Question-Why did Mullen reshirt Russell?

[shaschboy]

Let's see, Josh Boyd, Brandon H., Chad B.; Jonathan Banks; Fletcher Cox. He's put all of these in and did it to be competitive, but stuck with Lee and Relf when they have absolutely sucked. Now, if we don't get Newton, you will have Russell, with 0 experience for next year or Relf. Oh, and Stegall.
That means you will put Russell on the road in the SEC as a first year starter. I don't get it. How can we expect to be any better when you will take a newbie and throw him to the wolves by going on the road to Gainsville, Tuscaloosa, Baton Rouge, and Oxford. How do we even stack up to be better for next year? I'd be curious to see what Mullen has in store because right now, we lose one of the top running backs in the country, who has been the majority of our offense, and I see a lot of growing pains for next year at every skill position.

 

[shaschboy]

Let's see, Josh Boyd, Brandon H., Chad B.; Jonathan Banks; Fletcher Cox. He's put all of these in and did it to be competitive, but stuck with Lee and Relf when they have absolutely sucked. Now, if we don't get Newton, you will have Russell, with 0 experience for next year or Relf. Oh, and Stegall.
That means you will put Russell on the road in the SEC as a first year starter. I don't get it. How can we expect to be any better when you will take a newbie and throw him to the wolves by going on the road to Gainsville, Tuscaloosa, Baton Rouge, and Oxford. How do we even stack up to be better for next year? I'd be curious to see what Mullen has in store because right now, we lose one of the top running backs in the country, who has been the majority of our offense, and I see a lot of growing pains for next year at every skill position.

 

[shaschboy]

Let's see, Josh Boyd, Brandon H., Chad B.; Jonathan Banks; Fletcher Cox. He's put all of these in and did it to be competitive, but stuck with Lee and Relf when they have absolutely sucked. Now, if we don't get Newton, you will have Russell, with 0 experience for next year or Relf. Oh, and Stegall.
That means you will put Russell on the road in the SEC as a first year starter. I don't get it. How can we expect to be any better when you will take a newbie and throw him to the wolves by going on the road to Gainsville, Tuscaloosa, Baton Rouge, and Oxford. How do we even stack up to be better for next year? I'd be curious to see what Mullen has in store because right now, we lose one of the top running backs in the country, who has been the majority of our offense, and I see a lot of growing pains for next year at every skill position.

 

[Badon]

It's going to be very tough to have a better team next year. We may pull it off, but I just don't know. I think the loss of Dixon is going to hurt more than most may expect. He has carried this team (and defenders) this year. The number of first downs and paricularly yards after contact attributed to his sheer power and effort are not going to be replaced easily.

</p>

 

[patdog]

1. Russell isn't ready to play in the SEC as a true freshman.
2. Russell isn't as good at Lee/Relf so it would be a waste to play him now.
3. It's a hell of a lot easier for receivers, safetys, defensive linemen, etc. to play as true freshmen than it is for a QB to.
4. Playing him this year when he's not ready won't make him better for next year. In fact with QBs playing them too early often hurts their growth rather than helping it.

 

[Foronce]

1) So, if he transferred he loses a 1yr of eligibility
2) No coach is fired after 1 year, couldn't lose his job if he went 0-12
3) He now has been to on the road in the SEC without playing and seen many scenarios
4) He has had a year with the playbook... most qbs profit from having a year to learn
5) Our schedule was really tough... looks like toughest in the NCAA
6) Russell is comfortable at HS level... SEC a little tougher

Sure I missed some, but I just hit on the easy points.

 

[Jake Wimberly]

at this point in time. Relf and Lee are a combined 7-touchdowns to 16 picks. They obviously think he isnt any better; maybe worse at this point. Thats a scary thought if true huh. Just sayin... More the reason to get Newton.

