Tanner Morgan Remains #4 FBS QB

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fmlizard

fmlizard

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Tanner Morgan didn't have to throw it a lot in the beatdown of Nebraska, but he was efficient. At the mid-way point he remains the #4 rated passer in FBS behind Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, and Tua Tagovailoa. His rating of 195.1 is superior to nearly all the Heisman QBs of the last 20 years.
 

Rodney #10 in nation total rushing yards.
 


My perception is that many Gopher fans keep expecting him to fail because he was the Gophers 2nd-stringer last season and he just doesn't appear to have the physical characteristics of an elite quarterback. Nationally, he goes under the radar because he plays for the Gophers, and they supposedly haven't played great competition this season.

I find myself becoming a bigger and bigger fan of his. He continues to make big plays/throws when they are needed, and he seems to improve with each game (even when he has limited opportunity like last night). I'm not saying he's at that level, yet, but if he was in a Joe Tiller Purdue offense, I think he might resemble Drew Brees. I also think he would be a more prolific runner if the Gophers had a capable backup, and that would further open up their offense.

If the Gophers can beat Rutgers and Maryland, Morgan will have the chance to cement himself into the hearts of Gopher faithful and to gain respect nationally, because the Gophers will probably need him to be more active in the passing game and to perform at his best to beat their last 4 conference opponents (yes, including Northwestern). I'm excited to see what transpires over the next month and a half!
 

The success they’ve had in the passing game is the reason why the running game has picked up the last two weeks. Opposing teams watch the tape of the Purdue game, and decide they’d rather take their chances against the run, rather than give up 70 yard TD passes. It will be interesting to see how future opponents approach it now that we’ve averaged 6.5 yards per carry over the past two games. Even with the increased focus on the run game, Morgan is still averaging about 9.5 YPA over those two games, despite 7-8 drops.




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PitinoFan said:
The success they’ve had in the passing game is the reason why the running game has picked up the last two weeks. Opposing teams watch the tape of the Purdue game, and decide they’d rather take their chances against the run, rather than give up 70 yard TD passes. It will be interesting to see how future opponents approach it now that we’ve averaged 6.5 yards per carry over the past two games. Even with the increased focus on the run game, Morgan is still averaging about 9.5 YPA over those two games, despite 7-8 drops.
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The way it's been going running the ball the last couple games, and looking ahead at the next 3 weeks of Rutgers, Maryland, and Open Date U, Morgan is going to lose his spot as a Top 5 rated passer by falling below the qualifying number of attempts.
 

fmlizard said:
Tanner Morgan didn't have to throw it a lot in the beatdown of Nebraska, but he was efficient. At the mid-way point he remains the #4 rated passer in FBS behind Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, and Tua Tagovailoa. His rating of 195.1 is superior to nearly all the Heisman QBs of the last 20 years.
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Morgan will keep flying under the radar because we don't air it out non stop the way some teams do and he doesn't run very often. Because of that he will rarely get mentioned along with those 3 above him since he just isn't a flashy player.

What I love about Morgan is how he seems to rarely make bad decisions. He doesn't try to force balls to receivers or throw it up for grabs the way some QBs do. This is really impressive for a guy with essentially one season worth of experience at this point.

He also comes across as a phenomenal leader for someone as young as he is. It seems like when things are going sideways he has that presence to calm everyone down and go out and make the plays needed to win. Kid is just a really good football player, even if most of the country is unlikely to realize it because they are too busy looking at the flashy guys that draw all the attention.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Morgan will keep flying under the radar because we don't air it out non stop the way some teams do and he doesn't run very often. Because of that he will rarely get mentioned along with those 3 above him since he just isn't a flashy player.

What I love about Morgan is how he seems to rarely make bad decisions. He doesn't try to force balls to receivers or throw it up for grabs the way some QBs do. This is really impressive for a guy with essentially one season worth of experience at this point.

