'13 OH QB Malik Zaire (Notre Dame Early Enrollee)

[BGIF]

UM is going to roll, and I'm pissed about it. I so wanted UF to crush those SOB's.
#UCK MICHIGAN

S-E-C, S-E-C, S-E-C!

Strange feeling, isn't it?

 

[Luckylucci]

Sometimes you just aren't good enough.

He needs to be in an offense that mirrors his HS offense. He is not a pocket QB, and there is a problem with Malik's understanding of his abilities. He believes that he can or he is. I wish him the best, but he isn't, and it's obvious. He can't consistently deliver from the pocket. He needed to let that go, a while ago, and go where he could utilize his best attributes.

He didn't, now he's in this position. It'll be interesting to see what he does with this disaster of a locker room.

 

[Luckylucci]

UM is going to roll, and I'm pissed about it. I so wanted UF to crush those SOB's.
#UCK MICHIGAN

This has become such a joke of a top 25 win for UM. This is the shit that UM gets, that will allow them to talk shit for half the season.

 

[Irish#1]

I get there are many circumstances that go into becoming the starter like how does your skill set fit the offense, mental makeup, etc. However, he could never wrestle the starting position back from DK and didn't make 1st team at UF. Is this a matter of BK and staff doing a poor job of evaluating or is this more a matter of MZ never being able to recover mentally from the time he got hurt?

 

[ulukinatme]

It'll be interesting to see if he pursues a medical waiver or not. Back in June it looks like his dad said he could potentially be in Florida for 2 years if he petitions the NCAA. Then again, if a redshirt freshman wins the job there's virtually no chance he gets the job next year baring injury.

It's a shame this didn't work out for him. He was a very good, 4 star prospect coming out of high school. He was generally seen as between the #3-4 Dual Threat QB in that class, which is decent. We saw flashes of his brilliance, but I just don't think he bounced back from the injury. Loved his attitude and passion on the field. Seeing him out in front, blocking for Folston in the Music City Bowl was awesome, you don't see that from other QBs. That game remains the best bowl win against a quality opponent that we've had since Lou's days. I hope he still gets opportunities to shine this year, even if he isn't the starter.

 

[dublinirish]

I get there are many circumstances that go into becoming the starter like how does your skill set fit the offense, mental makeup, etc. However, he could never wrestle the starting position back from DK and didn't make 1st team at UF. Is this a matter of BK and staff doing a poor job of evaluating or is this more a matter of MZ never being able to recover mentally from the time he got hurt?

dude never fixed his throwing motion/accuracy issues.

 

[Blaise]

dude never fixed his throwing motion/accuracy issues.

But he has heart

 

[dublinirish]

But he has heart

and is a good leader as long as everybody agrees he is the leader. otherwise he is not a good leader.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

It'll be interesting to see if he pursues a medical waiver or not. Back in June it looks like his dad said he could potentially be in Florida for 2 years if he petitions the NCAA. Then again, if a redshirt freshman wins the job there's virtually no chance he gets the job next year baring injury.

It's a shame this didn't work out for him. He was a very good, 4 star prospect coming out of high school. He was generally seen as between the #3-4 Dual Threat QB in that class, which is decent. We saw flashes of his brilliance, but I just don't think he bounced back from the injury. Loved his attitude and passion on the field. Seeing him out in front, blocking for Folston in the Music City Bowl was awesome, you don't see that from other QBs. That bowl remains the best win against a quality opponent that we've had since Lou's days. I hope he still gets opportunities to shine this year, even if he isn't the starter.

1) He didn't injure his shoulder, causing his throwing motion. His ankle has nothing to do with his problems.

2) Other QBs do block, and I know I've seen DeShone do it.

3) That win was as much his as Golson's.

 

[ScooterIrish]

1) He didn't injure his shoulder, causing his throwing motion. His ankle has nothing to do with his problems.

2) Other QBs do block, and I know I've seen DeShone do it.

3) That win was as much his as Golson's.

