QB Mark Williams may make permanent position change to WR

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GophersInIowa said:
We don't know the whole situation. How do you know he was recruited as strictly a QB? Maybe he was a kid they felt was good enough to play multiple positions and they wanted to try him at QB at first. Then switch him to another position if they feel he can contribute more. This happens a lot.

Or maybe Williams wants to play WR. That happens all the time too.
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It's certainly not the end of the world and time will tell how Johnson does, but the fact that his first QB recruit is now a receiver and he doesn't have a commitment for the 2017 class doesn't look great, does it?
 

John Galt said:
It's certainly not the end of the world and time will tell how Johnson does, but the fact that his first QB recruit is now a receiver and he doesn't have a commitment for the 2017 class doesn't look great, does it?
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His first recruit .... after 4 weeks..... how could that mean anything?
 

everybody knows my name said:
It seems premature to criticize the coaches for this decision. I know, it's never too soon to criticize a coach.

But if Johnson says that Williams is an exceptional athlete, and Williams can't practice at QB, doesn't it make a lot of sense to have him running routes? And in doing so, couldn't they have decided that he's just too good to keep at a glutted position like QB, where we already have Rhoda/Green/Croft waiting in the wings and offers out to recruits?

I think sometimes the Gopherhole crowd gets a little trigger happy.
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I think we're a ways off from having the embarrassment of riches at QB that you describe. Rhoda was a walk-on and will be a game manager at best. According to Ryan Burns, Green is still several years away. And Croft has about 12 passes to his name. I expect us to take a JUCO QB this class as we need more competition, not less.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
His first recruit .... after 4 weeks..... how could that mean anything?
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Johnson had been recruiting him hard at ULL. If he didn't view him as a viable option for a B1G QB, why did he offer him to begin with? We already had a commitment from another QB (Seth Green), so he obviously saw something he liked.
 

John Galt said:
If he didn't view him as a viable option for a B1G QB, why did he offer him to begin with?
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Again, as you've already been asked in this thread, how do you know that Johnson really wanted him as a QB?
 


John Galt said:
Johnson had been recruiting him hard at ULL. If he didn't view him as a viable option for a B1G QB, why did he offer him to begin with? We already had a commitment from another QB (Seth Green), so he obviously saw something he liked.
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Because maybe he could be a good candidate for another role?

It's not a strange thing to do that, it seems pretty common. These kids aren't cast out of "safety only" metal or anything.

How do we even know what the plan was?
 

dpodoll68 said:
Again, as you've already been asked in this thread, how do you know that Johnson really wanted him as a QB?
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Because I watched him compete at QB during fall camp. That would indicate the primary position he was recruited for was indeed, QB.
 

John Galt said:
Because I watched him compete at QB during fall camp. That would indicate the primary position he was recruited for was indeed, QB.
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I have gone to a couple practices. The sheer volume of "I went to practices" posts here as a justification for a particular stance is surprising.

I had no idea the couple dozen people I was with was just packed with coaching geniusness who know so much....
 

John Galt said:
Because I watched him compete at QB during fall camp. That would indicate the primary position he was recruited for was indeed, QB.
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That's your inference based on the first position where they tried him out. You have no idea what was discussed in the conversations that took place. Mitch Leidner was recruited as a TE.

It happens all the time that guys capable at more than one position are given a shot at one position before ultimately moving to another. How long have you been watching college football?
 



Kill has a history of recruiting athletic quarterbacks and switching them to other positions. Claeys seems to be doing the same. I think this is a non-issue. We do have three QBs scheduled to return next year, and we are recruiting.
 

John Galt said:
No one expected him to bring in a big-time QB...

But we should expect that the guy he recruits to play QB is still at the position 5 months later.
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Well ifs he behind croft/green and they think he can contribute elsewhere, I have no issue

Possible addressed after, but this is as far as I made it before I chimed in
 

everybody knows my name said:
Kill has a history of recruiting athletic quarterbacks and switching them to other positions. Claeys seems to be doing the same. I think this is a non-issue. We do have three QBs scheduled to return next year, and we are recruiting.
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Northwestern does it fairly regularly IIRC
 

Since none of these guys have seen the field it's way too early to throw shade vs the coaches. If we can't develop a QB, then bombs away.

