"A Quality Big 10 Quarterback"

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Nomellini

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Recently, a number of posters have bemoaned Minnesota's inability to recruit/develop this elusive player. I'm not even sure of how to define him. Before each game, I just ask myself this question. "Is our guy better than their guy?" Anyway, just who was our last "Quality Big 10 Quarterback"? What standard should be applied? Your thoughts?

Mitch Leidner?
Philip Nelson?
Adam Weber?
Bryan Cupito?
Assad Abdul-Khaliq?
Billy Cockerham?
Corey Sauter?
Ricky Foggie?
Mike Hohensee?
Tony Dungy?
Other candidates?
 

Nomellini said:
Recently, a number of posters have bemoaned Minnesota's inability to recruit/develop this elusive player. I'm not even sure of how to define him. Before each game, I just ask myself this question. "Is our guy better than their guy?" Anyway, just who was our last "Quality Big 10 Quarterback"? What standard should be applied? Your thoughts?

Mitch Leidner?
Philip Nelson?
Adam Weber?
Bryan Cupito?
Assad Abdul-Khaliq?
Billy Cockerham?
Corey Sauter?
Ricky Foggie?
Mike Hohensee?
Tony Dungy?
Other candidates?
Click to expand...
Some of these guys were very good. Wouldn't we love to have a Foggie, Weber or even Aasad. In case some forget, Mike Hohensee was a juco and was pretty good!
We don't need the second coming of Peyton Manning just someone competent like even a Cupito.

Sent from my LG-LS777 using Tapatalk
 

Weber took a beating, but he was just fine. Moving to the spread inflated his numbers. He'd have been more than adequate to QB a primarily power running attack.
 

Forgot Travis Cole and Benji Kamrath.

If memory serves me correctly we had a stint with two QBs in the system...with both Cole and Abdul-Khaliq at the helm.

I believe Cole was QB when we beat Ohio State in Columbus. EDIT: Yes, it was Cole as QB in 2000. Stats Passing that day: 16-28-0-243. Gophers won 29-17.
 

Nomellini said:
Mitch Leidner?
Philip Nelson?
Adam Weber?
Bryan Cupito?
Assad Abdul-Khaliq?
Billy Cockerham?
Corey Sauter?
Ricky Foggie?
Mike Hohensee?
Tony Dungy?
Other candidates?
Click to expand...

The ones in bold I think were quality big ten. (Average quality, but quality, or a bit above average).

Corey Sauter seemed to always be in the wrong system.

I don't remember Hohensee or Dungy playing days.
 


BilldGopher said:
Forgot Travis Cole and Benji Kamrath.

If memory serves me correctly we had a stint with two QBs in the system...with both Cole and Abdul-Khaliq at the helm.

I believe Cole was QB when we beat Ohio State in Columbus. EDIT: Yes, it was Cole as QB in 2000. Stats Passing that day: 16-28-0-243. Gophers won 29-17.
Click to expand...

No, I didn't forget Cole. I just didn't include him because he had just three big games in his two seasons. He was terrific against Ohio State, Iowa and NC State in that incredible Florida bowl game when the Gophers blew a 24-0 lead to a team led by a freshman quarterback named Philip Rivers. In 2001, however, the job was Abdul-Khaliq's. Not sure that Kamrath ever started a game. In the 2003 Wisconsin game, the last time Minnesota won the Axe, he came in for Abdul-Khaliq who was banged up after helping the Gophers go up 24-6 at the break. He did have one huge completion to Aaron Hosack on that fade sideline route that Mason loved so much. It put the Gophers in position for Rys-Lloyd's climactic kick.
 

Abdul-Khaliq as a senior was the best of the bunch. He led the nation in passing efficiency and could run.
 

grumps said:
The ones in bold I think were quality big ten. (Average quality, but quality, or a bit above average).

Corey Sauter seemed to always be in the wrong system.

I don't remember Hohensee or Dungy playing days.
Click to expand...

