So what if Russell wasn't the ultimate answer...

[Rebheaded Stranger]

So, Bruce Feldman of Meat Market fame, who is probably doing nothing other than speculating and trying to put two and two together to make 4,000 has this little gem in his most recent ESPN blog entry.

Former UF QB Cam Newton, whose legal issues over possession of a stolen computer should be cleared up in the next few weeks, is headed to Blinn JC in Texas, <font color="#000000">writes David Jones</font>.

I've heard one possible scenario Newton is considering is spending one season there in Texas and then reuniting with former Florida OC Dan Mullen and running the Mississippi State offense.</p>

I know, I know. Meyer/Mullen's system can work with any kind of QB. Chris Leak won the hardware. But the truth is this. Meyer inherited Leak, he didn't seek that kind of QB out. Alot will depend on whether or not Mullen thinks having a guy who is primarily a pocket passer is his best way to win.

I know Russell is a bad ***. And I wish he were coming to Ole Miss. So this isn't a knock on him. I just think that ultimately, Russell will end up getting squeezed out for the type of QB, Newton or someone else, who can do the types of things that Mullen asked Alex Smith and Tim Tebow to do for years. I mean, even when Leak was the starter, Tebow was running the short yardage stuff.

Thoughts?

 

[RonnyAtmosphere]

...will go to juco & never be heard of again.

Unless he also steals a computer @ Blinn; then he'll go to a Texas prison & become some tattooed brute's wife.

 

[TR.sixpack]

Mullen will design the offense to fit his skill set. Remember, Tyler became the #1 QB in the state and 4-star recruit running what we're told is essentially the same offense UF runs. Now, it may resemble Texas Tech more than it does UF or Utah, but it will a shotgun-based, spread attack.

 

[OEMDawg]

He should have cut out the middle man and come to MSU to begin with. Who knows, he could have been part of Pistol Gate.

 

[patdog]

He'll be our starter for the 2010-2012 seasons and do well. He should wind up his career as one of the best QBs in MSU history (granted that that's not saying a whole lot).

 

[Original48]

Mullen pretty much inherited him as a recruit ala Leak as a player. I have no doubt that he can design an offense around Russell but I'm looking forward to seeing the type of QB or player Mullen goes after in his first REAL recruiting class.

 

[ArrowDawg]

.....a spread attack with Russell(passing the ball a lot more), and over time the offense will evolve more into what you saw at UF and Utah. We'll know where he's going with the offense as we start to see what kind of QB he signs in future classes.
</p>
By the way, I think the spread-option attack fits MSU better anyway. We've had a history of success with some kind of option attack or another.

 

[Rebheaded Stranger]

There are very few similarities b/n an Air Raid Leech offense and a Meyer/Mullen spread option other than a shotgun snap and neither employs a fullback. My point is that Russell can be better than just good, but what's to keep Mullen from getting a JUCO guy or a guy with a skill set better suited for the only type of offense that he's ever coached.

 

[futaba.79]

and 250. he'll probably be the husband

 

[TR.sixpack]

I just meant more passing and less zone read. UF circa 2006 is a better example.

 

[Rebheaded Stranger]

And what's to keep him from getting a guy who can at least do the goal line type stuff that Tebow did his freshman year while using Russell also? Some tweener TE type who can throw it just well enough. I do know this. It must be really !!%*@** cool to be like OU, Florida, LSU, etc. where you get to wonder what highly recruited QB will win the job instead of just anointing one guy with the nod of future starter and praying to God that he doesn't get hurt. The fight for backup at USC looks like an Elite 11 Camp.

 

[RebelBruiser]

I do know this. It must be really !$*+$!@ cool to be like OU, Florida, LSU, etc. where you get to wonder what highly recruited QB will win the job instead of just anointing one guy with the nod of future starter and praying to God that he doesn't get hurt.

And/or praying to God that he doesn't turn out to be a head case/bust. And by head case, it means either the can't stay out of trouble type head case or the forgets how to throw a simple pass head case.

Unfortunately, us small BCS programs will rarely ever get the chance to have something other schools call "QB depth", except for in very rare circumstances, like the one year where we had Romaro as a senior starter and Eli as a redshirt sophomore back up.

And for that reason, I say that if for some reason Newton is interested in MSU, Mullen should jump all over it. Even if Russell is going to turn out to be the real deal, you would be crazy to turn down the opportunity to have a quality back up.

 

[Todd4State]

I say bring him on. If Russell RS and Newton comes in as a Jr., Russell would still start his Jr. and Sr. year, provided that Newton beats out Russell. It would possibly help Russell by giving him that much more time to get ready. And, it's also possible that Mullen could use them in a two QB system- one of the few that did work was when Mullen was at UF with Leak and Tebow, so I'm not exactly apprehensive about Mullen trying something like that as opposed to Croom/McCorvey. Plus, I haven't heard anything lately about Carroll staying or leaving, I'm assuming that he's leaving, and Relf sucks, so I welcome any QB right now that is worth a darn.

And if Newton misbehaves, we have Russell.

 

[RebelBruiser]

That's what I think is the key to a two QB system. You almost have to have them running different sets. That way, the dynamic is completely different when the two come into the game. Examples David Greene/DJ Shockley, Leake/Tebow, even Hatch/Jarrett Lee (though they struggled primarily because neither was ready to be a QB). If you have them running the same plays and alternating plays/series, it usually doesn't work (Smelley/Garcia anyone?). If they don't bring different skill sets to the table, then it wouldn't work.

I would think based on what I know of Newton and Russell that they would bring different skill sets allowing for a two QB system.

 

[Rebheaded Stranger]

GA's watch film and give coaches data on what plays different teams run in different down and distance situations based on field position. Like it or not, most coordinators call plays with a pretty discernible pattern. Figuring out that pattern and scheming to stop it is what guys like Chavis and Saban do best. Having two QB's has a huge impact on tendency. If you're running two varying schemes, then there are two sets of tendencies, two sets of calls to prepare for the week leading up to the game, and less time to drill that into a bunch of 19 and 20 year olds whose high school defensive playbooks had less nuance than a bottle of moonshine. It just gives teams more to prep for. The reason Tebow's jump pass worked when he was a freshman is because the tendency was that Tebow would throw it b/n the 20's, but inside the red zone, he was solely a runner. LSU brought 11 with him in the gun, and he tossed a TD. If Leak had been in the whole time, then a play action pass is no big #%#%+!* deal.

 

[DiamondReb]

FWIW

 

[ScoobaDawg]

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