 

[Badon]

1. Cam Newton commits and is as good as advertised (and beats out Russell in the spring and fall).
2. Cam and Russell push each other, and both play in the fall when healthy -- and Russell is ready and serviceable if Cam goes down. Not a 2-QB system so much ---but one where Russell does get some opportunities to lead drives...or can relieve Cam if he's sucking or if we need to air it out when behind.
3. Stegall is a good #3 quarterback.
4. Relf is an emergency QB but has transitioned into more of a flexible utility player -- wildcat, tight end, halfback -- have a few special plays each week set aside for his talents.
5. We sign a blue chip high school QB in next year's 2011 class that will redshirt. When Newton's a senior, Russell'd be a sophomore. When Russell's a junior, new QB would be a RFr.

 

[GoState05]

If they were to put him in at this point, we would have another Arceto Clark situation where his redshirt would be completely wasted in a more-than-likely bowl-less season. Also, he is a freshman quarterback, therefore, no it's not a scary thought that Russell is being redshirted. It should be the norm for schools like MSU with potentially big-time quarterbacks. That said, I hope we get Newton because he would give Russell even more time to mature before seeing the field, which he will do at some point during his time at MSU.

 

[TBonewannabe]

USC is starting a true freshman QB and they are having the worst year in the last decade. Forcier at Michigan, who was touted by some people as the best freshman QB in the last 10 years, now sucks and there has been transfer talk. True freshmen QBs just are not successful. Mullen figured he would rather have Tyler possibly successful for 4 years rather than lose this year with him anyway. We would not be better with Tyler right now. Next year should be a completely different story.

 

[zerocooldog]

every single starting O-lineman. That alone should tell you we will be fielding a better offensive unit b/c that is where the game is won/lost 90% of the time. It will be strange, especially if we do land Cam (which it looks like we may and yes I was one of the people saying we wouldn't) to see an entirely different starting backfield than this year. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if Russell never sees the field and it wouldn't break my heart either.

 

[8dog]

along with 9 starters on defense.

 

[Coach34]

he simply is not as good as what we have at QB right now...he wasnt ready for SEC football....our WR's arent ready for a passing offense yet- notice Bumphis is the only true Frosh that plays alot of snaps and Russell is not a runner...plus other reasons mentioned

 

[alabamadog]

I can't think of any freshman qb recruits in the Sec that aren't redshirting. Maybe Morgan Newton from Kentucky.

 

[lawdawg02]

that has to be a good thing. it may not be good for 2011, though.

 

[zerocooldog]

speaking of UK, I was listening to Jack during our game against them and every time he said Newton I kept having flash forward thoughts of him talking about Cam playing for us next year.</p>

 

[FlabLoser]

Let's see, Josh Boyd, Brandon H., Chad B.; Jonathan Banks; Fletcher Cox. He's put all of these in and did it to be competitive, but stuck with Lee and Relf when they have absolutely sucked. Now, if we don't get Newton, you will have Russell, with 0 experience for next year or Relf. Oh, and Stegall.
That means you will put Russell on the road in the SEC as a first year starter. I don't get it. How can we expect to be any better when you will take a newbie and throw him to the wolves by going on the road to Gainsville, Tuscaloosa, Baton Rouge, and Oxford. How do we even stack up to be better for next year? I'd be curious to see what Mullen has in store because right now, we lose one of the top running backs in the country, who has been the majority of our offense, and I see a lot of growing pains for next year at every skill position.

A redshirt freshman is not a total newbie, especially under the tutelage of a Dan Mullen.

And playing all those other guys this year means Russell has a capable surround cast, which would be essential for any QB.

 

[Columbus Dawg]

How can we expect to be any better when you will take a newbie and throw him to the wolves by going on the road to Gainsville, Tuscaloosa, Baton Rouge, and Oxford.

Stanford's redshirt freshman would beg to differ.

 

[Coach34]

was led by a RS Freshman named Wayne Madkin</p>

 

[Barkman Turner Overdrive]

There are very few people I wish ill on. Crooms is on that list.

