Short quarterbacks starting to erase myth...

[MedDawg]

Old article, but still pertinent. Remember, we don't NEED our QB's to be successful in the NFL. We only need them to be successful at MSU.<a href="http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=831608">

http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=831608</a>

<p id="storydate">July 30, 2008</p> <p class="byline">Olin Buchanan
Rivals.com College Football Senior Writer</p> <div style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt" id="contentcontainer"> Stand tall short guys. Your time has come.

Again.</p> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="258" align="left"> <tbody> <tr> <td width="252">

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</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="middle"><font size="1">Missouri's Chase Daniel has proven to be an extremely effective quarterback despite his height.</font></td> </tr> </tbody> </table>There have always been misconceptions and myths about college football quarterbacks. There probably always will be.

And each time a myth pops up, it invariably gets shot down.</p>

There was a time when black players and left-handers weren't considered quarterback material. Those issues were long ago proven bogus.</p>

But just as a subtle reminder: The last two Heisman Trophy recipients were <font color="#0A4EA3">Ohio State</font> quarterback Troy Smith, who is black, and <font color="#0A4EA3">Florida</font> quarterback <font color="#0A4EA3">Tim Tebow</font>, a lefty.</p>

Now, with the emergence of spread offenses and shotgun formations, short guys are taking aim at ludicrous misconceptions and once again proving they can play quarterback.</p>

"There have been a ton of (successful) six-footers ? Jim McMahon, Fran Tarkenton, Doug Flutie," said <font color="#0A4EA3">Texas Tech</font> coach <font color="#0A4EA3">Mike Leach</font>, who ironically entrusts his offense to 6-foot-3 <font color="#0A4EA3">Graham Harrell</font>. "I met (Flutie) and he is short.</p>

"They say you need a 6-4 guy to stand 10 yards back to see over a guy that's 6-7. That's foolishness. You pass in lanes."</p>

In truth, the fallacy that height is required for quarterback success should have gone out the window for good when 5-foot-9 Doug Flutie won the 1984 Heisman Trophy. Since then three players who were 6-feet or shorter ? <font color="#0A4EA3">Syracuse</font>'s Don McPherson, BYU's Ty Detmer and <font color="#0A4EA3">Georgia Tech</font>'s Joe Hamilton ? were consensus first team All-Americans.</p>

Yet, there appears an enduring belief that a quarterback needs to be a 6-foot-3 Adonis. In fact, only 10 percent (12 of 120) of the projected starting quarterbacks of Division I football programs are 6 feet or shorter.</p>

Three are in the Big 12 - which has evolved into the most wide-open, pass-happy conference in college football. Half of its teams ranked among the nation's top 30 in passing offense a year ago.</p>

One of those teams is <font color="#0A4EA3">Missouri</font>, which is led by 6-footer <font color="#0A4EA3">Chase Daniel</font>, a Heisman Trophy finalist who threw for more than 4,000 yards a year ago.</p>

Missouri coach <font color="#0A4EA3">Gary Pinkel</font> never balked about going with Daniel because he'd previously had success with shorter quarterbacks as an assistant coach at <font color="#0A4EA3">Washington</font> in the early '90s.</p>

"I coached Mark Brunell at Washington and he was 6-1 at most," Pinkel said. "Once he hit an offensive lineman with the ball and coach (Don) James said, 'Tell Brunell if he can't throw over the offensive line he's not going to play quarterback."</p>

Brunell twice led Washington in passing and has had a long NFL career in which he was named to the Pro Bowl three times.</p>