He also comes across as a phenomenal leader for someone as young as he is. It seems like when things are going sideways he has that presence to calm everyone down and go out and make the plays needed to win. Kid is just a really good football player, even if most of the country is unlikely to realize it because they are too busy looking at the flashy guys that draw all the attention.
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I agree with you for the most part that tanner is a great decision maker. I love him as my qb because he can run the offense and knows how to win which I respect. But, sometimes he makes the most bone headed eye down interceptions that make my blood boil. He has played exceptional in big ten play. some throws he makes have been questionable at best. Overall I completely agree that he is the qb for our team and I can’t wait to see what happens in the future with our two freshmen plus AK20 comin in. Even Sam Jackson could be a game changer in this offense. Having a dynamic runner to match ky Thomas would match his high school offense very well. A lot of talent to look forward to.


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fmlizard said:
The way it's been going running the ball the last couple games, and looking ahead at the next 3 weeks of Rutgers, Maryland, and Open Date U, Morgan is going to lose his spot as a Top 5 rated passer by falling below the qualifying number of attempts.
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They need 14 attempts for every game the team plays. He currently has 124. I think his qualifying status is safe. Hurts only has 137.

He’s still 3rd in the country with 11.1 YPA.


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lucasjfoster said:
I agree with you for the most part that tanner is a great decision maker. I love him as my qb because he can run the offense and knows how to win which I respect. But, sometimes he makes the most bone headed eye down interceptions that make my blood boil. He has played exceptional in big ten play. some throws he makes have been questionable at best. Overall I completely agree that he is the qb for our team and I can’t wait to see what happens in the future with our two freshmen plus AK20 comin in. Even Sam Jackson could be a game changer in this offense. Having a dynamic runner to match ky Thomas would match his high school offense very well. A lot of talent to look forward to.


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I’ve never seen a QB that didn’t make occasionally head scratching bad decisions (could be they don’t see a linebacker, etc) or questionable throws into coverage. Look at the highlights from the Georgia loss to South Carolina, future high draft pick Fromm made some really bad decisions.

Have to take the bad with the good and Morgan has been really good. Accurate, decisive, cool under pressure. This offense is transforming into a really dangerous one in front of our eyes and his clutch play is a big reason for that.
 

lucasjfoster said:
I agree with you for the most part that tanner is a great decision maker. I love him as my qb because he can run the offense and knows how to win which I respect. But, sometimes he makes the most bone headed eye down interceptions that make my blood boil. He has played exceptional in big ten play. some throws he makes have been questionable at best. Overall I completely agree that he is the qb for our team and I can’t wait to see what happens in the future with our two freshmen plus AK20 comin in. Even Sam Jackson could be a game changer in this offense. Having a dynamic runner to match ky Thomas would match his high school offense very well. A lot of talent to look forward to.



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Morgan has even admitted to trying to fit a couple balls in tight spots, but in the end, he has only thrown 3 interceptions in 6 games, 3!
 

HoustonTXGopher said:
Morgan has even admitted to trying to fit a couple balls in tight spots, but in the end, he has only thrown 3 interceptions in 6 games, 3!
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Yeah, he’s on a pace for 28 TDs and 6 ints for the season. His current passing TD total of 14 is 2nd in the conference, behind Fields. That’s acceptable.

He seems to be getting more comfortable making the reads on the field too. That may have something to do with the success of the running game over the past couple games. He uses deception really well. Perfect example is Rodney’s long run on the first drive. Most of the defense was watching Morgan longer than they should have, and it gave Rodney enough time to break loose.


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PitinoFan said:
Yeah, he’s on a pace for 28 TDs and 6 ints for the season. His current passing TD total of 14 is 2nd in the conference, behind Fields. That’s acceptable.

He seems to be getting more comfortable making the reads on the field too. That may have something to do with the success of the running game over the past couple games. He uses deception really well. Perfect example is Rodney’s long run on the first drive. Most of the defense was watching Morgan longer than they should have, and it gave Rodney enough time to break loose.


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Some great numbers if they can hold up!
 



Could be even better. We left Some long TD receptions on the table with Paulson play and Bateman open deep, Bateman open on a slant.
 

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