 

[thatsbaseball]

radio personalities . "Something should have been did" as far as Lee being the starter. Mullen missed somrthing this spring IMO.</p>

 

[maroonmania]

because I certainly expected more out of Lee this year. I certainly didn't expect him to be all-SEC but I thought he would make many less mistakes than he has and create a few more big plays. His TD-INT ratio and turnovers this year have really killed us. Relf wouldn't have done any better had he been playing as the starter but I would have expected him to make a lot more mistakes than Lee. If Lee can't play without really limiting mistakes then he is quite a liability given his obvious physical limitations.

 

[maroonmania]

..

 

[Captain Agustus McDawg]

I think Mullens thought this would be a throw away year with only a chance to win three or four. By the time he realized we likely could win six or seven with a decent QB, the season was half over and he didn't want to burn the redshirt.

Mullens also thought this teams identity would be a running team and thought Relf/Lee would fit the bill better. However, he probably miscalculated how bad Relf/Lee would turn out to be. I personally would have ran Relf in the wildcat more, but I'm guessing Mullens has (justifiably) very little confidence in him.

 

[OEMDawg]

He didn't miss a damn thing. He realized in spring practice that he had 2 bodies that, barring catastrophic injury, he could piece meal together to get him thru a season without having to burn a redshirt on his only QB on the roster. Other than the almost victory (i.e. moral) against LSU, this season has played out as most realistic fans predicted. Had we won that, it could have changed some things but we didn't and the season has played out as it has.

 

[OEMDawg]

..

 

[msumhsfan]

That was not the reason for the RS and saying so is foolish. its saving a year of eligibility and giving him time to mature. No reason to throw him into the fire when you have a senior QB(even though he sucks) but there is no way in hell Lee is better than Russell.

 

[OEMDawg]

And you'll notice he STILL isn't LSU's starting QB even after Jefferson got hurt. And, don't forget, Shepard was a 5 star QB that graduated early and practiced in the spring

 

[shaschboy]

Can anyone tell me why Brandon H. was wasted and he's done so much to better this team? We've thrown to him more than McRae.
I'm hearing a lot of banking on Newton and if it doesn't come true, then you are sending a RS Freshman into Baton Rouge/Gainsville/Tuscaloosa/Oxford/Houston with an unknown at running back. Oh wait, Elliot will be our starter and we're also banking on Montrell being our future Dixon. We will see every defense stack that line, as they have done the past 7 years, and pressure whoever is back there. This may be a throw away year for Mullen, but I can't understand why he didn't just throw the kid in there back during the early games. Hell, isn't the Lawrence kid playing and isn't he a true freshman? Just trying to find that rhyme or reason. With all of the excitement that has been generated this year, I just don't want to see another 3 to 5 win season, and that could happen quite easily with next years schedule.</p>

 

[patdog]

Football coaches are paid a lot of money to WIN GAMES. If a true freshman can help you win games YOU PLAY HIM. Using your logic, why isn't Chad Bumphis redshirting? Why isn't Brandon Heavens redshirting? Why isn't Jonathon Banks redshirting? I could go on, but you get the point. I'd sure as hell like to have them around for their redshirt SR season, but that's not an option because we need them now. If Russell could help us now, he'd be playing.</p>

 

[msumhsfan]

its much easier to start as a freshman at other positions. Your telling me that crooms QB(lee) is better than the one mullen recruited. And i know croom started TR recruitment but mullen got him so he must have wanted him. and i dont see mullen wasting a scholarship just to get a high ranked recruit that he never intended to play

 

[jwbigcreek]

ask George O'Leary (only took about 15 minutes, much less one season).

Just kiddin'. It's actually a good point (everyone gets a free pass, UNLESS you lie on your resume or your David Cutcliffe).