"Size is not as big a factor," said <font color="#0A4EA3">Kansas</font> coach <font color="#0A4EA3">Mark Mangino</font>, who starts 5-11 <font color="#0A4EA3">Todd Reesing</font> at quarterback. "You need a smart guy with a quick release and leadership abilities. How tall a guy is is down on the list of priorities."</p> <div style="WIDTH: 350px; FLOAT: right; MARGIN-LEFT: 4px"> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="350"> <tbody> <tr bgcolor="#0A4EA3"> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px" colspan="4"><font color="#FFFFFF">The short list</font></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#F6F6F8"> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-TOP: 3px" colspan="4">Here's a list of projected Division I starting quarterbacks who are 6 feet tall or shorter:</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#E4E7EB"> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">Quarterback</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">Team</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">Height</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#F6F6F8"> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">Chase Daniel</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">Missouri</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">6-0</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#E4E7EB"> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">Dwight Dasher</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">Middle Tenn.</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">5-10</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#F6F6F8"> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">Julian Edelman</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">Kent State</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">6-0</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#E4E7EB"> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">Tyler Graunke</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">Hawaii</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">6-0</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#F6F6F8"> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">Matt Grothe</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">South Florida</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">6-0</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#E4E7EB"> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">Cody Hawkins</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">Colorado</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">5-11</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#F6F6F8"> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">K. Kaheaku-Enhada</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">Navy</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">5-11</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#E4E7EB"> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">Kinsmon Lancaster</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">ULM</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">5-11</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#F6F6F8"> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">Paul McCall</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">FIU</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">6-0</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#E4E7EB"> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">Patrick Pinkney</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">E. Carolina</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">6-0</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#F6F6F8"> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">Todd Reesing</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">Kansas</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">5-11</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#E4E7EB"> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">Shea Smith</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">Air Force</td> <td style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 4px; PADDING-LEFT: 4px; PADDING-RIGHT: 4px; PADDING-TOP: 4px">5-11</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </div>Reesing has great leadership skills and a quick release, and passed for 3,486 yards last season. He led the Jayhawks to a 12-1 finish and Orange Bowl victory last season.

<font color="#0A4EA3">Colorado</font>'s <font color="#0A4EA3">Cody Hawkins</font>, <font color="#0A4EA3">South Florida</font>'s <font color="#0A4EA3">Matt Grothe</font>, <font color="#0A4EA3">East Carolina</font>'s <font color="#0A4EA3">Patrick Pinkney</font> and Navy's <font color="#0A4EA3">Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada</font> all measure 6 feet or shorter and all led their teams to bowl games last season. That should further debunk the notion that quarterbacks must be tall.</p>

Perhaps then the only remaining myth or misconception would be whether short, black left-handers can be successful college quarterbacks.</p>

Wait a minute. <font color="#0A4EA3">Armanti Edwards</font>, who last season led Appalachian State to the Division I-AA championship and a historical upset of <font color="#0A4EA3">Michigan</font>, fits that description.</p>

Another myth shot down.</p> </div>

 

[pDigital32Dawg]

I, like everyone else, hopes the best for him at the college level. The past two years of Tyson Lee has all but ruined my opinion on short quarterbacks. I expect Favre to redshirt and develop heavily under Mullen and one day he might be worth a **** for us and change the whole 'all short QBs are bad' mindset.

 

[Dawgfan61]

Many on here are quick to bash you if you are a "sheep." No one gets bashed when they are overtly negative.

I don't see how the Favre committal (soon to be signing) is bad in anyway. He is this year's Mr. Football for the state of Mississippi. He is short, but hell Relf is tall and can barely hit the broad side of a barn. Reesing and Daniel were not bad quarterbacks by any means and they did well. Maybe, we will get lucky with him. If nothing else he should push and compete for playing time. Which in turn would make our 6'1" + starters push to be better.

 

[Shmuley]

Nope, not one of the QBs listed in that article (except for Tebow, who was listed for being left-handed, not a f'n midget), played in the SEC. Not one.

Ask Zac Robinson how fun it was to play that f'n 7 on 7 offense **** against an SEC defense. That article doesn't mean ****. We're talking about the SEC.

 

[MedDawg]

Chris Leak was 5'11" and won the SEC and a National Championship, with help from a running QB platoon. And Mullen was their offensive coordinator.

