Tanner Morgan is 2nd in Big Ten QB rating

Yes but,...
Different styles. Kill and Claeys took a Mason like approach and used the pass to keep defenses honest. That and to keep the defense off of the field. All three really put an emphasis on a competent game manager. They wanted the offense to compliment the defense.

Though coach Fleck desires a balanced offense, he's not afraid to wing the ball. It appears that Fleck wants more that a game manager at QB.

Just my humble opinion.

Mason's offenses were known for the running game but they could and did throw it. Mason had some solid QBs during his time here. Tough to say if Kill and Claeys really did just want a game manager at QB or if that was all they were able to recruit so they made do with what they had. I do agree that Fleck would like more from the QB position and so far it is looking like he might have a couple guys capable of getting it done.
 

Keep in mind ZA and TM's stats look a little weaker because of our red zone / short yardage offense. (Wildcat).

Seth Green has numerous TD's where those would likely flow a couple more to passing TD's for either ZA or TM.
Seth Green is essentially the Mitch Leidner rushing TD component.

I included all Green's numbers in the stats I put in post #28.
 



Leidner had a lot of trouble hitting a wide open receiver ten yards away. Not that he didn't try hard and wasn't a good leader. He was both. But he was not a good passer, period.

Except he would hit guys right in the hands on perfect downfield passes and they would drop it.

re: Drew Woli, detroilet bowl.

And not a unique instance, it happened a lot..
 


So far IMO Morgan has looked pretty good for a redshirt freshman. He’s completing almost 60% of his passes for 10.4 and this is against Big Ten teams, not the non con patsies. His passing was a little off this past week but he was probably a little cold. Both QBs seemed off their normal games.

He throws a nicer deep pass although nobody will say he has a rocket arm. He has the ability to scramble even though they’re trying to protect him as much as possible. Annexstad has 23 rushes for -89 yards which is Hackenberg level. Obviously he was crippled for several games.

Happy to roll with him the rest of the season and try to get some big wins. ZA is not out of it but TM is doing too well right now. The QB competition can begin in earnest again next spring.
 

It is a breath of fresh air to have at the QB position, two very capable QBs.
 

Very happy with the QB's this year. Both are freshmen and both are night and day better than what we have had here in recent years. I hope they both can continue to improve because if they can keep progressing, by the time they are juniors and seniors they could really be special. This is key for us getting better!

I was very surprised that Leidner never seemed to get better even as a 4 year starter. Mitch was tough and had excellent running ability and the passing game problems were not completely his fault. But I would take the offense we have right now in a heartbeat. We finally have some excellent young receivers who will all be coming back and I hope one or both of these QB's can take it to the next level the next few years. Right now, there is a lot to be excited about next year especially on offense. If we get Brooks and/or Smith back next year and the QB can be solid, look out because that offensive line should be very good! It just might be the best offense we have since Maroney/Barber were in town!

That was always a puzzler to me. Leidner was a battler and I respected his effort, but he remained inconsistent on an almost throw-to-throw basis. Maybe the design of the offense (and steady play from the offensive line) is helping, but both Morgan and Annexstad seem to have something Leidner lacked.
 

So far IMO Morgan has looked pretty good for a redshirt freshman. He’s completing almost 60% of his passes for 10.4 and this is against Big Ten teams, not the non con patsies. His passing was a little off this past week but he was probably a little cold. Both QBs seemed off their normal games.

He throws a nicer deep pass although nobody will say he has a rocket arm. He has the ability to scramble even though they’re trying to protect him as much as possible. Annexstad has 23 rushes for -89 yards which is Hackenberg level. Obviously he was crippled for several games.

Happy to roll with him the rest of the season and try to get some big wins. ZA is not out of it but TM is doing too well right now. The QB competition can begin in earnest again next spring.

When he got hurt I was in the camp that thought Annexstad should get the job back once healthy but I agree at this point they should keep rolling with Morgan for the remainder of the season. Definitely think the competition will be wide open again during the off-season and heading into next year. Hopefully, whoever loses out on the starting job will want to stick around because it is great to have multiple options at the QB position for when guys get injured.
 