 

[OEMDawg]

You make absolutely no goddamn sense. For all intents and purposes, this year was a waste, regardless. So, you are saying that Mullen should have thrown a true freshman QB into the fire, basically throwing away a year of his eligiblity to PREPARE HIM FOR TOUGH ROAD GAMES IN 2010????? As for the WR thing, did you not notice that we had ONE, count them ONE returning WR coming back this season? We had 2 players quit the team in the spring and we brought in ONE JUCO WR. Who else was going to play the position??

 

[Todd4State]

you can throw a guy like a Bumphis out there and he can make some plays for you just based on sheer athletic ability, and he'll be OK. QB is a position that has a LOT more to it than just making a play based on athleticism. If Russell were out there, we would be asking him to read defenses, blitz packages, and coverages that he didn't see a whole lot with a lot better athletes than what Petal HS has to offer.

Plus, QB is the most visible position on the field. It is a lot to ask a guy straight out of HS to handle the pressure of being a QB in the SEC. When he makes a freshman mistake, he's going to have people calling for his head, then you end up putting a guy like Lee in when he struggles, and that could shatter his confidence, and mess him and us up for years to come.

A good example is Omarr Conner. He would have been a pretty good QB for us in 2007, if Jackie had the sense to RS him instead of play him a couple of games at WR during a two win season because "he was too good to keep on the bench". It made me sick. How good would that team have been with Omarr? QB's have to be developed. You can't just throw a guy out there straight out of high school, and expect him to be Tom Brady. It just doesn't happen.

But, as far as Tyler, I don't think it's that he is necessarily worse than Tyson Lee or Chris Relf, but Dan is doing what is best for Tyler and the team by RS him. Tyler needs to add muscle first of all. He needs to work on the option game. And based on the two times I have seen him play in person, he needs to work on consistency in the passing game. And you look at the schedule, and there aren't many easy teams on there where Tyler can have a game to get himself out of a funk. Plus, Russell didn't go through the spring practice like Lee and Relf. If he had, and went through an offseason of conditioning, he might very well be the starter, but he didn't. And I refuse to fault him for wanting to be a teenager.

Dan has made the right moves with Tyler Russell so far. And we will be thankful in four years.

And as far as some of the other Fr.- I think we have some guys that have a chance to be special players- and a lot of them are playing- like Bumphis, Cox, Boyd, Banks. And then we'll see how Russell, Conner, Perkins, and Jackson pan out. But I think in about four years, we're going to realize that this was one of the best classes in MSU history.

 

[jwbigcreek]

Anybody remember 1983? One Don Smith was thrown into the USM slaughter on 10/8/83 (a day which shall live in infamy with many other MSU football outings & "when the wheels fell of padnuh"). In my lifetime (starting in 64), my recollection is that our best QBs were Felker & Smith (Marler was good for a year, Bond has his moments, Sleepy was pretty damn good for about 1 1/3). So, I think we wasted a year on one of the best QBs to ever wear the M&W. (But if you look at 87, not sure even Smith could have gotten us more than one more win to get to 5-6.)

 

[Griffdawg]

next year to prevent defenses from stacking the box on us. We obviously couldn't (can't) stretch the field with Lee/ Relf. Whoever plays QB for us next year should be (1.) at least 6'2" tall and (2.) able to throw the ball 20-30 yards down field on a line. I think we'll be able to loosen up the defenses and prevent safeties and corners from creeping up to the LOS. This should give our backs a little bit of room to operate (unlike what Dixon has had). Our receivers are also going to have to get more physical and develop some toughness for us to be successful next year. Dixon will certainly be missed. I sure wish we had him for at least one more year.

 

[anon1751035439]

doyouallhavethoseku?

 

[KurtRambis4]

feels that TR isn't ready, otherwise I think he would be playing him. This isn't rocket science, people.

 

[Coach34]

its ok to play a RS Freshman at QB

 

[patdog]

If it was as easy to step in and play as a true FR QB as it is to step in and play at those other positions, Russell would be playing today. And just to make myself clear, Russell isn't as good as Lee/Relf right now. Next year, after a year of practice, he will be better than they are today.