 

[HD6]

Chris Leak

<table id="ysr-college-choice-list"> <thead> <tr> <th scope="col" id="school">School</th> <th scope="col" id="interest">Interest</th> <th scope="col" id="offer">Offer</th> <th scope="col" id="visit">Visit</th> <th scope="col" id="recruited">Recruited by</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody id="ysr-colleges"> <tr class="committed"> <th scope="col">Florida</th> <td>COMMITTED (07/8/2003)</td> <td class="offered">Offered</td> <td>10/18/2002</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr class="even"> <th scope="col">Florida State</th> <td>None</td> <td class="offered">Offered</td> <td>11/15/2002</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <th scope="col">Iowa</th> <td>None</td> <td class="offered">Offered</td> <td>12/20/2002</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr class="even"> <th scope="col">Notre Dame</th> <td>None</td> <td class="offered">Offered</td> <td>None</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <th scope="col">Tennessee</th> <td>None</td> <td class="offered">Offered</td> <td>None</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr class="even"> <th scope="col">Texas</th> <td>None</td> <td class="offered">Offered</td> <td>11/8/2002</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <th scope="col">USC</th> <td>None</td> <td class="offered">Offered</td> <td>11/29/2002</td> <td>
</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

Dylan Favre

<table id="ysr-college-choice-list"> <thead> <tr> <th scope="col" id="school">School</th> <th scope="col" id="interest">Interest</th> <th scope="col" id="offer">Offer</th> <th scope="col" id="visit">Visit</th> <th scope="col" id="recruited">Recruited by</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody id="ysr-colleges"> <tr class="committed"> <th scope="col">Mississippi State</th> <td>COMMITTED (01/2/2010)</td> <td class="offered">Offered</td> <td>None</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr class="even"> <th scope="col">Northwestern State</th> <td>Medium</td> <td class="offered">Offered</td> <td>None</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <th scope="col">Tulane</th> <td>Medium</td> <td class="offered">Offered</td> <td>None</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr class="even"> <th scope="col">Florida International</th> <td>None</td> <td class="offered">Offered</td> <td>None</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <th scope="col">Hawaii</th> <td>None</td> <td>
</td> <td>None</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr class="even"> <th scope="col">Memphis</th> <td>None</td> <td>
</td> <td>09/5/2009</td> <td>
</td> </tr> <tr> <th scope="col">Southern Miss</th> <td>None</td> <td class="offered">Offered</td> <td>None</td> <td> Darrell Wyatt</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

 

[Shmuley]

Size is one of the main drawbacks with Chris Leak. He is listed <span style="font-weight: bold;">at just a hair over 6' tall</span>, and just under 210lbs, making him small for an NFL QB, especially one that is more of a pure passer. This is a knock that he will not be able to disprove until he gets on to an NFL field and shows he can be successful. Leak also does not have the major arm or big time rushing threat to help ease the questions about his size in the pocket.</p>

Many people have criticized Chris Leak, but that is what happens when you come with as much hype as he has. Leak has gained a lot of experience and had a lot of success, including leading his team to a title this year. The size questions cannot be ignored though, and they will push him to the second day of the draft.</p>

 

[ckDOG]

I somewhat agree with the article. I think this is the most important take-away from that article:

Now, with the emergence of spread offenses and shotgun formations, short guys are taking aim at ludicrous misconceptions and once again proving they can play quarterback

I do not necessarily think that short QBs are making a name for themselves all of a sudden because teams haven't been giving them a fair shot. It just so happens that modern offenses have allowed them to be successful. That being said, count me in the crowd that thinks we are placing to much emphasis on QB height in our system. Height is not a prerequisite for success in shotgun heavy offense as it was in the recent past era of a majority snap from under center offenses. I'll still concede that I'd <span style="font-style: italic;">prefer</span> 6'4'' over 5'11''. Bigger is generally better for most any athlete in football. But, I won't accept that a QB can't be successful in our offense just because he may be shorter. I think MSU fans are just a little hypersensitive because of Tyson. I can't really our fans for that either. We had some really bad QB play over the past couple of years. It's easy to attribute that to Lee being a wee-man. However, it's lazy to pass that judgment on to all shorter QBs.

