A Look at the Golden Gophers: Quarterbacks

I’m going to do a breakdown of each position on the Gopher’s football team as I see it.  Let’s start with the Quarterbacks…

Before I even say anything about the Quarterbacks let’s look at the depth chart.

		Height	Weight	Year	Hometown (Previous School)
8	Weber, Adam	6-3	221	Sr.	Shoreview, MN (Mounds View)
5	Gray, MarQueis	6-4	230	So.	Indianapolis, IN (Ben Davis)
12	Alipate, Moses	6-5	235	RFr.	Bloomington, MN (Bloomington Jefferson HS)
19	Lueck, Adam	6-0	187	So.	Eden Prairie, MN (Eden Prairie)
16	Parish, Tom	6-3	200	Fr.	Hartland, WI (Arrowhead HS)
13	Pride, J.D.	6-1	190	Fr.	Brooklyn Park, MN (Totino-Grace HS)

(Pulled these from Gophersports.com)

Let me start off by saying I’m glad Brew decided on going with the veteran Weber to be the starting QB this year.  As much as I think Gray is an amazing talent and a tremendous athlete, he wasn’t ready to be the starter.  Overall I like the depth at QB and wouldn’t be completely crushed if Weber went down as I think Gray and Alipate are both capable backups. So what do I think about each individual QB?  We'll let me tell you.

Adam Weber certainly has been through a lot over the years, all the different coordinators, going from spread to pro, dealing with Jedd Fisch’s hieroglyphic offensive system, and the constant attack by the fans (some of which is justified).  So what will his final season hold?  I’m thinking its going to be good, but not great.  I don’t think he’ll get all big ten honors, but he’s going to be solid at the helm of this offense.

So would you like an example of what I think Weber’s season will be like?  Try the Syracuse game.  He struggled at times, but when it mattered he could put together some respectable drives.  I think at first he’s going to miss Decker, I mean he did miss him at the end of the 09’ season (except for the Michigan State game).  I think the receivers won’t be as big of a problem as many think.  Da’Jon McKnight is a good sized target and turned things up at the end of the season last year.  Weber shouldn’t have any excuses when it comes to the receiving core, as the Gophers bring back most of the main receivers from last year.

So what about the backups?  Maybe I’m a little different, but I would like to see Gray moved to WR, like McNutt down in Iowa. Or maybe make him a gadget player like Keshawn Martin over at Michigan State (the guy who had those two huge runs for TDs during the Michigan State game last year).  Gray has unbelievable potential but he’s much more suited for the spread and we no longer run that offense.  I like either Alipate or Parish to beat out Gray for the job next season when Weber graduates, but that’s just my opinion.

Moses Alipate reminds me of Daunte Culpepper in some respects, big body, big arm, a pocket passer.  To me that’s what you want in a pro-style offense, a guy who can make all the throws that big and strong in the pocket.  I expect Moses will be on the bench, work on his game and continue to learn the offense.  He will get his shot to get the starting job next year.

The rest of the Quarterbacks on the roster include Adam Leuck, Tom Parish, and J.D. Pride.  Leuck was the third string last year and to my knowledge will be a practice guy and bench warmer for the rest of his career as a Gopher.  Tom Parish was a solid 3-star recruit out of Wisconsin and if I had to guess I’d say he’ll be taking a redshirt this year.  J.D. Pride was offered a scholarship to bring this guy to the Gophers.  That didn’t work out so were stuck with J.D.  I think hes going to see a position change, much like David Pittman did a couple years ago, and much like David Pittman I don’t like J.D. will see much playing time in his career as a Gopher.