Related to that the "defend coaches at all cost" philosophy is understandable but if we can give accolades for coaching up players, eg Sawvel, then it's fair to throw shade at coaches that fail to produce. Can't have it both ways. Give credit where credit is due.
 



salzie said:
Northwestern does it fairly regularly IIRC
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Everyone does it. Most high schools have their best player at QB.

The staff knew Williams was going to red-shirt and they could try him at different positions.
 

Lakeville Goldy said:
If these guys on the sidelines are so good why are they not getting on the field when there's been a fairly obvious need? We've been hearing that for how many years now that the guys on the sideline are SO good, but yet here we are years later and I'd argue the top position of need is still WR (though I'm sure a handful will say QB).

Also, who's to say that Jay Johnson didn't have this transition in the back of his mind the whole time? People assume he was recruited with the sole intention of being a QB, but Johnson may have approached it as give a kid the chance to earn time there, if he doesn't, we'll move him to WR. I don't get why people get so hung up on position changes, like that means the coach failed. Hell, for all any of us know Johnson was never convinced he'd play QB, told him he'd get a chance but had it in his mind to move him to WR from day 1 (can't think of the player that Kill signed because he'd "give him a chance at QB" then converted him a few months in, but same thing).

Finally, the argument that earlier in the year Williams was ahead of Green is really meaningless. From all reports, Green has been improving by leaps and bounds. It might be a situation where the coaches are convinced Green is the guy and convinced that Croft and/or QB(s) to be signed this year will be an adequate back up squad, so they want to put Williams in a position he can contribute.
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That's why quite a few are upset at BA. For support, Fruechte was not starting his senior year, and he's been cashing NFL checks since he left. So if it's lack of talent realization, bull headed personality issues, or whatever, who knows but it's a problem. Eric Murray had said that he loved lining up against Holland because he was the best route runner. Yet Brian Smith with multiple drops and multiple peronality strikes was starting.

Nobody knows for sure, but people plugged in have said that Mark was at the head of the line to start next year, and may have even been Mitch's replacement this year had he been injured long term. That changed, and the explanation is that Mark wanted to play WR. If anyone has any better information, share it, but this is the situation and the best intel I've seen.

I highly doubt that Mark, who if true was #2 on the team in September, would be moved to a new position because Green improved a lot. It's the most important position on the team and it's a lot easier to move from QB to WR if it needed to happen.
 

Several people said Mark looked the best at the camps. One could take that positively or negatively depending on your pre-existing views of Green. Maybe the coaches feel a 6 footer risks too many batted balls. Maybe they think Green looks awfully swell in his uni. Maybe Mrk really did request to change positions.

It's going to be a really interesting off season.
 

Section2 said:
That's why quite a few are upset at BA. For support, Fruechte was not starting his senior year, and he's been cashing NFL checks since he left. So if it's lack of talent realization, bull headed personality issues, or whatever, who knows but it's a problem. Eric Murray had said that he loved lining up against Holland because he was the best route runner. Yet Brian Smith with multiple drops and multiple peronality strikes was starting.

Nobody knows for sure, but people plugged in have said that Mark was at the head of the line to start next year, and may have even been Mitch's replacement this year had he been injured long term. That changed, and the explanation is that Mark wanted to play WR. If anyone has any better information, share it, but this is the situation and the best intel I've seen.

I highly doubt that Mark, who if true was #2 on the team in September, would be moved to a new position because Green improved a lot. It's the most important position on the team and it's a lot easier to move from QB to WR if it needed to happen.
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He was never #2 and if people thought he was, it was solely based on being recruited by the OC.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
He was never #2 and if people thought he was, it was solely based on being recruited by the OC.
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I will trust my sources over your opinion. You are wrong.


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John Galt said:
It's certainly not the end of the world and time will tell how Johnson does, but the fact that his first QB recruit is now a receiver and he doesn't have a commitment for the 2017 class doesn't look great, does it?
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It doesn't look bad either. Maybe they thought of him as an athlete more than just a QB. And once again, maybe Williams asked to be moved.

This is not a big deal at all in my opinion.
 

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