All Your Quarterback Are Belong To Us

It figures that I'd say something incredibly stupid at the very end of an earlier post about Michigan fans abstaining from panic until such time that Rich Rodriguez's own 2008 and 2009 football recruits hit the exits. Well, this particular recruit has been actually shown the exits by the coach, so it's not exactly the same thing as the AHhhh...RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!-tactic employed by Boren and Wermers.

Former backup quarterback and slot receiver Justin Feagin has been dismissed from the Michigan football team for violating team rules.

The loss of Justin Feagin is probably not going to impact Michigan's upcoming football season one iota.

The Wolverines are not exactly stacked at quarterback, but with Tate Forcier, Denard Robinson and Nick Sheridan, there's enough talent or experience to get by well enough this fall. Feagin was a 2 star, 93rd ranked QB in the freshman class of 2008.

The slot receiver position, which had become Feagin's new football vocation ever since Nick Sheridan beat him out for the second string QB role last year, is stacked. The Wolverines still have Roy Roundtree, Terrance Robinson, Je-Ron Stokes in the lineup, plus a long laundry list of outside receivers and backup running backs that could play slot.

I liked Feagin as a quarterback, but by about the 3rd game of season I decided to stop wasting all of my time thinking about why in the hell Sheridan was getting so many reps under center while Feagin was wasting away on the sidelines.

It's a shame to see poor judgement take Mr. Feagin away from Michigan. Wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

Michigan QB Position Building Some Interesting Depth

Michigan's football program received a verbal commitment from Inkster, MI star QB Devin Gardner on Friday.

According to Scout.com, Gardner is the nation's 7th ranked quarterback prospect and has received 4 stars from Scout.com and Rivals.com raters.

Gardner, Michigan's 7th commitment for 2010, had already received an impressive list of offers from other schools, including LSU, Notre Dame, Oregon, Nebraska, Michigan State, Iowa, Purdue West Virginia, Baylor and Cincinnati.

Garder is big. 6 foot 4 inches tall and 196 pounds. He doesn't have blazing speed at 4.63, but he has excellent agility, shifts direction and is very elusive on the field.

Mr. Gardner, like Dennis Dixon, makes big plays and scores a lot of points on the ground and through the air.

Gardner's Junior Stats:

Completed 98 of 170 passes for over 1,800 yards, 26 TDs and only 7 INTs (58% completion rate). Rushed only 115 times, but for a jaw-dropping 1,401 yards and 22 TDs - that's 12 yards per rushing attempt!

The addition of Gardner will likely change Michigan's QB situation significantly entering the 2010 season with the likes of Nick Sheridan, Tate Forcier, Denard Robinson and Gardner competing for playing time. As I've posted earlier, I don't ever recall a depth chart of quarterbacks at Michigan with such footspeed. Having experience, speed and elusiveness at QB makes it possible for the coaches to open up the playbook some more on opponents. The nature of Rodriguez' offense means higher risk of injury to the quarterback. Depth, talent and experience at quarterback is essential for future success with this offensive system.



Michigan might not be done at QB recruiting either. The Wolverines have over 90 offers out and 12 of those have apparently gone to QBs that fit Rodriguez dual-threat, spread option requirements.

More on Mr. Gardner's exploits courtesy of the "internets":

Rick Leach Enters Michigan Hall of Honor

Former Michigan All-American quarterback Rick Leach (1975-1978) will be inducted in to the University of Michigan Hall of Honor on Saturday, January 24th.

Rick Leach set all sorts of records in baseball and football while at Michigan. As quarterback, Leach started 48 consecutive games (a record at the time) and led Michigan football teams to 3 consecutive victories over Ohio State, one Orange Bowl and three consecutive Rose Bowl berths. Michigan's football record with Rick Leach under center:

1975: 8-2-2
1976: 10-2-0
1977: 10-2-0
1978: 10-2-0

Leach was one of Michigan's best dual-threat quarterbacks in school history as he operated Michigan's triple option attack out of the I formation between 1975-1977 and out of the wishbone on occasion in 1978.

One could imagine how a young Rick Leach might fair under the new spread offense philosophy of the Michigan football regime of Rich Rodriguez.