a lot of a shotgun spread style. He ran for 1200 yards his senior year of HS so the notion that he didn't like kill's offensive style or contact is suspect IMO. Despite playing his preferred style (forget the narrative put forth by his backers) he goes 1 of 5 in horrendous style on this drive and is pulled. He quits the team a few weeks later, which I believe is the textbook definition of "quitting". Obviously the coaches didn't like where his head was, and he was in a horrible slump to end the season.

He has the potential to be a quality FBS QB but he wasn't great while he was here. However, he was only in his second year of starting and certainly could have developed into a very good player. He quit, so we'll never know if he would have outlasted Leidner. Everyone deserves a second chance. I would certainly be interested to watch him.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
He later had an unfortunate incident that he was guilty of, but was no some one-sided attack, but rather a street fight gone wrong.
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I don't know how you could say it was "a street fight gone wrong." The person he attacked was lying on the ground and while he was down there PHILIP KICKED HIM IN THE FU##ING HEAD. In what world is that merely considered "a street fight gone wrong?"

Honest question because I don't remember what the result of his trial was: is he out of jail and how long did he have to serve?
 

matt said:
I don't know how you could say it was "a street fight gone wrong." The person he attacked was lying on the ground and while he was down there PHILIP KICKED HIM IN THE FU##ING HEAD. In what world is that merely considered "a street fight gone wrong?"

Honest question because I don't remember what the result of his trial was: is he out of jail and how long did he have to serve?
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No jail time.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
Would be a fantastic fit for ECU, imo. In HS he ran the spread option out of the shotgun only. At 6'1" that's works best for him as he can see better than under center. He's also very fast & quick. Came to the Gophers with the promise of running the same offense & then we switched to a more conservative B1G running style, with the QB under center. The style of offense didn't suit him at all & we had a guy on the bench (our current starting QB Mitch Leidner) who was a perfect fit for it. Nelson did lead us to our longest winning streak in decades & played ok overall for an underclassman. While Nelson was the starter, the QB's were splitting time & there are rumors that the coaching staff was divided as to which QB should start. They told him he'd have to compete for his job the next Fall & he could see the writing on the wall. No one knows what was promised or offered to him to come to Minnesota, but he was a huge recruit coming out of HS & it was a minor miracle that he chose Minnesota given the state our program was in at the time & his Dad being a former Wisconsin player. Then they changed the offense and wanted a big moose to run it from under center. Changing offenses on him, perhaps rescinding their promise of the starting spot, none of that makes the copaches bad guys, but it does help explain his unhappiness.

Also, the QB controversy became very divisive. Some people who liked Leidner better than Nelson have convinced themselves that Nelson was mentally weak, a quitter, a bad guy, an entitled brat, etc. His bar fight later on was a godsend for those people because it validated their opinions that he was not just a bad QB, but a really vile human being.

He was a young QB, running an offense that wasn't right for him, who played good, but not great. He later had an unfortunate incident that he was guilty of, but was no some one-sided attack, but rather a street fight gone wrong. I think he'd be a perfect for for ECU.
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I wouldn't call him a *Huge* recruit. I'd call him a solid in-state guy we picked up. He was supposed to be the passer but he wasn't any better than Leidner and was a head case. I know people deserve second (and third and fourth) chances, but I'd be very careful if I was a D1 program before trusting him with the keys to the car. I'm sure he'll need to prove himself wherever he goes. Hopefully he matures and becomes a man, because the boy wasn't anything to be proud of.
 

I don't know how you could say it was "a street fight gone wrong." The person he attacked was lying on the ground and while he was down there PHILIP KICKED HIM IN THE FU##ING HEAD. In what world is that merely considered "a street fight gone wrong?"
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I think it was found that the guy attacked Phillip first and Phillip just ended up beating the crap out of him.
 

my thoughts on Nelson and my opinions

Out of HS i was excited for him to wear the colors. he seemed to have the skills that would be great for the U. he was an important get for Kill as he was highly regarded and an instate recruit and We needed to Lock the boarders up.

He came in and to no fault of his own was thrust-ed into game time as a freshman and was not ready. he struggled with many areas of play(passing was not great, he seemed slow due to having the experience at this level[Mankato is a far cry from BigTen] his decision making was not great for running Kills offense) but many of these issues could be explained and overcome with experience.
came in as a True Sophomore and did not improve that much got dinged up and Mitch came in and did decent for a RSFreshman with many issues that occur with Freshmen. Nelson I think started 7 games and was not lights out better and by the end of the year(bowl game i attended in person) Mitch outplayed him and Kill said open competition for the Starting QB position.

that was not what Phil or his handlers wanted to hear and they decided to bolt to find a better place to play, Rutgers accepted his transfer until that 30 second brain fart that Phil had in the street after he had been drinking(under age i think) and started his life down a spiral of issues

I am sure he has matured and what he has gone through with his legal issues should have made him grow up quite a bit. he still had questionable skills but many that experience should have helped with.
 

EasCarolina said:
What is everyone's thoughts on him as a quarterback? Not really asking about the incident that's a sad situation all the way around. Do you guys think he had a big upside as a quarterback potentially?
Click to expand...

Decent QB as long as he didn't have to complete a pass over 15-20 yards. Didn't seem to have the arm strength to make the throw.
 

fraternity2017 said:
I think it was found that the guy attacked Phillip first and Phillip just ended up beating the crap out of him.
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Yeah, Phil sure beat the crap out of him. What a real tough guy, kicking a motionless man in the head while he was on the ground.
 

BarnBoy said:
My best PN9 memory. (The 0:50 mark)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDy12ULD59s&t=50s
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yeah he put that ball in where it could only be if he wanted to get the catch. i do realize there are a mixuter of great and really not so great passes that Nelson threw.

in a word i would say average

did you also see where when he scores sometimes it take a few moments for his teammates to join his celebration?
 

His sophmore year, it seemed like whichever QB was on the bench played better. I'm not sure if it was due to teams' preparation, maybe an Oh S#!+! from the players, or what. In the end, he had a very mediocre Sophmore season, couldn't hold on to the starting position, and quit because of it.

The hard part was, at that point, he had one less year of eligibility than ML, had very similar numbers, and seemed like less of a fit. I agree, many of those things were not entirely his fault, but that's what it was. Generally, if two players are equal you will always play the player with more eligibility. The fact he got forced into playing his freshman year actually put PN9 at a disadvantage.

If I was a coach I think I'd have a tough time offering a scholarship to a guy who isn't willing to fight to get the starting job. Maybe there was more to it (felt Kill broke promises, didn't like Kill (or Limegrover or ...), got caught with a cheerleader, who knows). But on the surface that's what it looks like. If he walks on and works to win the job, so be it.
 

I have no inside information. Only an opinion based on what I read and saw from afar. That being said, my take on his departure was the same as a lot of what I have seen written here: He came in as a can't miss hot shot recruit and ended up in a dog fight for the starting role with a much less hyped player. At that point, it seemed as though his choices were between hard nosed competition or fleeing to a situation where he wouldn't have to compete for a starting role. He left.

Really felt bad about how his career unfolded here because I was really excited about him as a Gopher. For me personally, I had generally felt better when he was under center and I maintained that opinion until he struggled so badly in that bowl game. That is when I started to doubt his ability. He rode out of town before that initial doubt could grow into my opinion officially turning to ML7 as being the better QB. His departure certainly enabled me to fast track that opinion.
 

Pnels start in madison

Until i hear JK say otherwise.....i believe JK recruited Pnels with a promise to start in Madison. i know some of you think jk is above playing those games...he aint.
 

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