How many guys have run the spread and made it past college to the next level?

“Tell me how many guys have run the spread and made it past college to the next level.” –Ryan Mallet, former UM QB, Detroit News, 1/10/2008

Take these words to heart all you high school QBs, especially those with visions of winged helmets in their future. And while you’re doing that, go ahead and ponder this list of spread-offense QBs:

  • Akili Smith
  • King Kingsbury
  • Michael Vick
  • Andre Ware
  • Josh Harris
  • Troy Smith
  • Kyle Boller
  • Tommie Frazier
  • Antwaan Randle El
  • Eric Crouch

And that’s just off the top of my head! Sit back, relax, and watch the spread offense continue to put its indelible mark on the NFL in the coming years. As we speak, Urban Meyer’s original golden boy, Alex Smith, has just led his San Francisco 49ers to a stellar 5-11 record.

Well, technically, former Bowling Green QB Josh Harris is Meyer’s original golden boy. In the span of two years Harris went from being a 2004 6th-round draft pick to being a substitute teacher in Westerville, Ohio.

So the lesson here is, play for Rich Rodriguez and you can get a job as a part-time teacher making ashtrays in shop class. I guess that’s something.

And message to Ann Arbor: “The Cradle of Quarterbacks” is dead and buried.

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7 Comments

  1. Trojans, we are all so angry. the sanctions that we rcieeved at the hands of the NCAA sanctions committee lead by Paul Dee are an unspeakable travesty. Forget hypocrisy , can you say, CORRUPTION? CONSPIRACY?The time for unspeakable should be over. Where is the voice of the USC faithful? The outcry from the USC alumni, friends, fans, and ADMINISTRATION is more like a wimper than an outcry. What happened to fight on ? How about, re-open the case? Sue the NCAA? A pardon, for sanctions served? Really REALLY

  2. It’s KLIFF Kingsbury, not “King” Kingsbury. Man, those would be cruel parents.

    Tommie Frazier and Eric Crouch didn’t run the spread in college. They ran a an I-option at Nebraska. Andre Ware ran the Run & Shoot, which is at best a proto-spread. And in case you didn’t notice, Troy Smith ended the season as the starter for the Ravens–not bad for a rookie, so it’s a bit premature to call him a failure at the NFL level.

    I’m not disagreeing with your point, and I’m happy as anything to see Malltt transfer, but you don’t need to throw in inaccurate info. Doesn’t help your point.

  3. frank and mac,

    1. for more detail on the recently published book” Tarnished Heisman” on the reggie bush/pete carroll/ usc football gate affair, detailed articles, including excerpts from the book, a large picture of reggie bush, copies of key documents, and other related material now appear on the front page of yahoo sports.

    2. you might think that the authors at yahoo sports have some particular reason for picking on reggie bush and usc or are notre dame alums or fans.

    3. to the best of our knowledge, none of the people had yahoo sports who broke this story and tenaciously followed up on it, are notre dame graduates or even notre dame fans.

    4. we have supplied them with leads and evidence and will continue to do so.

    5. as has been the case with us, we know that the reporters at yahoo sports have received threats of lawsuits and threats of physical violence from people associated with usc, with almost all of them hiding behind phony internet identities, although i have been threatened in person by some people who did not identify themselves.

    6. however, the yahoo reporters, like us, never back down because of threats when we know that we are doing the right things.

    7. would the yahoo reporters and the authors of the book have been able to dig up all of the evidence that they have without our help? we really do not know. in fact, to the best of our knowledge, none of us have ever met any of them in person.

    8. they are obviously people who detest cheating in sports, as we do, and they are courageous, thorough professionals.

    9. if notre dame or any other school engaged in any similar dishonest conduct,as reggie bush and certain people associated with the usc football program have, we are certain that the same yahoo reporters would do their careful investigations and publish their articles in the same way.

    10. are we proud to have been of assistance? yes, we are.

    11. the student athletes who choose notre dame and the other schools that play the games with integrity are entitled to play those sports on even playing fields with honest refs officiating.

    12. that is not possible unless someone exposes and roots out the crooks and con artists, as is true of all areas of human endeavor. that happens to be something that we are very good at.

    13. has all of this adversely affected recruiting by pete carroll and usc and certain other schools in 2008 and in future years? well, just take a look at the latest recruiting rankings at rivals.com, scout.com, and by the other recruiting services.

    14. even ivan maisel and some of his allies at the espn.com are having a lot of difficulty pimping for pete carroll and usc in 2008.

    GO IRISH!!

    bob gilleran

  4. mac,

    1. an excellent and accurate commentary by the ex michigan qb.

    2. although urban meyer uses his self proclaimed success at developing qbs and players at other positions in the recruiting wars, urban’s pupils have bombed out in the nfl at all positions, as have most of pete carroll’s.

    3. in fact, as omar hunter may find out, unless he comes back to his senses and recommits to notre dame, urban meyer really knows nothing about preparing college football players for the nfl or for life.

    4. urban and pete carroll and other coaches like them just use athletes( the student section of the equation is intentionnally left out because the football factories do not provide their athletes with any real education). if the full time athletes get injured or somebody better comes along, the football factories find ways to take away their scholarships, and cast them out into the world, with no real educations, in order to make room for the next victims.

    5. on the usc front, simon & schuster, has just published a book by don yeager and jim henry, entitled “Tarnished Heisman” containing detailed evidence about the more than $300,000 which reggie bush illegally took while he was pretending to be a college football player at usc in 2004 and 2005. the book is available at your local bookstore and online. it will be a best seller and will force the ncaa and the heisman trust to take the action which they should have long ago.

    6. will the timing of the publication, just weeks before loi day, have anything to do with what happens on loi day? you can bet that it will.

    7.this is not just any publisher or any authors. the authors have long careers and have received many awards and simon& schuster has always very selective about what they publish.

    8. every time bush and carroll and people at the usc football program think that they have their coverup nailed down, more evidence keeps popping up.

    9. there is still a lot more evidence on bush/carroll/, and usc footballgate to come.

    10. at notre dame, every student athlete gets a fine education and the best possible training to make it to the nfl or the pro ranks in other sports.

    11. sure, there are some spoiled dumb jocks who are afraid of the academics at notre dame and want to live at those fancy athletes only facilities provided by the football factories and others who, for family and other reasons, including family ties, will choose schools other than notre dame.

    12. however, for the others who meet notre dame’s academic, character, and talent standards, there is really no other school which offers what notre dame does.

    13. as loi day approaches for the 2008 class, the recruiting wars go on, as viciously as ever, by notre dame’s enemies.

    14. however, the type of recruits that notre dame has received commitments from for 2008, and are still considering notre dame, whether or not they are currently verbally committed to other schools, do read the news and reach the conclusions that they should reach about real serious problems coming down on the usc and other football programs in the near future, no matter what pete carroll and others tell them.

    15. charlie and corwin and their staffs do not use negative recruiting, as do urban meyer and pete carroll and others.

    16. however, if anyone thinks that bringing out the truth about pete carroll and urban meyer and other dishonest recruiters and putting a lot of pressure on some nd bashing members of the media has not made a real difference for notre dame during the 2008 and future recruiting years, they are extremely naieve.

    17. not only do we expect that every single student athlete verbally committed to notre dame for 2008 will come through on loi day, we expect a few several more key commits to notre dame’s 2008 class, including a very possible return of omar hunter.

    GO IRISH!!!

    bob gilleran

  5. Mallet has a monter arm and is HUGE. He is smart to leave with Rich Rod bringing the spread but I could care less about him other than we wont have to face him again (hopefully). Any word on DT Mike Martin?

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