Yeah, people act like Golson didn't play a role in that LSU game. He had as many passing yards in half the completions as MZ. Golson moved the ball on that last drive to help set up the FG to win it.

 

[IrishLion]

and is a good leader as long as everybody agrees he is the leader. otherwise he is not a good leader.

lmao, reps

 

[IrishLion]

Seeing him out in front, blocking for Folston in the Music City Bowl was awesome

Never been jacked up for a play made by a QB that didn't involve him running or throwing. That was a badass play.

That bowl remains the best win against a quality opponent that we've had since Lou's days.

I'll see your LSU bowl win, and raise you an Oklahoma in '12.

 

[greyhammer90]

Never been jacked up for a play made by a QB that didn't involve him running or throwing. That was a badass play.



I'll see your LSU bowl win, and raise you an Oklahoma in '12.

I'd put the 2012 Stanford win above that as well. That team won the rose bowl.

 

[greyhammer90]

Golson moved the ball on that last drive to help set up the FG to win it.

When Golson was on he was so money. I remember after our 37* point beat down of Michigan, MGoBlog had a break down of the game that was basically just "well here's a throw we defended pretty well that went for 30 yards anyway... Good game I guess."

 

[IrishLion]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Live look: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gators?src=hash">#Gators</a> are leaving for Dallas <a href="https://t.co/FZxVlu3iDb">pic.twitter.com/FZxVlu3iDb</a></p>— Mark Schlabach (@Mark_Schlabach) <a href="https://twitter.com/Mark_Schlabach/status/903220372333580288">August 31, 2017</a></blockquote>
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[FightingIrishLover7]

Yeah, people act like Golson didn't play a role in that LSU game. He had as many passing yards in half the completions as MZ. Golson moved the ball on that last drive to help set up the FG to win it.

He also had some baller first down conversions to keep drives alive.

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

I'd put the 2012 Stanford win above that as well. That team won the rose bowl.

Biggest win of the Kelly era, easily. Not to mention what was on the line that game.

 

[IrishLion]

Biggest win of the Kelly era, easily. Not to mention what was on the line that game.

That game was uuuuuuugly, but awesome. Dat goalline stand.

Also, Touchdown Tommy saved the day (again).

I weight the Oklahoma game just a little more based on:

1. Being on the road
2. Playing lights-out phenomenal in a complete performance

 

[dublinirish]

That bowl remains the best win against a quality opponent that we've had since Lou's days. I hope he still gets opportunities to shine this year, even if he isn't the starter.

totally disagree, LSU did not give two shites about that game and were lethargic throughout, they didn't want to be there ala Miami in the Sun Bowl vs ND back in 2010. It was a quality win only in name only.

 

[NDohio]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Live look: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gators?src=hash">#Gators</a> are leaving for Dallas <a href="https://t.co/FZxVlu3iDb">pic.twitter.com/FZxVlu3iDb</a></p>— Mark Schlabach (@Mark_Schlabach) <a href="https://twitter.com/Mark_Schlabach/status/903220372333580288">August 31, 2017</a></blockquote>
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That's hilarious. How many are suspended now 12 or 13?

 

[ulukinatme]

1) He didn't injure his shoulder, causing his throwing motion. His ankle has nothing to do with his problems.

2) Other QBs do block, and I know I've seen DeShone do it.

3) That win was as much his as Golson's.

Yeah, he didn't injure his shoulder, but he obviously didn't have the same confidence or was as mentally prepared as he was prior to the injury. He beat out Deshone in 2014 and looked like the much more capable of the two QBs in the spring that year. In 2015 it was a completely different story. The offense evolved under Deshone and his experience showed through. Lets not pretend Malik couldn't throw the ball. He went 19/22 for over 300 yards against Texas in 2015, a team that wasn't that much improved the following year.

