Luke Zimmermann
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Former Florida quarterback Will Grier interested in ... Ohio State?
Luke Zimmermann via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Will Urban Meyer and co. poach a former Gator?
Ohio State doesn't particularly need a quarterback.
J.T. Barrett has two years of eligibility remaining. Even if he has the kind of prolific, overachiever-type season he's capable of and leave after this year, they'll still have Dwayne Haskins, and Joe Burrow, and Stephen Collier, and heck, maybe even Torrance Gibson if one of them goes elsewhere.
The Buckeyes also have an expected 2017 freshman in Archbishop Hoban quarterback Danny Clark.
And yet, despite a log jam at the position that's anywhere from four-to-five deep (maybe three if we're being conservative), chatter surfaced today that former Florida Gators quarterback Will Grier was considering Ohio State as a possible transfer destination, amongst other places:
I've also been told he's met with plenty others, including Ohio State and Miami (FL). https://t.co/5a8VvN04nd
— Graham Hall (@GrahamHall_) March 2, 2016
West Virginia and Mark Richt's Miami Hurricanes certainly make a lot more sense on paper. But is Grier legitimately in play for the Buckeyes?
Why it makes sense
Grier's super talented. Florida's undefeated season was in no small part thanks to Grier's on the field leadership, grit, and moxie; yup, he's that type of hyper stereotypical gamer. As soon as Grier was suspended -- which we'll get to -- the wheels came off on the offense and the Gators were never the same again.
A former four-star, despite being a pro style quarterback, Grier's not a total statue. In fact, his 4.73 40 times would be the fastest amongst any of the quarterbacks at this past week's 2016 NFL combine.
Though J.T. Barrett he's not, he should have enough giddy up to operate Urban Meyer and Ed Warinner/Tim Beck's offense. He'd also be a natural bridge to Dwayne Haskins, who's not as mobile as the quarterbacks Buckeye faithful have been acclimated to under Meyer.
Why it doesn't make sense
Grier was suspended for an entire season due to testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. An NCAA appeal was denied and there was a bizarre amount of scrutiny surrounding what exactly he took. Grier and his family have been adamant he unknowingly took an over-the-counter supplement without clearing with Florida's training team what was in it. What supplement it exactly was is unclear, however.
Though there was a lot of rumors and innuendo about his adding 43 pounds in lean muscle mass in less than a calendar year -- typically something telltale to the use of some kind of performance enhancing drug -- other Florida media reports painted his weight gain in a far more organic light. Grier's overall bulk gains sounds not unlike the kind you'd expect to see when a skinny high school kid starts doing college strength and conditioning workouts and then actually spends all their time being monitored by a high Power 5 level strength coach and nutritionist.
All that said, Grier's still facing a half year suspension for the infraction. It's not expected he'd be able to sit a redshirt season and count those games as time served, so even after the NCAA mandated transfer year, he'd still miss six games the subsequent year back.
Why would Ohio State take a quarterback who won't be eligible to play until the Nebraska game, Oct. 14 of 2017, especially with so many others in the stable?
Though Grier has some attributes to complete the kind of looks necessary in Meyer's offense, there's also some concern based on his time in Florida that exposing him to too many hits would lessen his efficacy.
Alligator Army's Andy Hutchins told Land-Grant Holy Land Grier had a propensity to try and steal extra yards at the expense of his body. Also well versed with Meyer's offense, Hutchins speculated that additional down the field runs could potentially expose him to further poor health sustaining decisions for only short term on the field gains.
Likelihood: 3/10
Even with all the pros and cons, Grier makes more sense at West Virginia and Miami alike. Though Miami's pro style offense is probably the best fit of all, Dana Holgorsen's shown he can make a quarterback who's not necessarily a traditional spread-run guy work like he did with Clint Trickett before concussions forced him to prematurely end his WVU career.
Grier might just be rattling off teams he's spoken with to media like Hall, but we wouldn't expect him to ever end up in scarlet and gray.
