Rumor: Stutzreim pegged as starter

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UW2007
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RUMOR: Word on the street here in Laramie, from a pretty reliable source, is that Bob Cole is leaning towards Chris Stutzreim to be the starting day QB for the Pokes next season. Apparently Cole is a fan of Stutz's size, big arm and the fact that he's a RS freshman so he would be able to grasp the offense more and more each year.

My thoughts...I like Stutzreim and think he could be a great QB for the Pokes. It makes sense that the new O-Cord would like to develop his own QB, especially after doing interviews with each quarterback. While Sween might be considered "flawed" by some people I feel he still is talented enough to be our starter. If Glenn and Cole decide to run with Stutzreim I hope they stick with him and ONLY him...the dual headed QB rotation never works and only pisses off both quarterbacks.
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I'm not saying any one of the QBs on the roster should or shouldn't start. I'm just hoping Cole is a smart enough OC to pick the one that will be the best for the Pokes and I think he will have to make that decision by a week or so into the fall practices. We have some good ones to pick from I believe.
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Fullback41
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I find it hard to believe anyone (including Cole) has any idea who will start next year until spring practices begin. Cole hasn't seen any of them in scrimmage action yet, how could he know who will be the best player next August?
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MrTitleist
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I don't think it's too far off base. There's no question right now: Sween is in a lot of trouble to lose his starting position. He HAS to have a great spring or Stutzreim or Hetrick will slip in and fill that spot.. if Stutz falls into the spot, unless he has a mid-season meltdown, he'll hold onto that spot. And there could be some scrumming going on now.. passing drills and such.
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J-Rod
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Can you name a starter in February????
cbeditor
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No you can't. And wow, this is a new one for me; first time I've heard someone say Stutzriem would be the starter. In the few weeks that Cole has been the offensive coordinator, we've heard that:

1. Hetrick was transferring
2. Hetrick had transferred
3. Hetrick hadn't transferred and wasn't going to
4. Hetrick was moving to wide receiver
5. Stutzriem was thinking about transferring
6. It was Sween's job to lose
7. Barry was going to be on equal footing with Sween when he arrived
8. It was between Crum and Sween and Barry was almost a sure redshirt
9. Crum was the definite starter
and now...
10. Stutzriem is the projected starter.

It's February. This is crazy.

It always kills me when I hear people say that they've heard something like that "from a very reliable source." No source, other than Cole himself, would be "very reliable" about something like that in early February. And I seriously doubt Cole would ever imply two months before he gets to see any real field action from anybody that his early favorite was last year's third string guy.

How do these kinds of rumors get started?

I'm not saying Stutzriem is a bad quarterback. He impressed me with his accuracy in practice last year. But, IMO, there's no way Cole could be thinking that right now.
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UW2007
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I haven't heard numbers 3, 4, 5 but there is some logic behind all of this. Hetrick didn't get an interview with Cole and the guy has already felt slighted about his playing time. It would make sense if he did leave and if he did I wouldn't be surprised.

The thing about Stutzreim and Sween comes down to Sween's mechanics and performance last season against Stutzreim's youth and big arm. Cole wants to groom a QB for his system and from what I understand he feels that Stutzreim can come in now and do what Sween did last season. A lot of guys (players) think Crum is an arrogant prick so I'm not sure how that's going to work with the squad. Sure he's new and from out of state but if you're not "in" with the players then who knows how things are going to mesh.

It is not a secret that the Cowboy offense needs a change and that the pressure is on. Cole has made it known that he wants a level of success this season and considering Stutzreim's pedigree and his performance in practice it's not a stretch to say that he will be considered for the starting job. So while you can't name a starter (and I never said that he was...I said that Cole was leaning towards) in February it is normal for a coaching staff to consider changing QB after the offense's performance last season. Cole is big on mechanics and everybody knows that Sween's are not good by any means.
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There appear to be too many players in the QB pot. I don't know who, but I'm guessing one (or more) will jump ship.
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I actually got a chance to talk to both Ron Wisniewski and Joe Glenn about this today at the recruiting press conference, and both of them were adamant that the QB spot is "wide open" right now. They are not leaning toward any of the players at all. Wisniewski made a point of saying that Karsten, Hetrick, Stutzriem and Crum would all have completely equal shots at the job and that none of them had any kind of advantage over any other in any way. "Otherwise, we would not have brought Dax in," he said. He also said Barry will be given a shot if he can learn the offense quick enough. He said that physically, Barry is ready to play DI ball right now. It's just a matter of how fast he can get the system down after he gets here in June.

