BG should recruit a JUCO QB this year

[Globetrotter]

At least 8 of the guys I mentioned earlier from 03-04 made it to an NFL roster at some point (training camp, preseason, regular season).

Outside of Chris Jones, I don't see another one from the current team that will make an NFL camp this year or next.

Boo Boo. Chief. Samuel. Gannon. Bayer. Martin. Schmiedebush.

[Flipper]

If his foot is healed, Jarius Campbell is a prospect as well....when the rest of the underclassmen are Sr's...we can talk about who is or isn't a pro prospect.

[kdog27]

PJ Pope sophomore season > Samuel sophomore season. He gained about 3,000 yards from scrimmage his sophomore and junior years. If not for getting hurt his senior year he would have had three 1,000 yard seasons. Pope was the stud of those teams.

QB's aren't worth comparing.

Magner, Sharon, Sanders and Hawkins all day over Gallon, Joplin, Burbrink and Stokes.

I'll take the O line anchored by Scotty M and that was way more versatile.

Suisham was up and down but overall had a good career.

Samuel has rushed for 1700+ yards despite missing several games due to injury. He is likely to get 3500 - 4000 rushing and 500 receiving yards for his career.

You're comparing careers of guys to freshmen and sophomores.

I think flipper was saying if this group progresses the way they have in the past they can be as good as those teams.

Which I agree 100% with.

I specifically compared Pope's soph season to Samuel's soph season. Sorry guys we had a bad offense this year, how is this group so talented?

[Flipper]

Talent and production don't always mesh....inconsistent QB, squeamish OC, ...etc...etc...etc...

It's fascinating to look at the stats from 2003 and 2012. We ran 10 plays per game more on offense. Harris completed about 100 more passes that year (65%) than Schilz did this year (55%) Looking at Pope and Samuel...YPC are close, Pope was .4 yds better. Pope had a huge edge on catches, but that short throw to Magner and Pope was a staple of the offense.

[Falcon137]

PJ Pope sophomore season > Samuel sophomore season. He gained about 3,000 yards from scrimmage his sophomore and junior years. If not for getting hurt his senior year he would have had three 1,000 yard seasons. Pope was the stud of those teams.

QB's aren't worth comparing.

Magner, Sharon, Sanders and Hawkins all day over Gallon, Joplin, Burbrink and Stokes.

I'll take the O line anchored by Scotty M and that was way more versatile.

Suisham was up and down but overall had a good career.

Samuel has rushed for 1700+ yards despite missing several games due to injury. He is likely to get 3500 - 4000 rushing and 500 receiving yards for his career.

You're comparing careers of guys to freshmen and sophomores.

I think flipper was saying if this group progresses the way they have in the past they can be as good as those teams.

Which I agree 100% with.

I specifically compared Pope's soph season to Samuel's soph season. Sorry guys we had a bad offense this year, how is this group so talented?

Pope had 1,438 his sophomore season. Samuel had 1,198. Pope played in 14 games compared to 12 for Samuel.

Pope- 102.7 YPG
Samuel- 99.8 YPG

[kdog27]

I could see this group of skill players and lineman rivaling those teams IF only IF we have an all mac quarterback. I am not seeing that leap.

Gallon impresses me, no doubt. I hope he is better than all those guys and signs are that he will be. I love Samuel but I am skeptical he will ever play a full season without being banged up. Plus you will have a hard time convincing me he is a better back than Pope. Pope actually played in the NFL FWIW.

At this point Givens is no different than Stover IMO. Looked great in limited service but will he pan out?

Joplin will be a senior so I will put Magner, Sanders and Sharon all head and shoulders better than him. He has a lot of talent and awful hands. Sharon had the hands things figured out by the end of his junior year. Those guys were also awesome running with the ball after the catch, something I think our current receivers struggle with.

I have not formed a good opinion on Burbrink yet. Could he be as good as Magner or Partridge? Possibly but those pretty big shoes to fill. Magner could line up in so many places and was such a headache for defenses.

I was pumped to see Stokes this year but he really struggled and was barely used the second half of the season.


It's fun to talk about and at the end of the day I hope these guys will be better.

[Oldballcoach61]

Gallon will be the real deal and get a shot at the next level. Anton will never play at the next level, and Givens will be the #1 back coming out of spring ball next year. Think I'm wrong, stop back and see me in a few weeks. JMO

[Flipper]

That is a bold prediction...I did think Givens HS video was as impressive as any I've ever seen here. He has a world of talent. So far as everything else goes...I think we agree that this team will underperform if we don't see more from the QB

His ability to give us more seems to the crux of the differences on the board

[Falcon137]

Givens was really starting to find his stride before getting injured in the EMU game.

Samuel hasn't proved he can stay healthy for a full year. I would be shocked if Givens replaced him as the starter. But, it wouldn't surprise me if he ended the year with more yards.

[Falconfreak90]

IF Samuel stays healthy, he is the clear #1. Givens has a crap load of potential and we'll have Hopgood and Jamal Martin back as well.

I agree Gallon is going to be a total stud. He has GREAT size and strength and is only gonna get better.

[Beaker]

I could see this group of skill players and lineman rivaling those teams IF only IF we have an all mac quarterback. I am not seeing that leap.

Gallon impresses me, no doubt. I hope he is better than all those guys and signs are that he will be. I love Samuel but I am skeptical he will ever play a full season without being banged up. Plus you will have a hard time convincing me he is a better back than Pope. Pope actually played in the NFL FWIW.

At this point Givens is no different than Stover IMO. Looked great in limited service but will he pan out?

Joplin will be a senior so I will put Magner, Sanders and Sharon all head and shoulders better than him. He has a lot of talent and awful hands. Sharon had the hands things figured out by the end of his junior year. Those guys were also awesome running with the ball after the catch, something I think our current receivers struggle with.

I have not formed a good opinion on Burbrink yet. Could he be as good as Magner or Partridge? Possibly but those pretty big shoes to fill. Magner could line up in so many places and was such a headache for defenses.

I was pumped to see Stokes this year but he really struggled and was barely used the second half of the season.

It's fun to talk about and at the end of the day I hope these guys will be better.

+1 to all of that.

One other thing that separates those teams from this current club was that the old clubs, particularly the teams with Harris at QB, could step up and win close games against bigger conference opponents. The current version hasn't been able to do that yet. They also haven't had any success winning close games. The former teams didn't seem to struggle in that area. Of course, they won a lot of games by a hefty margin because they could put up a lot of points and bury opponents, which this team hasn't done much of.

Time will tell if this current crop can equal the 2002 -2004 teams. I'm hopeful that in the next couple of years we'll see a team that can rise to the challenge and win some games where they may not be favored on paper, or just win the close games, period. If they do that, then maybe they can be compared with those excellent teams, but in my opinion, as of now, they have a long way to go to get there.