Argus Leader: Should South Dakota QB Chris Streveler be starting for Minnesota?

BleedGopher

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per the Argus Leader:

There are undoubtedly some reputable football folks out there who could look at what Chris Streveler has done at South Dakota this season and wonder whether the program he left might have ultimately been wise to keep him around at quarterback.

This season Minnesota (0-3, 3-3) has used Conor Rhoda, a fifth-year senior who began his career as a walk-on with the Gophers and was behind Streveler on the depth chart when the pair were both at quarterback in 2014, and Croft, who redshirted last year while Rhoda backed up the senior Leidner. Together the pair have completed 77 of 141 passes for 1,065 yards with five interceptions for a team still looking to win its first conference game for first-year coach P.J. Fleck.

While fans of FCS football in the region can cite notable examples where being a major-college program with 85 scholarships is not enough in itself to assure victory against a Missouri Valley Conference team and its 63 scholarships, a great percentage of the time there remains no doubt that the Big 10 is a different level.

So to say the Gophers got as good a look as they needed at Streveler’s potential to help them at quarterback – this even though it’s obvious now that the program was not overflowing with talent at that spot at the time – is a defensible position.

While it doesn't apply to Streveler's transfer, Minnesota would never be referred to as Quarterback U. This is the program that has had one quarterback since 1956 who has thrown a touchdown pass in an NFL game (Mike Hohensee threw four, all in replacement games in 1987) and got another touchdown pass in the old AFL when Gino Cappelletti threw for a score for the Boston Patriots while lined up to kick a field goal.

In the Gophers’ defense, when Minnesota decided Streveler wasn’t good enough to play quarterback, he wasn't the player that he is now. Of course, you could say that about any freshman who is still playing the position when he's a senior.

Former Minnesota head coach Tracy Claeys praised Streveler's diligence and value as a teammate as he was walking out the door. There was seemingly no chance, however, that Streveler would ever re-enter the quarterback derby. One wonders, with the conspicuous will to succeed he’s shown at USD, what he might have done given not just an opportunity at Minnesota, as Schlafke might say, but the right opportunity.

“The No. 1 factor is how hard he’s worked to improve himself,” Schlafke said. “If he misses a throw in practice, he’ll throw that pass after practice for 20 minutes. You saw it on Saturday – we hadn’t thrown the post he threw to Brandt (Van Roekel, for a 55-yard touchdown) during the season yet, and you literally couldn’t have placed it any better if you threw it from 10 yards away.”

That would qualify as a good pass in the Big 10, too.

http://www.argusleader.com/story/sp...th-dakota-coyotes-college-football/772968001/

Go Gophers!!
 

This is a bit like the players who go to NDSU and turn out great kinda situation.... nobody else was picking this guy either.

I'm also not sure I agree with the assumptions of the article....

Either way it's all on a staff who is not even here anymore.... I wish him the best but... who cares?
 

Minnesota would never be referred to as Quarterback U. This is the program that has had one quarterback since 1956 who has thrown a touchdown pass in an NFL game (Mike Hohensee threw four, all in replacement games in 1987) and got another touchdown pass in the old AFL when Gino Cappelletti threw for a score for the Boston Patriots while lined up to kick a field goal.

It's stats like these (and there's many similar damning ones) that explain why this program hasn't won the Big Ten in 50+ years.
 




Croft should have been starting from day one as he is better than Streveler and Rhoda.
 


☝��Is the truest statement made about our Qb situation to date.

Maybe benching him and teaching him a lesson will make him better in 2018 than he would have been? I think that's PJ's thought and I think he probably has a point.
 




Always liked Streveler's personality. Part of following sports, for me, is getting invested in the players so I love it when an underdog rises to the occasion. Despite some sketchy footwork he has popped up on some "under the radar" NFL draft sites as one to watch. That may be a stretch but his numbers this year will garner him a look. I thinks he's sittting at 17 TDs 0 INTs for a bunch of yards with high comp % and he can create with his legs.
 


Always liked Streveler's personality. Part of following sports, for me, is getting invested in the players so I love it when an underdog rises to the occasion. Despite some sketchy footwork he has popped up on some "under the radar" NFL draft sites as one to watch. That may be a stretch but his numbers this year will garner him a look. I thinks he's sittting at 17 TDs 0 INTs for a bunch of yards with high comp % and he can create with his legs.

I always liked him too. I don't think he is an NFL QB, not a very strong arm at all. He has the makeup of a very good CFB QB though and is showing it. Previous staff was obviously not very good at recruiting, evaluating, or choosing QBs.
 

The last staff was not good at identify talent or even keeping average talent already here. Shortell, Nelson, Streveler and can’t remember the other guy all transferred out.
 



