Por (Harold Wheeler) on November 19, 2008 (Suggest removal)

No way is Matt going that early in the draft, this year or next. In the NFL you need to be a drop back passer first and then any mobility you have is a bonus. That doesn’t describe Grothe. His arm is way below the average NFL QB’s.
I think his only shot will come as a free agent with the Bucs because Gruden really respects him and will give him a courtesy try out.
I love what he’s done for the Bulls and wish him the best, but…

Por (Bob Rashad) on November 19, 2008 (Suggest removal)

how bad does the situation have to be for grothe to be willing to accept a 4th round selection and pass up his senior season just to get away from usf?

Por (lmiusf) on November 19, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Well we should be in for a real mess next season IF Grothe does go. Although I think that Daniels or maybe even Landi will prove to be better they just won’t have the game time experience that they need next season. If Grothe does go it will be quite interesting to see the QB situation next season. Hopefully with a new OC!

Por (lmiusf) on November 19, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Bob, good point! The fact that if GG is still there next season he’ll get Grothe injured his Sr. season behind and VERY young OL with poor play calling. Although I don’t know because it doesn’t seem that our OL is that good this year anyway. Next season’s young line may be better. Regaurdless though, if GG is still there it’ll be the same terrible play calling.

Por (Nabeel Mulla) on November 19, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Again I agree with Harold.  Grothe’s patented reverse roll-out move would result in a sack for a 20-yard loss every time in the NFL.  Frankly, I can’t believe that more teams don’t expect that move already.  His size and the lack of respect for the Big East will surely make him an undrafted free agent if he goes pro.  His sources will tell him such and he will stay and compete with Daniels next year.

Por (lmiusf) on November 19, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Nabeel, Grothe comments that he would move to ANY position for a chance to play in the NFL. I don’t believe that he thinks he’ll be a QB in the NFL. He probably would be more of a slot type receiver like say a Dallas Clark. Good hands, tough, and elusive. Also, with him being an above average college QB that would open up some trick plays with him passing the ball.

But you’re probably right. He’ll be back competeing wiith Daniels and Landi next season.

Por (Harold Wheeler) on November 19, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Matt will get a tryout for the NFL this year or next. Since he will graduate before next fall, it’s really just a matter of when he wants that tryout to come; and to get on with his life and career working like the rest of us. With the economy as it his he may be better suited to stay in school.
It would be great if he came back so BJ could get more experience before taking over the reigns. Just sucks that his redshirt was probably blown for some wasted minutes in the first game. I’m sure Leavitt regrets that now. Good question for you to ask him Brett. Would love to hear CJL dance around that one.

Por (Bob Rashad) on November 19, 2008 (Suggest removal)

leavitt has had winning seasons when he had marquel blackwell and grothe….blackwell was a superior athlete and made usf what it is with his talents and leavitt got the credit….it is going to be the second coming of pat julmiste…EVERY coach in the big east has figured out grothe and leavitt

Por (Terry Lucas) on November 19, 2008 (Suggest removal)

If Marquel didn’t make it as a QB, no way Matt is going to slide into the draft. Marquel had a great final pre-season game before he got cut by the Jets… Compare their stats from their junior and senior seasons when it’s all said and done. Matt will have a chance to compete in the Arena league, maybe even the CFL. Matt has been great for USF, however, great for USF doesn’t always mean NFL payday because the league is prone to close their eyes when a possible sleeper is right in front of them (see DeAndrew Rubin and Bernard Brown for instance). How Brooks Bollinger is still playing and Marquel is working in the high school ranks still blows my mind.

Por (Don G) on November 19, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Brett, like Harold, I’d be interested in learning why Leavitt played Daniels when Grant Gregory was a solid backup? Why risk losing one year of eligibility for your future QB when it’s unnecessary?  Again, it goes back to making solid coaching decisions before & during games. Re: Grothe’s early departure, I think if there’s anytime USF can lose their starting QB and not be severely affected, I’d say this is it.  We shouldn’t expect much for next seasob with losing 14, maybe 15 (Selvie) or 16 (Grothe) starters. Grothe isn’t going to make much of a difference next season, so what’s the difference in winning 6 games or 5 games next season - it’s still an off year as they rebuild.  What say you?

Por (Harold Wheeler) on November 19, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Marquel was a better QB than Matt and he deserves an enormous amount of credit for his role in the rise of this program. He had a better arm and made far fewer mistakes. If he was playing now with the talent Matt has around him, who knows what may have happened here the last couple of years. Marquel certainly is worthy of a place the new USF Hall of Fame or whatever they are calling it.
I think Grothe is definitely a more exciting player to watch and also deserves the credit he is getting for USF’s success. He also will be one for the hall.

Por (Don G) on November 19, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Hey guys, just a reminder that Ball St & Central Michigan play tonight at 7PM on ESPN2. I’m going to watch this game because of the great year Ball State’s having, but will watch to see how two very good head coaches actually coach and play call.  Maybe we’ll see a future USF coach in this game tonight possibly?  Those MAC coaches seem to be a good source of head coaches for good 1-A teams, so I for one will watch with much interest.