I'm not saying Stutzriem doesn't have a shot at it. I think he has an excellent shot at it, but no more advantage than any of the other four. The coaches made it clear that they are not leaning toward anyone right now.
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That's how it should be (all of the QB's having an equal shot) the way I see it.
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cbeditor
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I agree. New system, new position coach and offensive coordinator, two new highly-touted QBs, one QB who just finished his redshirt, two more returning that have played either a little or a lot of DI ball: How could it not be wide open?
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The recruitment of Crum (JC) suggests the staff is not confident in the position right now, which indicates there is likely not a starter at this point. I think basically Sween is the starter as we speak, and then things will play out from there this spring. Someone has to take the job from him because he is the only one who has any real experience and a body of work to look at. I don't see Hetrick getting any time, but who knows. Barry will redshirt. Stutzreim is the wild card in my opinion. Rumors, again just rumors suggest Dax Crum may enter the program with more skills then any current QB's. And Sween is honestly quite talented, he just needs to get over that hump he hit this season. I think all we can tell at this point is that this competition should be very good for the outcome. This will be a competition much stronger than the one two seasons ago with Sween, Doss, Hetrick and Dean. MUCH stronger!

p.s. My bet is on Crum, just a feeling. My hope is Sween can get it done though. I think he is a winner.
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J-Rod
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I agree with WyoCow85, Crum has the credentials to play now, play the athlete with the most talent, not the one the coaches think has the system down. :roll:
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So.. has everyone forgot about Adam Barry?
Joe Glenn even said on Signing Day that he's the best college-ready qb he's EVER recruited out of high school..and even joked, since he's so strong, that Coach English is gonna be wanting him at LB! haha

The only downside for him is coming in this summer, rather than the spring semester.

But to put my 2cents in on this thread, I think Stutz and Crum will be the top-two spots after the end of spring ball..who knows once Barry gets here.
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It's going to be a battle for sure. I've done some research on Barry and he looks pretty good but I think he'll get some time to develop into the system.

I just feel bad for Sween if he's demoted because of last season, the guy started off really well and is a solid QB but Cockhill screwed him in terms of development. Get his footwork squared away and I think he'd be a great QB. I hope he gets a fair shot but with Crum and Stutz waiting in the wings it's going to be rough.
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Don't feel bad for Sween. He isn't NFL material anyway. Now he can just coast in and get his degree (for free), not get beat up every weekend, spend more time with his wife, and say "I told you so", if the others screw up.
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UW2007
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Adv8RU12 wrote:Don't feel bad for Sween. He isn't NFL material anyway. Now he can just coast in and get his degree (for free), not get beat up every weekend, spend more time with his wife, and say "I told you so", if the others screw up.
You don't think he's the kind of guy to do that do you? :D
dapokes
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okay, I've changed my mind..after talking to sween about the new system/staff/competition.. I'm thinking it should be a battle but karsten (who's put on 10 more lbs of muscle since the season ended) will come out on top.
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I agree it will be a battle. And this is probably the most depth we've had, well, ever at this positions which is good if we can control it. But here's the break down.
Stutzreim: Great kid Great character, but has no play time. He's not used to D1 Level speed of the game. The same goes for Barry. He's got what it takes, but he's got to get used to the transition. Just as Sween did.
Sween is there, you can tell when you talk to him, He's got fire in his eyes now. Get ready for him to break out now. His confidence is high now.
Crum will come in strong, but he must get used to transition aswell, it is still a slower game at the Juco level.
Here's how I see the depth at the begining of the season:
1. Sween
2. Crum
3. Barry
4. Sutzreim.
WyoCow85
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Sween, Barry, and Crum all expect to start, at some point. I mean every QB somewhat expects that when they sign on the dotted line, but I think all three were really told, hey, you've got what it takes to start here, and that should be interesting. Sween has 2 seasons left, Crum 3, and Barry 4. I'm not sure, but I dont think Crum can redshirt as he already did in JC, so I expect Barry will redshirt this season. Hetrick won't see anytime, his Sr. year will be providing extended depth and comp. in practice. So lets just say Sween keeps his job and finishes his career under center. When he graduated you would have Crum with 1 year remaining, Stutzreim with 2 and Barry with 3. Looking at those numbers I can't help but think the staff anticipates Crum will take the job before Sween graduates, and then be grooming Barry to inherit it from him. I think Stutzreim will go the road of Stinson Dean...
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