My opinion is that running a vast majority of plays on offense from the shotgun devalues the advantage taller QBs have over shorter QBs. QBs can see the field better from the gun and have the opportunity to shift around to find the passing lanes. That's a lot different that being asked to read a defense and take a snap from under center, drop back, and wait in a pocket. Of course tall QBs would have an advantage here since they can see more from the limited area they are expected to work from. This advantage is not erased from the shotgun, but certainly makes it less important. Since we run most of the offense from the gun, it's inherently not as important to have a tall QB. I'd weight intelligence, mobility, and a quick release more than height in our system.

And to make this Favre related, I don't think he will be unsuccessful simply because he's shorter. However, I do think it's likely he won't amount to more than a solid backup (nothing wrong with this, I think that was the intent) because of his limited offers. There just has to be more than just being vertically challenged to cause programs not to gamble on him with the ridiculous stats he put up over his HS career.

 

[Fletch Fletcher]

Chris Leak was 5'11" and won the SEC and a National Championship, with help from a running QB platoon. And Mullen was their offensive coordinator.

Leak didn't have a sidearm delivery either, ala lil favre

 

[Dawgzilla]

Lee just sucked as a QB, and being short magnified his inability. I would rather have a tall QB, given the option, but Ryan Mallet had some piss poor outings this year, too. I don't know squat about Dylan Favre and his chances of success at MSU, but I'm not going to ***** and whine about him just because he is short.

 

[Todd4State]

First of all, the MINIMUM desired height for a NFL QB is 6'0". So, guys like Drew Brees, while on the shorter side of the QB spectrum, are still an acceptable size to play QB, and are therefore not considered undersized.

For the record, I belive that Kevin Fant was listed at 6'0" tall, and I do not, nor did I ever consider him undersized to play QB.

Dylan Favre is listed at 5'11" on Genespage, consider the source. In the same profile, he is listed at 5'10" at the Scout combine and on BDJ- also consider the source- is listed at 5'10".

Favre on that guys list would be shorter than everyone of those guys except one- and that guy is a Sun Belt QB.

Doug Flutie is a special player, that is not the norm. The difference between Flutie and all of the "other" undersized guys are 1. his arm strength, which was phenomenal, and 2. his speed, which was also phenomenal.

This has nothing to do with Tyson Lee, at all. But the fact of the matter is, Favre's size is an issue. The fact of the matter is, taller QB's are preferred, and there's good reason for that. Even Leach who said that shorter QB's would be fine, has traditionally had taller QB's.

And again, I'm not really upset with the signing at all other than the obvious we didn't get the first 8 guys on the list thing. I understand why Dan did sign him- whether it was for depth, PR because of his name, or even to make himself look good by signing the Mississippi Player of the Year, and I understand that Favre may never even play a snap. But acting like he doesn't have issues isn't being objective at all, or that his issues are "not that big of a deal" isn't being very objective either. I looked at film of him with an open mind, and I talked to people that I trust regarding football about him that have seen him play, and he has major issues, beyond his lack of height. He is a project, and I'm calling a spade a spade.

I hope Mullen can either A. recruit better or B. coach him up. And in all honesty, I would prefer A.

 

[rugbdawg]

a scary thought.

 

[AllAmericanDawg]

a scary thought.

Where did you come up with this bit of football insight? Watch a lot of St. Stanislaus games this past season and compare them to Mississippi State games? Just curious...

 

[prairiedawg]

can compete at QB in the SEC. I assume from your list, some of those schools thought it was possible or they wouldn't have offered Leak would they? Does Chris Leak = Dylan Favre? No.

 

[AllAmericanDawg]

can compete at QB in the SEC. I assume from your list, some of those schools thought it was possible or they wouldn't have offered Leak would they? Does Chris Leak = Dylan Favre? No.

If that's your question, then the answer is yes. See Eric Zeier, Chris Leak and even Tyson Lee. Your question is can they compete...so yes. Even as bad as Tyson Lee was, we competed. It wasn't pretty but even with Mighty Mouse at QB, we still had a chance to be bowl eligible with a bad QB. So throw in a good QB (even a short one) and we're probably bowl eligible.