As far as the Music City Bowl being as much Malik's win as Golson's, that's just silly. Golson contributed 6 completions on 11 passes, that's it. I'm not saying he didn't contribute, but there was a reason Malik was the MVP. Malik had almost 100 yards on the ground and was 12/15 passing. Malik engineered most of the points in that game with Golson helping to setup the go ahead FG and helping on one TD drive. Outside of those examples, Golson drives ended in punts.

Yeah, people act like Golson didn't play a role in that LSU game. He had as many passing yards in half the completions as MZ. Golson moved the ball on that last drive to help set up the FG to win it.

He played a role, but the game was still largely Malik's. Malik was a true dual threat option that kept LSU on their heels. Malik contributed on every drive that ended in points except for the last one, and given how locked in he was there's no reason to think he couldn't have gone driven down the field with 5 minutes of clock time to get a FG. Lets not forget that LSU had the best passing defense in the SEC in 2014, giving up the fewest TDs and yards. Golson wasn't going to win that game by himself on just passing, but there's a decent possibility Malik would have won regardless.

 

[ulukinatme]

totally disagree, LSU did not give two shites about that game and were lethargic throughout, they didn't want to be there ala Miami in the Sun Bowl vs ND back in 2010. It was a quality win only in name only.

Whether LSU wanted to be there is moot. Clearly some of the team showed up, Fornette certainly did, and their defense was still tough. If the LSU Music City Bowl win isn't our bowl best win since Lou's days, what is? Miami certainly doesn't qualify, they failed to show up and have been mediocre to horrible since the turn of the millennium. Rutgers then? No. Hawaii? Hell no. There are no other bowl wins. LSU was a quality opponent with a tough defense, regardless of how up and down their offense was that year. It wasn't a middling SEC team. It was a quality win and better than the Miami Sun Bowl, therefore the best bowl win since Lou's days.

 

[woolybug25]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Live look: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gators?src=hash">#Gators</a> are leaving for Dallas <a href="https://t.co/FZxVlu3iDb">pic.twitter.com/FZxVlu3iDb</a></p>— Mark Schlabach (@Mark_Schlabach) <a href="https://twitter.com/Mark_Schlabach/status/903220372333580288">August 31, 2017</a></blockquote>
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I'll tell you what, if the Gators found some way to win this game, then watch out for them the rest of the season. They put themselves in a ridiculously bad position sitting as many starters as they have. They don't have a QB that they have full confidence in and the entire country thinks they now don't stand a chance in a game that should have been a good one. They have turned themselves into a joke around college football for the opening week.

But if for some reason, some act of God prevails, and they beat a fully manned scUM squad... then WOW... what a story. That team will be bought in af.

 

[stlnd01]

I'd put the 2012 Stanford win above that as well. That team won the rose bowl.

Greatest football game I've ever attended. And I had an extra ticket I literally threw in the trash before I walked in b/c I couldn't find someone to take it outside the stadium b/c it was raining.

Anyway: LSU was a good win but Kelly's had several bigger. We were a lot more into that game than they were, and ultimately it was a meaningless pre-New Years exhibition. Not to take anything from Zaire that day. He was a shot in the arm and a refreshing change of pace from the depressed shell of himself that Golson had become by the end of that season.

But Zaire was always more potential than the complete package. I don't think that's poor QB development so much as never really getting the necessary time on the field. He was the clear QB1 basically for one fall camp and two weeks of game prep. Would have been interesting to see what would have happened if he hadn't gotten hurt. He might still be our QB today, though I'm not certain our offense would be better for it.

 

[woolybug25]

Greatest football game I've ever attended. And I had an extra ticket I literally threw in the trash b/c I couldn't find someone to take it outside before the game b/c it was raining.

.

I was there too. Had to buy some rain gear for my buddy before the game and didn't have high hopes. We were in the endzone of the final drive. One of the best games I've seen in person.

 

[koonja]

I'll tell you what, if the Gators found some way to win this game, then watch out for them the rest of the season. They put themselves in a ridiculously bad position sitting as many starters as they have. They don't have a QB that they have full confidence in and the entire country thinks they now don't stand a chance in a game that should have been a good one. They have turned themselves into a joke around college football for the opening week.

