2012 QB Discussion - Who's the Starter?

[mpkennedy3]

I wouldn't be surprised if Rees starts next year. Kelly's been stubborn about him starting throughout the year, and he can always pull out the "he's a winner, he's 12-4" card. Until the number on the right steadily increases when we're not playing service academies or sub .500 teams.

I think and certainly hope you are wrong. I think Kelly though Ree's was the best to win this year, but not in the future. Kelly wants someone who can run his full offense. Also, if Ree wascalwayschis boy why wouldn't he started in at the beginning of the year? I mean going into the fall I think you could have made an argument for either to start based on 2010.

 

[ChiefSecond]

Is there any chance that Tommy starts next year?

there is a very very good chance. He's kelly's boy there is no question. If kelly was serious about Hendrix he would have given him a shot a long time ago and would have to have started him in the bowl. He just doesnt like the kid.

Golson is a complete unknown, and even if he is great kelly's going to pull out the same song and dance "he doesnt know the whole playbook, Tommy does"

with no Michael "bailout" floyd and double teamed eifert it's going to be a very very long tommy season i believe.

hope im wrong

 

[NYMIKE6]

Cierre says "Golson"

 

[Old Man Mike]

Player-to-be-named-later.

 

[tadman95]

Player-to-be-named-later.

Player named: Kiel

Who you guys got? My bets on Golson starting because I'm biased that way.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

@KeithArnoldNBC:

It's been 40 YEARS since a Notre Dame QB lost his starting job between seasons. Interesting spring ahead. (H/T @BGI_LouSomogyi)

Odds are probably in Hendrix's favor. I hope it's Golson. I pray it's not Rees.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

No one thinks Kiel will win the job? I kind of doubt it myself but I'm surprised that no one's even mentioned him, unless I missed it. On film he reminds me a bit of Andrew Luck, who started as a frosh.

IIRC, Luck red-shirted his freshman year, which coincidentally is exactly I expect Kiel to do.

 

[Emcee77]

IIRC, Luck red-shirted his freshman, which coincidentally is exactly I expect Kiel to do.

Oh, you're probably right. (I deleted my original post because I was referring to posts that went up before Kiel flipped back to us. Stupid.)

I like Hendrix a lot. A couple bad decisions in the Stanford game, but some really nice passes. And we know he can run. I'll be excited to see what Golson can do this spring.

 

[jakerbluegold]

I think Kelly had Golson red-shirt partially because he knew that he's the QB for the foreseeable future, and wanted to preserve his eligibiltiy. He also knew he wasn't ready IMO.

I believe firmly that we'll be much better in this respect next year than we were in 2011.

I'm sure there will be growing pains, but the future looks good for quarterback at this point.

We've got a solid backup, two guys who are tailor-made for the position with upside, and a true specimen to be the understudy.

I like our future.

 

[NDinFL]

I like Hendrix, but I honestly think Golson is ready to roll next year.

 

[Sweetness34]

Golson needs to be the guy next year. He will help send Manti out the way he deserves to.

 

[condoms SUCk]

I don't give a rats a$$, I wouldn't care if it's the d@mn water boy, as long as the QB knows how to hold onto the ball and understand that our WR's are the ones he needs to throw the ball too, not the other teams DB's.

 

[DSully1995]

Id like to hope for Kiel to win the spot, mainly cuz i find he has the most potential, but it think it gonna bee Golson>Hendrix/Rees>Kiel(RS)

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

Two horse race between Golson and Hendrix. It's a toss-up IMO.

 

[Zwidmanio]

@KeithArnoldNBC:



Odds are probably in Hendrix's favor. I hope it's Golson. I pray it's not Rees.

This is pretty much how I feel.

I agree that Hendrix probably has the best odds. I think his physical skill set is great. Really good arm and we've seen that he has the ability to get good yards on the ground as well. I'm just not entirely sold on how much potential he has which leads me to...

I would love to see Golson start this fall. He doesn't have the large body of Hendrix, in fact he's still relatively slight, but from what I've seen of him he seems like he'll be a fairly elusive QB. On top of that, from all accounts he has great arm strength and accuracy.

As I've stated, if I had to put money down, I'd probably give it to Hendrix just because he's had some game experience. There's no substitute. Although, I would also keep in mind that Hendrix has only been at ND one more semester than Golson. Even though Golson's reps have mostly been limited to running the scout team, his early enrollment should count for something. Overall I just feel that Golson has a bigger upside in Kelly's system and will certainly give Hendrix a run for his money. If I saw either one start in Dublin I'd be happy.

