Wednesday June 20, 2007

Opponent's Quarterbacks; SEC QBs

Opponent’s Quarterbacks
We continue quarterbacks week with a look at the quarterbacks Clemson will face out of conference this season and a ranking of the SEC quarterbacks.
Louisiana-Monroe
Last year Kinsmon Lancaster played awful in the first half of the season but he improved as the year went on and looked OK late. His season included 142 of 250 through the air for 1789 yards with seven touchdowns and 14 picks.

The Warhawks did sign JUCO quarterback Brice Beck and some think he will win the backup job. He may win the starting job but it might not be on September 8 when UL-Monroe visits Death Valley.

Furman
The Paladins are deep and talented at quarterback. Renaldo Gray is the senior and incumbent at quarterback. Last year he was 95 of 168 for 1184 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions. Gray is a big, strong, powerful quarterback at 230 pounds. He is the most experienced signal caller but others have challenged.

Jordan Sorrells played well in his red-shirt freshman season last year. The Greenville native was 69 of 117 for 851 yards with 4 touchdowns and three picks. The left-hander is a better pure passer and should get his share of snaps this season.

The Paladins red-shirted Cody Worley last season and the Georgia native was pretty impressive in the spring. Furman is solid at quarterback in 2007 but the Paladins should have little chance in Death Valley on September 15.

Central Michigan
Are you sitting down? Good. The best quarterback Clemson will face in 2007 is Dan LeFevour. That’s right, Dan LeFevour.

The MAC freshman of the year is ready for an even bigger 2007. Some say freshmen cannot make a big splash at this position but LeFevour would like to argue. He was 247 of 388 for 3,031 yards for 26 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions. He also rushed for 521 yards and seven touchdowns. He had almost 300 yards of total offense at Boston College and over 400 yards at Kentucky.

The Chippewas also have depth here. Brian Brunner was the starter before he got injured in the Boston College game.

Brian Kelly left Central Michigan for the Cincinnati job but if you want to see good quarterback play then be in the Valley on October 20th.

South Carolina
In the Gamecocks first eight and a half games last season Blake Mitchell was 33 of 55 for 322 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. In the last four and a half games Mitchell was 102 of 147 for 1467 yards with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions.

Mitchell started slow then got suspended for a game. He lost his starting job but made a major comeback and helped USC to a three-game winning streak to end the season. Mitchell has a good arm but is limited in terms of mobility. He enjoyed having one of the best receivers in the nation in Sidney Rice but this year’s group should see major production from Kenny McKinley.

Mitchell can be successful and I think he will greatly benefit from having a strong running game.

Chris Smelly is another pocket passer who appeared to be the long term answer but he has fallen a little bit in the eyes of Steve Spurrier. Tommy Beecher may have the inside track on the backup job going into the season but Stephen Garcia is more talented than Smelly and Beecher.

SEC QB Rankings
1. Georgia-One constant in my time in the radio business is that I have always overrated Georgia. This may be the case at this position but I love the potential of Matthew Stafford. There is no stronger arm in the college game. His coach told us on our radio show that Stafford is better than his two Heisman Trophy winners at this stage. Stafford is physically as gifted as any quarterback in America.

2. Tennessee-Few teams in the country have put out quarterbacks like Tennessee. Erik Ainge rebounded well last year but he will have a new group of receivers to throw to this season. I think Jonathan Crompton is another superstar waiting to happen in Knoxville.

3. Florida-Chris Leak is gone but don’t feel bad for the Gators because Tim Tebow is as good as advertised. Some say he can’t throw but he was 22 of 33 with five touchdowns and only one pick as a freshman. This is a powerful player who is a great leader. Tebow will prosper in Gainesville. Cam Newton is a future star as well.

4. Kentucky-I hear all of the talk about how great Andre Woodson is but I am not buying it. He is good but I am not sure he is a future NFL star like some believe. I like the 31 touchdowns and only seven picks but I don’t think he is one of the top ten quarterbacks in the country.

5. LSU-They lose JaMarcus Russell but all is not lost because I like Matt Flynn. The senior has a lot of experience and I think he is one of the best in the league. Who knows if multi-talented Ryan Perrilloux can stay out of trouble long enough to be the player he can be.

6. Auburn-Brandon Cox is exactly what I thought he would be—solid. Cox makes few mistakes and just wins games. The southpaw has lost only five games in two years as the starter.

7. South Carolina-See USC’s breakdown above.

8. Alabama-John Parker Wilson had a good sophomore season last year. He threw for 2707 yards with 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions despite being hobbled late. Depth may be an issue here.

9. Vanderbilt-Chris Nickson was much better than I would have believed. He threw for over 2,000 yards and 15 touchdowns and rushed for almost 700 yards and another nine scores. He is mobile and competitive. Nickson won almost as many games as a sophomore as Jay Cutler did as a senior.

10. Arkansas-Robert Johnson has moved to wide receiver and the savior Mitch Mustain has moved to Los Angeles. So Casey Dick can finally relax and be the man in Arkansas. It helps to have this running game. It also helps to have Marcus Monk.

11. Ole Miss-Brent Schaffer was supposed to be the guy that could lift Ole Miss to the next level. Now he is on the next level himself—the second string. Schaffer was awful and he was beaten out by Seth Adams.

12. Mississippi State-Michael Henig is at the bottom of the league for a couple of reasons. He is limited and so are the teammates around him.

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