Yes! Poor Sauter. He was a senior in Mason's first season. I'm sure you can still see him trying to run the option in that opening disaster in Hawaii!
 




Nomellini said:
No, I didn't forget Cole. I just didn't include him because he had just three big games in his two seasons. He was terrific against Ohio State, Iowa and NC State in that incredible Florida bowl game when the Gophers blew a 24-0 lead to a team led by a freshman quarterback named Philip Rivers. In 2001, however, the job was Abdul-Khaliq's. Not sure that Kamrath ever started a game. In the 2003 Wisconsin game, the last time Minnesota won the Axe, he came in for Abdul-Khaliq who was banged up after helping the Gophers go up 24-6 at the break. He did have one huge completion to Aaron Hosack on that fade sideline route that Mason loved so much. It put the Gophers in position for Rys-Lloyd's climactic kick.
Click to expand...

Makes complete sense to me.

Since I'm a Mason-era forward Gopher fan, Billy Cockerham comes to mind too. Beat PSU and Iowa at their house that year.
 

Cockerham was a good option QB but I wouldn't call him a quality Big Ten QB. He had 1 decent season, his senior year in 1999. That team was led by the defense (Riley, Certer, etc) and Thomas Hamner on offense (1700 combined rush + receiving yards).

Since I started following the Gophers (mid 80's) I go:
Foggie
Khaliq
Cupito
Weber

The rest? I may be forgetting a couple but....meh.
 

Nomellini said:
Recently, a number of posters have bemoaned Minnesota's inability to recruit/develop this elusive player. I'm not even sure of how to define him. Before each game, I just ask myself this question. "Is our guy better than their guy?" Anyway, just who was our last "Quality Big 10 Quarterback"? What standard should be applied? Your thoughts?

Mitch Leidner?
Philip Nelson?
Adam Weber?
Bryan Cupito?
Assad Abdul-Khaliq?
Billy Cockerham?
Corey Sauter?
Ricky Foggie?
Mike Hohensee?
Tony Dungy?
Other candidates?
Click to expand...

Would literally take anyone on this list (including Leidner) over what we have now but in terms of the last quality QB I would go with Weber. Cupito was very good at what they asked him to do, and Asad was solid all the way around. Sauter was very good in the air it out offense under Wacker, his senior year was a disaster due to coaches trying to make a square peg run the option. :)
 

Nomellini said:
Recently, a number of posters have bemoaned Minnesota's inability to recruit/develop this elusive player. I'm not even sure of how to define him. Before each game, I just ask myself this question. "Is our guy better than their guy?" Anyway, just who was our last "Quality Big 10 Quarterback"? What standard should be applied? Your thoughts?
Click to expand...

There are varying levels of Big Ten quarterbacking. What are you looking for? A guy to simply hand off the ball 35 times like the quality QBs Wisconsin has employed over the years? A guy to pass the ball 40-50 times a game like Drew Brees. Both sides have an argument that they are quality Big Ten QBs. And they're both right.
 



Ricky Foggie could have been one of the best ever in the BIG 10. He had remarkable athletic skills. He could throw the ball almost as well as he could run. Too bad he could not remember the plays.

I'm not saying he was dumb.... but he would never be asked to bring the potato salad to the Mensa picnic.
 

Baffling. It is a no brainer. Mitch Leidner produced the best numbers of the group in almost all categories.
 

Nomellini said:
Recently, a number of posters have bemoaned Minnesota's inability to recruit/develop this elusive player. I'm not even sure of how to define him. Before each game, I just ask myself this question. "Is our guy better than their guy?" Anyway, just who was our last "Quality Big 10 Quarterback"? What standard should be applied? Your thoughts?

Mitch Leidner?
Philip Nelson?
Adam Weber?
Bryan Cupito?
Assad Abdul-Khaliq?
Billy Cockerham?
Corey Sauter?
Ricky Foggie?
Mike Hohensee?
Tony Dungy?
Other candidates?
Click to expand...
Weber was a Big 10 quarterback.