Unless Kiel manages to come in and surpass my expectations of him, which are pretty high, then I think he'd be best served taking a redshirt year.

If Rees wins the starting role, I hope he wins 10+ games for his own sake or he's going to be taking so much heat (along with Kelly for selecting him). To be clear, I really like the kid, he's done great under the circumstances and we should all be thankful for what he's done. I just don't think that he has that much more to offer and if we want this team to get to the next level somebody else will have to step up.

 

[Emcee77]

This is pretty much how I feel.

I agree that Hendrix probably has the best odds. I think his physical skill set is great. Really good arm and we've seen that he has the ability to get good yards on the ground as well. I'm just not entirely sold on how much potential he has which leads me to...

I would love to see Golson start this fall. He doesn't have the large body of Hendrix, in fact he's still relatively slight, but from what I've seen of him he seems like he'll be a fairly elusive QB. On top of that, from all accounts he has great arm strength and accuracy.

As I've stated, if I had to put money down, I'd probably give it to Hendrix just because he's had some game experience. There's no substitute. Although, I would also keep in mind that Hendrix has only been at ND one more semester than Golson. Even though Golson's reps have mostly been limited to running the scout team, his early enrollment should count for something. Overall I just feel that Golson has a bigger upside in Kelly's system and will certainly give Hendrix a run for his money. If I saw either one start in Dublin I'd be happy.

Unless Kiel manages to come in and surpass my expectations of him, which are pretty high, then I think he'd be best served taking a redshirt year.

If Rees wins the starting role, I hope he wins 10+ games for his own sake or he's going to be taking so much heat (along with Kelly for selecting him). To be clear, I really like the kid, he's done great under the circumstances and we should all be thankful for what he's done. I just don't think that he has that much more to offer and if we want this team to get to the next level somebody else will have to step up.

Definitely. Golson and Hendrix both got equal non-scout team practice reps until the Air Force game, when Kelly decided to redshirt Golson and use Hendrix as the change-of-pace QB. I definitely don't think Hendrix's head start is too much for Golson to overcome.

Although I think and hope it will be Hendrix or Golson next year, with Kiel redshirting and Rees sitting, if Kelly does decide to go with Rees I'll hold out hope that things slow down a bit and he learns to control his turnovers. Once teams figured out that they could just drop back in coverage on him he was pretty useless, but that's something I could see going away with experience. He has a lot of great qualities, like a quick release, accuracy and zip on short to medium throws and a short memory when he throws INTs. Everyone says he is great in the film room, too; he just isn't great at translating that to the field. I guess he wouldn't be my choice because I think his ceiling is limited but I can at least conceive of him being a more successful quarterback than he showed this year.

 

[tadman95]

I think it will be a wide open competition, Kiel included. We know there are going to be mistakes, I just want to be able to see some big play potential that the defenses have to defend. All the receivers in play, some deep.

I swear, watching 2011 offense was like watching the game in a straight jacket! Let's open it. I'd rather lose take shots that have a chance, not just slinging it into double coverage.

 

[Zwidmanio]

Definitely. Golson and Hendrix both got equal non-scout team practice reps until the Air Force game, when Kelly decided to redshirt Golson and use Hendrix as the change-of-pace QB. I definitely don't think Hendrix's head start is too much for Golson to overcome.

Although I think and hope it will be Hendrix or Golson next year, with Kiel redshirting and Rees sitting, if Kelly does decide to go with Rees I'll hold out hope that things slow down a bit and he learns to control his turnovers. Once teams figured out that they could just drop back in coverage on him he was pretty useless, but that's something I could see going away with experience. He has a lot of great qualities, like a quick release, accuracy and zip on short to medium throws and a short memory when he throws INTs. Everyone says he is great in the film room, too; he just isn't great at translating that to the field. I guess he wouldn't be my choice because I think his ceiling is limited but I can at least conceive of him being a more successful quarterback than he showed this year.

Completely agree on the bolded. That's why I really hated seeing so many people dogging on him this past season. He has a lot of great intangibles. I would like to see some better decision making, but that could improve with experience.

He's shown himself to be a great teammate and student of the game, I just fear that due to his physical limitations we might have seen most of what he's capable of giving on this level.

 

[TDHeysus]

I think its Golson....or Kiel. Maybe Kiel 'red-shirts', if that is the case, then its Golson time!