But if for some reason, some act of God prevails, and they beat a fully manned scUM squad... then WOW... what a story. That team will be bought in af.

How many starters/impact players are being suspended? The only Gator I know is Malik.

This really sucks, because this was such a great test for UM to start the year after replacing so many of the 43 seniors they lost. Florida was going to jump all over them IMO. Now Florida has put themselves on equal footing of needing to have a slew of new guys ready game 1.

 

[NDohio]

Whether LSU wanted to be there is moot. Clearly some of the team showed up, Fornette certainly did, and their defense was still tough. If the LSU bowl win isn't our best win since Lou's days, what is? Miami certainly doesn't qualify, they failed to show up and have been mediocre to horrible since the turn of the millennium. Rutgers then? No. Hawaii? Hell no. There are no other bowl wins. LSU was a quality opponent with a tough defense, regardless of how up and down their offense was that year. It wasn't a middling SEC team. It was a quality win and better than the Miami Sun Bowl, therefore the best bowl win since Lou's days.

Are you asking whether it's our best win since Lou or our best bowl win since Lou?

 

[woolybug25]

Whether LSU wanted to be there is moot. Clearly some of the team showed up, Fornette certainly did, and their defense was still tough. If the LSU bowl win isn't our best win since Lou's days, what is? Miami certainly doesn't qualify, they failed to show up and have been mediocre to horrible since the turn of the millennium. Rutgers then? No. Hawaii? Hell no. There are no other bowl wins. LSU was a quality opponent with a tough defense, regardless of how up and down their offense was that year. It wasn't a middling SEC team. It was a quality win and better than the Miami Sun Bowl, therefore the best bowl win since Lou's days.

Are you saying best "bowl win" or "best win". Because it's clearly our best bowl win, since there aren't many to choose from. But I would say it's far from our "best win" since Lou.

- '12 Stanford
- '98 Michigan
- '99 USC
- '02 FSU
- '10 USC
- '12 Oklahoma
- 37-0


Hell... it's not even our best win against LSU since Lou. Our win in '97 under Davie was much more significant. LSU was ranked #11 and the game was IN DEATH VALLEY.

 

[ulukinatme]

Greatest football game I've ever attended. And I had an extra ticket I literally threw in the trash before I walked in b/c I couldn't find someone to take it outside the stadium b/c it was raining.

Anyway: LSU was a good win but Kelly's had several bigger. We were a lot more into that game than they were, and ultimately it was a meaningless pre-New Years exhibition. Not to take anything from Zaire that day. He was a shot in the arm and a refreshing change of pace from the depressed shell of himself that Golson had become by the end of that season.

But Zaire was always more potential than the complete package. I don't think that's poor QB development so much as never really getting the necessary time on the field. He was the clear QB1 basically for one fall camp and two weeks of game prep. Would have been interesting to see what would have happened if he hadn't gotten hurt. He might still be our QB today, though I'm not certain our offense would be better for it.

I'd argue our offense as a whole would have been better off last year had he not gotten injured originally. Passing-wise Kizer was clearly superior over both careers, and we certainly put our eggs in the passing game basket in 2016, but with that focus on the passing game our running game clearly suffered. A strong running game would have certainly helped in a few games last year, namely the NC State game. Here's hoping that Long's influence will show this season and we'll start pounding teams on the ground again.

 

[woolybug25]

How many starters/impact players are being suspended? The only Gator I know is Malik.

This really sucks, because this was such a great test for UM to start the year after replacing so many of the 43 seniors they lost. Florida was going to jump all over them IMO. Now Florida has put themselves on equal footing of needing to have a slew of new guys ready game 1.

I'm not sure how many starters because of how many changes they were making in general, but for sure their #1 RB and #1 WR are out. They are breaking in a new QB and have TEN new starters on defense.

They suspended ten players all together.