You could also pose the question when was the last time we had a Big 10 quality receiver. KJ Maye was good but he was really undersized. Who in the last 4-6 years has been a really good Big 10 receiver? Wolitarsky was OK but he was slow footed.
 

Nomellini said:
Yes! Poor Sauter. He was a senior in Mason's first season. I'm sure you can still see him trying to run the option in that opening disaster in Hawaii!
Click to expand...

I couldn't believe that when I saw it.

I was like... "doesn't this new coach see Sauter in practice? He knows he can't do that, right? Oh, I guess he doesn't know that. This is going to be hard to watch."
 

We have a great QB now. He throws a tight spiral. As we all know, from years on Gopher hole, that is the #1 way one gauges the quality of a quarterback. Case closed.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
 

I'm copying and pasting from posts I had in a different thread back in August.

Here are the career stats for the top Gopher QBs of all-time. Was Weber really the last QB that we had that could sling it? Yes he leads in all-time yards, but the top 5 are all incredibly similar in completion % (but would you believe Cupito has a lower completion % than Mitch?). Mitch stands out due to fewer passing TDs, but he has the most rushing TDs.

Foggie has the most yards per attempt at 8.2 with Cupito close behind at 8.1. Weber lags on this stat 6.8 yds per attempt vs Mitch's 7.1 yds per attempt.

Cupito and Abdul-Khaliq lead in TD per attempt.

Dungy, Foggie, and Fleetwood lead in INT per attempt.

See stats below.
gopherqb.jpg
 

Ski U Master said:
Be careful with that image, I got reported for having something similar as my avatar!
Click to expand...

that's why you edited it?! hilarious

it's funny. weber's memory is currently being rehabilitated on gopherhole the way george w bush's is in the national ethos. i happy about, always liked the guy (weber, not double you).
 

Nomellini said:
Recently, a number of posters have bemoaned Minnesota's inability to recruit/develop this elusive player. I'm not even sure of how to define him. Before each game, I just ask myself this question. "Is our guy better than their guy?" Anyway, just who was our last "Quality Big 10 Quarterback"? What standard should be applied? Your thoughts?

Mitch Leidner? The "Good Mitch" was. The Bad Mitch wasn't
Philip Nelson?
Adam Weber?
Bryan Cupito?
Assad Abdul-Khaliq?
Billy Cockerham?
Corey Sauter?
Ricky Foggie?
Mike Hohensee?
Tony Dungy?
Other candidates?
Click to expand...

Hohensee and Sauter were probably the best of the bunch but the others had their moments too. IMHO at least. Sauter was one of the best throwing Quarterbacks in the Bg Ten. As mentioned before, Mason and his single season Offense Coordinator tried to turn him into an Option guy.

Mason has mentioned a number of times how that was one of his biggest mistakes.
 

Iceland12 said:
Hohensee and Sauter were probably the best of the bunch but the others had their moments too. IMHO at least. Sauter was one of the best throwing Quarterbacks in the Bg Ten. As mentioned before, Mason and his single season Offense Coordinator tried to turn him into an Option guy.

Mason has mentioned a number of times how that was one of his biggest mistakes.
Click to expand...

Not arguing - but did you see the stats I posted? The reason I ask, is because in my memory Sauter was probably the best pure passer. When you look at the stats though he really doesn't stand out. To me when you look at the stats, Leidner actually stacks up pretty well compared to other Gopher QBs. The problem is we've had a lot of average to below average QBs over the years.
 

Iceland12 said:
Hohensee and Sauter were probably the best of the bunch but the others had their moments too. IMHO at least. Sauter was one of the best throwing Quarterbacks in the Bg Ten. As mentioned before, Mason and his single season Offense Coordinator tried to turn him into an Option guy.

Mason has mentioned a number of times how that was one of his biggest mistakes.
Click to expand...

