Cowboy Junky said:
I reread the entire thread and I can't seem to find one post that says that Philip Nelson is some kind of savior at qb.
What he is:
1. More highly rated out of high school then both Brett Smith and Jason Thompson.
2. A starter at qb for a B1G team as a true freshman.
3. One of the best qb's left on the board this late in the game.
4. A good fit with two years eligibility and a redshirt to give.
5. A guy with a lot of starting experience already.
6. A qb that has been playing for a bad team against a lot of very good teams in a system that doesn't pass the ball much.
7. An upgrade over the qb's we currently have on our roster.
So go ahead and be as negative as you want about this, but I still think this would be a positive to sign a three star qb, that has started a lot of games in the B1G, has two years of eligibility, and a reshirt to burn.
I'll respond to each of your points with my thoughts on them:
1. We all know that stars are determined by who is interested in you, and not a true measure of talent. Or at least that's what I've gathered from every post about recruiting players (especially Brett Smith) on this board.
2. Did you see the other QBs on the Gophers rosters? Leidner was the next best choice, and he's a RB who occasionally takes snaps.
3. Agree here. It's unlikely you'll find anything better available at this point. Not sure being the best of the available players means he's good or not.
4. If by fit you mean he'll have more time to play for the Pokes, then sure, he's a good fit. But by this metric, any HS QB would be an even better fit.
5. He "started" 9 games this season, and split the workload in a good number of them. He was also pulled in favor of Leidner in the most recent game.
6. Last I checked, Minnesota did something Wyoming couldn't do, and that was have a winning record. Oh, and one played in a real conference.
7. I probably agree with you here. I guess I'm trying to point out that even if he is an upgrade, it's a very small upgrade at that.
I'm not sure why I'm so active in this thread. I guess I just tried to step in with some of my own analysis from watching the guy play this season, and now it's devolved into a "you hate Nelson" thread. If Coach Bohl thinks this guy will make the team better, then I'm all for bringing him to Laramie. I just worry about a player who was just on a Pro-style offense, who left to find a passing team that fits his strengths better, potentially coming to a pro-style team, who from what I've been able to gather, wants to be a power rushing team and a west-coast style passing attack. It seems like a spread team would be a much better fit for his wishes.