It's stats like these (and there's many similar damning ones) that explain why this program hasn't won the Big Ten in 50+ years.

It really is a staggering stat. Kind of shameful, actually.
 

I still maintain that the issue wasn't the staff's ability to evaluate and recruit QBs. I believe it was an issue of strategy. Their strategy was to recruit athletes (especially untapped athletic potential) with multi-position flexibility and work their magic to turn them into functional players. This strategy can work well at most any position, but QB is so technical that I think you have to focus on other things at the expense of athleticism. Their strategy backfired because you can't take a great athlete and make him into a great QB in the Big Ten - unless he's a great QB who also happens to be a great athlete.
 


It should be said the newspaper that wrote this article is from Sioux Falls SD.

I love the success Chris Streveler is having at South Dakota and few (if any) have been a bigger fan of him on this forum then me.

But no he shouldn't be starting for the Gophers. I was at the game he started vs San Jose State. Sure we won but that was the game where we completed one pass in the fourth quarter after the thunderstorm.
One completed pass in the whole game.

Its a great story and I hope he beats the Bison but I'm not second guessing or thinking of what could have been.
 


Just reminding the board that Streveler once backed up Leidner and when he got a chance he almost managed to finish an entire game without completing a pass. Threw for 7 yards. Against San Jose State (yes Gophers still won)
 

Just reminding the board that Streveler once backed up Leidner and when he got a chance he almost managed to finish an entire game without completing a pass. Threw for 7 yards. Against San Jose State (yes Gophers still won)

That has already been brought up, and as a reminder to your reminder, he only passed 7 times, so it's not like he was 1-for-25 or something.
 

☝��Is the truest statement made about our Qb situation to date.

Until he struggles (hope not) and posters make Tanner Morgan the next great Gophs QB...wait, that might have already happened.
 

Maybe Streveler will be like another QB who struggled at first then transferred and become a decent NFL QB. I think Aikman was his name but I could be wrong.
 

Maybe Streveler will be like another QB who struggled at first then transferred and become a decent NFL QB. I think Aikman was his name but I could be wrong.

Aikman started at Oklahoma then transferred to UCLA. That's a little different.
 

I still maintain that the issue wasn't the staff's ability to evaluate and recruit QBs. I believe it was an issue of strategy. Their strategy was to recruit athletes (especially untapped athletic potential) with multi-position flexibility and work their magic to turn them into functional players. This strategy can work well at most any position, but QB is so technical that I think you have to focus on other things at the expense of athleticism. Their strategy backfired because you can't take a great athlete and make him into a great QB in the Big Ten - unless he's a great QB who also happens to be a great athlete.

Honestly, I think there was a fair amount of bad luck there too.

They inherited a garbage program that kids didn't want to play for. Then, they got Nelson, who could've/should've had a very good career, and we all know how that turned out. McKinzy was a fairly highly touted dual threat (.85 composite or somewhere around there), same with Croft, on whom the jury is still out.

The guy who ate up most of their short time here was Leidner. A guy they turned into a pretty good power 5 QB out of nowhere, if you're being reasonable about it (royal you, not you specifically). The guy had no receiving help and fairly bad O-lines. He ended up getting a shot at one of the roughly 96 NFL/practice squad QB jobs on earth, and holds a number of team records. Frankly, the "Leidner was awful" crowd doesn't know much about what they're talking about.

Did they do a great job? No, obviously things could've gone better. But, honestly, it wasn't nearly as bad as people like to make it out to be.

I'm confident Fleck is going to get that position turned around, and I'm excited. Just a truthful disclaimer to relax the Fleckite mob who will take that as a shot at him somehow.
 



Maybe Streveler will be like another QB who struggled at first then transferred and become a decent NFL QB. I think Aikman was his name but I could be wrong.

Yup Chris Strevler is the next Troy Aikman. :clap: One of my new favorite posts on here.
 

Not sure how accurate this is. However it was posted here before that Nelson wanted the job handed to him one winter. Kill wouldn't do that as he felt that the job was open to the best person come spring. He pouted and then left.
 

The previous regime would struggle with Aaron Rodgers as their QB. That crew could not develop a QB for anything, good for Streveler but not only would be facing stronger competition, he probably still wouldn't know how to throw a spiral
 

Just reminding the board that Streveler once backed up Leidner and when he got a chance he almost managed to finish an entire game without completing a pass. Threw for 7 yards. Against San Jose State (yes Gophers still won)

As I recall that game, the coaches wouldn't let him throw many passes - can't remember the stats, but had the impression they just wanted him to win by running, which he did - for 163 yards.
 




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