I agree Hohensee was probably of the best at least with throwing the ball. His junior or senior year the gophers beat ohio state 35-31 in the last year of memorial stadium. Foggie was probably the best one to watch. The run against Michigan was awesome.
 

Word said:
Not arguing - but did you see the stats I posted? The reason I ask, is because in my memory Sauter was probably the best pure passer. When you look at the stats though he really doesn't stand out. To me when you look at the stats, Leidner actually stacks up pretty well compared to other Gopher QBs. The problem is we've had a lot of average to below average QBs over the years.
Click to expand...

Good point and yeah I did. Different Offenses, different styles, different times, different schedules, different talent around them. Cupito and Abdul-Khaliq for instance had the huge benefit of playing with some great running backs. It's just that when Hohensee or Sauter had the ball, didn't worry about a really bad throw coming and always felt they could complete a deep throw at any time.

Mitch had some very good games but too many bad ones. Mostly I suspect, because he was too willing to play when he was hurt.

Just an opinion. Just wish Mason would have given him that Senior year too.
 

Iceland12 said:
Good point and yeah I did. Different Offenses, different styles, different times, different schedules, different talent around them. Cupito and Abdul-Khaliq for instance had the huge benefit of playing with some great running backs. It's just that when Hohensee or Sauter had the ball, didn't worry about a really bad throw coming and always felt they could complete a deep throw at any time.

Mitch had some very good games but too many bad ones. Mostly I suspect, because he was too willing to play when he was hurt.

Just an opinion. Just wish Mason would have given him that Senior year too.
Click to expand...

Also differing talent around them either on offensive line or wide receivers. Mitch unfortunately had awful receivers, except Maxx. Weber benefited from Decker.
 

gopherdudepart2 said:
Weber was a Big 10 quarterback.

You could also pose the question when was the last time we had a Big 10 quality receiver. KJ Maye was good but he was really undersized. Who in the last 4-6 years has been a really good Big 10 receiver? Wolitarsky was OK but he was slow footed.
Click to expand...

Da'Jon McKnight was pretty darn good.
 

Weber was a Big 10 quarterback.

You could also pose the question when was the last time we had a Big 10 quality receiver. KJ Maye was good but he was really undersized. Who in the last 4-6 years has been a really good Big 10 receiver? Wolitarsky was OK but he was slow footed.

Jaykay said:
Da'Jon McKnight was pretty darn good.
Click to expand...

Yeah, he did catch 51 in '11.

Maye caught 73 in '15. That's big time. Wolitarsky was good. He caught 33 in '15 and 66 in '16. Maxx Williams, Engel, Lingen caught 33 before he got hurt in '15; that's not a whole lot of performance.

If you're a High School Receiver with a number of options, why would you go the Gophers where they run first and recently, haven't had a QB who looks like he can get you the ball?

That's what worries me now.
 

Nomellini said:
No, I didn't forget Cole. I just didn't include him because he had just three big games in his two seasons. He was terrific against Ohio State, Iowa and NC State in that incredible Florida bowl game when the Gophers blew a 24-0 lead to a team led by a freshman quarterback named Philip Rivers. In 2001, however, the job was Abdul-Khaliq's. Not sure that Kamrath ever started a game. In the 2003 Wisconsin game, the last time Minnesota won the Axe, he came in for Abdul-Khaliq who was banged up after helping the Gophers go up 24-6 at the break. He did have one huge completion to Aaron Hosack on that fade sideline route that Mason loved so much. It put the Gophers in position for Rys-Lloyd's climactic kick.
Click to expand...

Completely forgot about Hosack. Looked and he caught 51 passes in 2003. Looks like he hung on and tried to make some money as a football player for 5-6 years after his Gopher career ended.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Hosack
 

Probably not going to have to add Croft, Armstrong or Hank Bachmeier to the list either.
 

Weber was a stud. Put him in any regime except Brewster and we might have had a heck of a year.
 

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