(H/T to Bucknuts for putting this on our radar)
Continue reading...
Luke Zimmermann via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Will Urban Meyer and co. poach a former Gator?
Ohio State doesn't particularly need a quarterback.
J.T. Barrett has two years of eligibility remaining. Even if he has the kind of prolific, overachiever-type season he's capable of and leave after this year, they'll still have Dwayne Haskins, and Joe Burrow, and Stephen Collier, and heck, maybe even Torrance Gibson if one of them goes elsewhere.
The Buckeyes also have an expected 2017 freshman in Archbishop Hoban quarterback Danny Clark.
And yet, despite a log jam at the position that's anywhere from four-to-five deep (maybe three if we're being conservative), chatter surfaced today that former Florida Gators quarterback Will Grier was considering Ohio State as a possible transfer destination, amongst other places:
I've also been told he's met with plenty others, including Ohio State and Miami (FL). https://t.co/5a8VvN04nd
— Graham Hall (@GrahamHall_) March 2, 2016
West Virginia and Mark Richt's Miami Hurricanes certainly make a lot more sense on paper. But is Grier legitimately in play for the Buckeyes?
Why it makes sense
Grier's super talented. Florida's undefeated season was in no small part thanks to Grier's on the field leadership, grit, and moxie; yup, he's that type of hyper stereotypical gamer. As soon as Grier was suspended -- which we'll get to -- the wheels came off on the offense and the Gators were never the same again.
A former four-star, despite being a pro style quarterback, Grier's not a total statue. In fact, his 4.73 40 times would be the fastest amongst any of the quarterbacks at this past week's 2016 NFL combine.
Though J.T. Barrett he's not, he should have enough giddy up to operate Urban Meyer and Ed Warinner/Tim Beck's offense. He'd also be a natural bridge to Dwayne Haskins, who's not as mobile as the quarterbacks Buckeye faithful have been acclimated to under Meyer.
Why it doesn't make sense
Grier was suspended for an entire season due to testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. An NCAA appeal was denied and there was a bizarre amount of scrutiny surrounding what exactly he took. Grier and his family have been adamant he unknowingly took an over-the-counter supplement without clearing with Florida's training team what was in it. What supplement it exactly was is unclear, however.
Though there was a lot of rumors and innuendo about his adding 43 pounds in lean muscle mass in less than a calendar year -- typically something telltale to the use of some kind of performance enhancing drug -- other Florida media reports painted his weight gain in a far more organic light. Grier's overall bulk gains sounds not unlike the kind you'd expect to see when a skinny high school kid starts doing college strength and conditioning workouts and then actually spends all their time being monitored by a high Power 5 level strength coach and nutritionist.
All that said, Grier's still facing a half year suspension for the infraction. It's not expected he'd be able to sit a redshirt season and count those games as time served, so even after the NCAA mandated transfer year, he'd still miss six games the subsequent year back.
Why would Ohio State take a quarterback who won't be eligible to play until the Nebraska game, Oct. 14 of 2017, especially with so many others in the stable?
Though Grier has some attributes to complete the kind of looks necessary in Meyer's offense, there's also some concern based on his time in Florida that exposing him to too many hits would lessen his efficacy.
Alligator Army's Andy Hutchins told Land-Grant Holy Land Grier had a propensity to try and steal extra yards at the expense of his body. Also well versed with Meyer's offense, Hutchins speculated that additional down the field runs could potentially expose him to further poor health sustaining decisions for only short term on the field gains.
Likelihood: 3/10
Even with all the pros and cons, Grier makes more sense at West Virginia and Miami alike. Though Miami's pro style offense is probably the best fit of all, Dana Holgorsen's shown he can make a quarterback who's not necessarily a traditional spread-run guy work like he did with Clint Trickett before concussions forced him to prematurely end his WVU career.
Grier might just be rattling off teams he's spoken with to media like Hall, but we wouldn't expect him to ever end up in scarlet and gray.
(H/T to Bucknuts for putting this on our radar)
Continue reading...