I'm a fan of Tommy Rees, but his turnovers are a problem. Specifically, he has trouble holding onto the ball when taking a hit. This was somewhat masked during most of the year because the Irish OLine was killing it, and not letting Tommy get sacked/hit much during the first/middle part of the season. Tommy has trouble going thru his progressions then having to come back across the field; he sometimes does not account for that LB and throws it right to that LB for the INT. Tommy needs to be able to at the very least, extend the play to add some flexibility to the offense. Running is something you have or you dont, and Tommy Rees is no track star so he will need to be able to extend the play to make him more efficient.

Hendrix is tough to gauge at this point for me. I think I would need to see his game vs Golson because I'm not sure if they compliment each other, or if they are duplications of each other. Hopefully they compliment each other.

I always thought Kiel would want to start whenever he ended up, but I just cant see BK bypassing Golson...I always thought Golson was going to get his shot to be the full time starter; but if Kiel comes in and starts, that quickly goes poof. What if Kiel comes in and looks like Jimmy Clausen during his junior year? How would you keep that guy off the field?

 

[Who'saWildManNow]

I'd rather a 5-7 season and no bowl with Golson and/or Hendrix running the complete show and progressing throughout than 9-3 with Rees and a bowl..

Kelly needs to let the dogs off the leash. Nothing compares to live competition.

 

[DillonHall]

I don't think you can count Rees out by any means.

 

[kmoose]

I'd rather a 5-7 season and no bowl with Golson and/or Hendrix running the complete show and progressing throughout than 9-3 with Rees and a bowl..

Kelly needs to let the dogs off the leash. Nothing compares to live competition.

So you'd rather that ND have a losing season, than for you to be wrong about the starting QB not being able to get the job done well enough?

Thanks, that helps me prioritize your opinion of Rees.

 

[IrishMoore1]

I will be very surprised if Rees is the starting qb this fall.

 

[bjohnmwc]

My money is on Hendrix starting, w/Golson having some packages or emerging as a starter if Hendrix struggles in the first 4, as there's a bye week after Michigan.

Kiel will redshirt.

 

[FrankMA]

I don't think you can count Rees out by any means.

If Rees wins the battle for starting quarterback in the spring and the fall I will be disappointed because that will mean none of the ohers is very good. This is not an attack on Tommy-he is what he is. He does not have the physical tools to be a top BCS quarterback. He is smart and could be a good head coach somewhere in 10 years but he will never be a great quarterback.

 

[Who'saWildManNow]

I'd rather a 5-7 season and no bowl with Golson and/or Hendrix running the complete show and progressing throughout than 9-3 with Rees and a bowl..

Kelly needs to let the dogs off the leash. Nothing compares to live competition.

So you'd rather that ND have a losing season, than for you to be wrong about the starting QB not being able to get the job done well enough?

Thanks, that helps me prioritize your opinion of Rees.

Starting Golson or Hendrix doesn't exactly guarantee a 5-7 season either so I could be wrong about that too. My situation was hypothetical and YES, I'd rather develop the higher ceiling quarterbacks while possibly sacrificing a few wins.

I'd love to be wrong about both situations and have ND win out with any QB situation. But, my opinion is that Hendrix and Golson, barring they understand the offense, are both more effective weapons under center than Rees..

 

[kmoose]

Starting Golson or Hendrix doesn't exactly guarantee a 5-7 season either so I could be wrong about that too. My situation was hypothetical and YES, I'd rather develop the higher ceiling quarterbacks while possibly sacrificing a few wins.

I'd love to be wrong about both situations and have ND win out with any QB situation. But, my opinion is that Hendrix and Golson, barring they understand the offense, are both more effective weapons under center than Rees..

So you'd rather go 3-9 with Kiel starting?

 

[TerryTate]

Golson.


Kiel redshirts and learns system just like Golson did.

 

[South Bend Fighting Irish]

I'm all for starting Golson, when I saw him play at the Blue and Gold game, he looked like the fastest player on the team. Granted, just because he is fast isn't a good reason to start him, but he does remind me of a Denard Robinson type of player. Should be very interesting to see him play.

Rees on the other hand, I would be very shocked if he got the starting position over Kiel and Golston. Tommy had his up's and down's of the season, and had extremely bad luck in the first two games but after that Knee Injury tommy suffered in the USC game, he was never the same QB.

His throws were off, he was rushed to release the ball quicker, he was less agile in the pocket, and every time he'd plant his leg down to throw you could tell he was in alot of pain.

 

[DillonHall]

Golson.


Kiel redshirts and learns system just like Golson did.

I've been wondering...how much could Golson learn the system if he was the scout team QB during the season? It seems like he would have been busy with those responsibilities (at least in-season). I understand that he can learn the playbook, but I wonder how many reps he's received within Kelly's offense. I could be way off here because I don't know how this sort of thing works...