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Much has been talked about, written about our QB problems. Yet I've heard NOTHING about RSFreshman Elijah Cunningham.
Anyone know what's going on with him? I do believe he is/was a Jinks recruit, thought he'd at least get in for a few snaps vs NIU. Had helmet on, yet never hit the field.
Got to wonder why he's not at least had a shot at it.

Jinks said all three QBs should be ready for Kent but he had his reservations. Morgan has been ineffective, Doege is coming back from injury, and apparently Loy got banged up. So the same thought crossed my head: is Cunningham ready? I'd hate to think we may need him but you never know when your number could be called.

Class of 61 wrote:Much has been talked about, written about our QB problems. Yet I've heard NOTHING about RSFreshman Elijah Cunningham.
Anyone know what's going on with him? I do believe he is/was a Jinks recruit, thought he'd at least get in for a few snaps vs NIU. Had helmet on, yet never hit the field.
Got to wonder why he's not at least had a shot at it.

The fact our QB position is in the mess it’s in and he’s yet to see the field or be mentioned pretty much speaks for itself, doesn’t it? He’s at #4 for a reason and it’s not a good one. Our best looking QB had his redshirt pulled and was injured catching a pass in his second game. A bonehead play call IMO considering the circumstances. When you burn a true frosh’s redshirt and are using him that way you’re asking for trouble. And of course, we found it. He hasn’t played since.

Agreed. Doege needs some time to put on some muscle. That will come and it will help him absorb those hits. Until then, don't play call to expose your young QB. I thought it was overly risky.

BGSU33 wrote:A bonehead play call IMO considering the circumstances. When you burn a true frosh’s redshirt and are using him that way you’re asking for trouble. And of course, we found it. He hasn’t played since.

I have no problem at all with that play call. Urban Meyer and Gregg Brandon called a lot of plays like that. It was fun football to watch, and I don't remember Josh Harris ever getting injured. This seems like a fluke.

Schadenfreude wrote:

BGSU33 wrote:A bonehead play call IMO considering the circumstances. When you burn a true frosh’s redshirt and are using him that way you’re asking for trouble. And of course, we found it. He hasn’t played since.

I have no problem at all with that play call. Urban Meyer and Gregg Brandon called a lot of plays like that. It was fun football to watch, and I don't remember Josh Harris ever getting injured. This seems like a fluke.

This might be the only time I will agree with Schad Re: defending Jinks.

This team needs all the sparks it can get and if you can execute them, trick plays tend to be a way to overcome your other deficiencies. I think they're also the sort of things that the kids enjoy attempting and helps keep them fired up/engaged in the game. Injuries happen, and they could have just as easily happened on a play our OL gets blown up and gets Doege hit, or on a zone read type run play.

That's football. It sucks.

One reason Josh Harris didn't get injured was because he was 6'1" 240. Doege is listed at 6'3" 190. Harris was a bruising QB and had the body type to withstand hits. A trick play has its place, but one involving a QB has potential to end badly especially if your QB is not fully developed and defined.

We're going to suck this year...no real reason to play Doege when you have three other scholarship QB's on the team. We RS JUCO OL to better protect the QB next year...but we then throw the kid out there a year early because.....why again?

I go back to a Clawson philosophy here. In 2010 he was asked about why he played some freshmen. The question was if it was fair to future teams to burn some redshirts. He replied by saying it is unfair to the seniors to not use available resources to give them the best chance at a win.
College ball is not like NFL - players are only around for a few years and when they are gone, that is it. So I have no issue playing a freshman if it makes sense. Besides, when Doege started playing, it was still non conference time.

Doege is bigger than Johnny Manziel, to suppose his injury was anything other than just a bad accident is ridiculous and is an example of someone looking to find something else wrong. That's it.

Schadenfreude wrote:

BGSU33 wrote:A bonehead play call IMO considering the circumstances. When you burn a true frosh’s redshirt and are using him that way you’re asking for trouble. And of course, we found it. He hasn’t played since.

I have no problem at all with that play call. Urban Meyer and Gregg Brandon called a lot of plays like that. It was fun football to watch, and I don't remember Josh Harris ever getting injured. This seems like a fluke.

Well, first off, to compare where we were as a team then to what we are now, and what kind of a player a guy like Harris proved to he was and what little we've seen of Doege thus far, isn't even comparable. Running that kind of play with that kind of player on that kind of team a decade-plus ago was awesome. Running it now with this crappy team with a kid who is seeing some of his first collegiate action as a true frosh after burning his redshirt with the mess we have at the position was stupid IMO. We can agree to disagree on whether the play call was good or not, but to compare those BG teams and players to now is laughable.

Flipper wrote:We're going to suck this year...no real reason to play Doege when you have three other scholarship QB's on the team. We RS JUCO OL to better protect the QB next year...but we then throw the kid out there a year early because.....why again?

I still believe we would have won a couple more games with Doege. At the time Jinks pulled the shirt off, we still had a chance to win the MAC East and it wasn't unrealistic to think that Doege could have made a difference in accomplishing that. (With Doege all game, we might have beaten Akron and we certainly, in my view, would have beaten Ohio.)

There's certainly room to argue, but I think Jinks did the right thing in putting Doege out there.

A more interesting question is whether you put Doege out there again at this point, now that we lack much to play for. If memory serves, the FalconBlog has suggested Doege could be eligible for a medical redshirt as long as he doesn't play again. I don't know whether that's true and I also don't know whether that's a yes-or-no question or whether these redshirts are always dicey.

I think it's completely unrealistic to expect a true freshman QB to be a difference maker...especially when you have as many OL issues as we do

Big joke, i thought you all knew football. Qb is is just one position. Jinks is thinking what's best for the TEAM to win now. The other athletes what to win also. All players or most are on scholarship and should be ready to step in when called. No excuses

bowlgreen wrote:Doege is bigger than Johnny Manziel, to suppose his injury was anything other than just a bad accident is ridiculous and is an example of someone looking to find something else wrong. That's it.

You're incorrect. They BOTH weigh in at about 190, but Manziel is three inches SHORTER that Doege (according to the roster), which means his weight is much leaner, whereas Manziel was built more compact and solid, and could probably absorb more hits. At his height, Doege should weigh closer to 220 to 230 to be able to take any kind of pounding as a QB. He looks rail thin out there.