STrib: Gophers' top two quarterbacks fare well in P.J. Fleck's first spring game

per Joe:

Gophers coach P.J. Fleck opened Saturday’s spring game with Demry Croft at quarterback, and watched the budding sophomore hit Rashad Still with a 47-yard spiral down the right sideline on the first play from scrimmage.

Croft completed his first five passes, leading touchdown drives on his first two possessions. But after a slow start off the bench, Conor Rhoda completed his final eight passes, reminding everyone it’s still a two-man battle for the starting job.

“We’ve got a long way to go at quarterback, I know that,” said Fleck, who doesn’t expect to name a starter until August.

Still, it was a big day for Croft, who showed both talent and poise with a crowd of about 5,000 fans turning out, once the skies cleared at TCF Bank Stadium.

http://www.startribune.com/gophers-...-well-in-fleck-s-first-spring-game/419550923/

Go Gophers!!

Good summary. Seemed closer to 10K for fans. Green is definitely a step below Croft and Rhoda, with Tanner Morgan a couple steps behind Green. Morgan has got to be under 6 ft. or he slouches.

That was the most crowd I've seen in a Spring game. A handful of fans left at half-time.

Come Fall, we will see how the QBs perform with 1st stringers.

Feel much better about QB now. Rhoda looked good in the short passing game, Croft had a nice touch on the longer passes, Green definitely has talent and Morgan looks like he goes all out on every play. Things are looking up...we should have a reliable passing game this year to complement our well known running talent.

Great Plains Gopher said:

Feel much better about QB now. Rhoda looked good in the short passing game, Croft had a nice touch on the longer passes, Green definitely has talent and Morgan looks like he goes all out on every play. Things are looking up...we should have a reliable passing game this year to complement our well known running talent.

Click to expand...

Agree with this.

5k fans? That was way off. Easily 7 or 8 and I agree with pmwinstp that it was closer to 10. Ended up being a beautiful day. I'm worried about corner and looking forward to our recruits getting on campus at that position because they are going to play. That or our WRs got a whole lot better with the new staff.

I was impressed by the QB's too. At this point, I'd rank them: 1) Croft, 2) Rhoda, 3) Green and 4) Morgan. I'm sensing that Croft will get the call for the opener. Rhoda will once again will provide solid depth. Green looked good to me yesterday the throwing motion isn't a thing of beauty but you cannot question his arm strength. Morgan seemed like he just needs a bit more time to adjust to the speed of the game at the collegiate level (as do most freshmen, especially at the QB position).

Green always reminds me of a pitcher delivering a baseball the way he whips his right leg around, the exaggerated upper body twist/ follow through, and the sidearm delivery. He's a slinger but if he can deliver it with velocity and with touch when necessary nobody will care.

Tanner Morgan, physically is the spitting image of Drew Brees. Cloned body type. Nice arm and I hope he's 1/2 as deadly accurate. He seems really amped up which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the person. Seems like a really good prospect besides the height thing but it never believed that's as highly important as other traits.

Croft is still a beanpole but has a quick, compact delivery and has great touch. Threw it away when nothing there -after years of Mitch that's huge! Athletic runner. Rhoda surprised me with his quickness and has a decent arm but his intermediate deep balls fluttered yesterday.

Don't know how these guys look in practice. I thought Croft overall looked better but Rhoda looked decent as well. It will come down to who reads defenses better and doesn't hesitate to pull the trigger.

One of the things I thought really hurt Mitch as a qb the last couple years was pocket presence. I know yesterday wasn't a very big sample but I think Croft, Green, and Morgan showed they might posses that.