Por (Patrick O'Rourke) on November 19, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Anybody here know what the story is with FireGregGregory.com ?  I’ve been eagerly anticipating its debut.

Por (Harold Wheeler) on November 19, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Don G is right. Next year is going to be rough so people better had better face it real quick.
We’ll have talent on offense especially if Matt comes back but the o-line will be green and I don’t mean in jersey color. That could really limit what the playmakers can do.
Defense could be a real problem. Losing McKenzie and Selvie…OMG!

By the way, has anyone else noticed the slide in defensive performance has somewhat coincided with the injury to Mompremier? Wonder if what happened to him has made some others a little tentative and also whether he was that important to their success?

Por (Patrick O'Rourke) on November 19, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Harold….

I agree with your assessment, other than the offensive line.

I doubt we will see much of a drop-off considering how AWFUL they have been this year.

I’ve been wondering…is the poor play of our O-line mostly a product of…

a) Lack of talent
b) Poor coaching
c) Terrible overall offensive philosophy

I’m sure it’s a bit of all three, but which is the main culprit?  I think our O-lines were better when Frey was coaching, and that with seemingly less talent!!

Por (Harold Wheeler) on November 19, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Point taken on the o-line Patrick. Guess i was just trying to forget how bad they have played at times this year. Thanks for bringing (back) to my attention.

Por (Brett McMurphy) on November 19, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Don, Leavitt played Daniels early in the season - and may have tried to get him more playing time if not for the injury. Grant Gregory is a senior but is going to apply for a medical hardship to get a sixth year next season. Harold, I had the pleasure of covering Marquel - and Matt’s - entire career(s) at USF. That would be a great debate, who has been the better QB. I don’t think you can simply say it’s Marquel, because he played against easier competition than Grothe. And before you say, Grothe, therefore, had more talented teammates, I would rank Rubin and Hugh Smith with any of USF’s current WRs (Terry will back me up on this one). And, also Terry, I can’t believe Bollinger is still in league and Marquel isn’t.

Por (Patrick O'Rourke) on November 19, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Bulls fans have to be rooting for the NCAA to turn down Grant Gregory’s application for a 6th year of eligibility. 

Not that we have any problem with Grant (although I don’t think he’s a very good QB), but merely for the fact that if he receives that 6th year, you can bet his dad will be returning for a third year of un-coordinating the offense.

Por (Rich) on November 19, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Brett,

If granted, would Gregory’s medical redshirt affect our scholarships available for next year? I would rather bring in a young guy than waste one on a 6th year QB that never plays. Especially if he is to move to 3rd string.

Por (Bob Rashad) on November 19, 2008 (Suggest removal)

if grothe gets drafted before round 8 i will be extremely surprised

Por (Harold Wheeler) on November 19, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Good points Brett. But i would still take Marquel just based on what I feel were superior decision making skills, accuracy and arm strength. He also was pretty dang adept at avoiding the rush if you will recall. Not the down field runner Matt is, but Marquel knew where the pressure was at all times.
Matt is certainly more creative than Blackwell was. I also think Matt is more emotional than Marquel and that affects his play in both good and bad ways.
As NFL talent goes Marquel has a large edge over Matt in my opinion.
I always thought Marquel should have been hired onto the USF staff.

Por (Harold Wheeler) on November 19, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Not relative to the Marquel vs Matt talk, but just for fun…
I was at a HS school game Marquel was coaching this season and it was fun to watch him. (He’s developing a pretty good soph QB at Freedom.)
But it was the last couple minutes of the game and Freedom had just lost the lead. I smiled and told myself that Marquel was about to work his magic and win this game. I had no doubt. And i must say the opponent, Wharton, which I was rooting for had absolutely no idea what he was going to do. His play calling on the game winning drive was as good as I have seen on any level. The players also did an excellent job executing.
Certainly brought back some fun memories.

Por (Eddie Laugen) on November 19, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Maybe Matt would like to play the beginning of season.  He’ll look good against Wofford, Western Kentucky, and Florida International University.  After those games, we’ll problably be ranked in the top 25 again before we fall from grace.  If we’re gonna schedule teams like these teams, we should have kept UCF on the schedule.  That’s the funnest game to attend.

Por (Hector Jimenez) on November 19, 2008 (Suggest removal)

Okay, so Grothe knows what’s in store for next year with so many senior loses (and then Selvie).  Can’t say I would blame him…especially if he graduated already.

Brett…if Grothe were to stay would Leavitt let him play all year or would we see a rotation with Daniels so that he could get some real game time experience for theeither the end of the season or the next one. 

Thanks.

Por (Dan) on November 19, 2008 (Suggest removal)

In Grothe vs Blackwell, Grothe wins. He plays as good as Marquel but against MUCH tougher competition and MUCH better coaches. When Grothe came along, we’d already seen that elusiveness - Blackwell. But when Blackwell came on the scene, we’d never had anything like it. I enjoyed watching both over the years, and look forward to the next great one. To me, there have been only 3 QB’s for USF: Chad Barnhardt, Marquel Blackwell, and Matt Grothe. USF HOF, all! BTW, the NFL League minimum vs his other prospects, I wish Matt well in the NFL draft.