That was always a puzzler to me. Leidner was a battler and I respected his effort, but he remained inconsistent on an almost throw-to-throw basis. Maybe the design of the offense (and steady play from the offensive line) is helping, but both Morgan and Annexstad seem to have something Leidner lacked.

Leidner pretty much maxed out his abilities as a QB. He was never even really supposed to be the long term solution at the position (speculation early in his career was that he would play TE) but they just couldn't seem to recruit anyone good enough to beat him out so he was the best option available.

Morgan and Annexstad are both true QBs. You don't hear any talk about either of them possibly playing another position because QB IS their position. Remains to be seen just how good they will end up being but so far so good based on how they are playing as freshman.
 

Morgan will likely have to play himself out of the starting spot at this point. But he had a very ordinary game against Purdue, missing a lot of targets, especially in the second quarter.

Morgan's mobility has been a big asset. I thought Annexstad moved well in the opener, but was never the same after tweaking his ankle.

Pass protection certainly seems to have improved during the last several games, which is good news for whoever is at QB.

Either way, I think we have two good ones, with more talent coming in next year. Pretty unusual for us.

JTG
 

Morgan was a little scattershot Saturday but wait until you see Jack Coan. Our WRs also had several bad drops including a wide open DD82 that may have gone the distance for a long TD. I’ll chalk it up to cold hands on both ends.
 

Morgan was a little scattershot Saturday but wait until you see Jack Coan. Our WRs also had several bad drops including a wide open DD82 that may have gone the distance for a long TD. I’ll chalk it up to cold hands on both ends.

Seems like during every broadcast the announcers talk about TJ and make a comment about how he never drops passes which of course is funny since that was the only real knock on his game. To his credit he has gotten much better at that of late and it seems like it has passed on to some of the other guys.

Little I have seen of Coan at Wisconsin has not been impressive. Didn't see their game against PSU but his stat line is brutal (9 for 20, 60 yards and 2 picks). Looks like Hornibrook is questionable for game with Purdue this weekend so he is probably back for our game in 2 weeks.
 



That was always a puzzler to me. Leidner was a battler and I respected his effort, but he remained inconsistent on an almost throw-to-throw basis. Maybe the design of the offense (and steady play from the offensive line) is helping, but both Morgan and Annexstad seem to have something Leidner lacked.

Morgan and Annexstad have the luxury of throwing to the best group of WRs top to bottom that we've had here in a long time - maybe ever. That's not to say they aren't more talented passers anyway - I think they've both done a really nice job as freshmen, generally make good decisions and throw with accuracy - but they're throwing to WRs that are getting open on a consistent basis, something that wasn't happening in years past.
 

In a perfect world, it would be nice to have a QB with a stronger arm then Morgan or Annexstad. they're good on the short and medium routes, but I don't like the way either one of them throw the deep ball - the "lob it up and pray" approach. (again, don't know if that is what the coaches want them to do....?)

so, if one of the incoming QB's demonstrates equal abilities to Morgan and Annexstad - AND clearly throws a better deep ball, then I could see a change.

But, if none of the incoming QB's is clearly a better option, then it's a QB battle - or even better, a QB controversy - going into next year. Can't forget that Fleck chose Annexstad as the starter, so there was something that made Fleck go with Annexstad over Morgan. If both are healthy, I would not be shocked if Annexstad was the game #1 starter in 2019.
 

I wonder what the likelihood is of the incoming QBs redshirting right away. You would think highly likely, but who knows?

JTG
 

I wonder what the likelihood is of the incoming QBs redshirting right away. You would think highly likely, but who knows?

JTG

not trolling here---- the better question is 'which qb, morgan or annexstad transfers.'
 

I wonder what the likelihood is of the incoming QBs redshirting right away. You would think highly likely, but who knows?

JTG

Next year is an important year for the program to show improvement on the field in terms of record and performance. I would think if one of those guys comes in and blows the coaches away they could find themselves starting but more then likely they both get a chance to sit for a year.
 




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