Grier transfers to WVU

[Concrete Helmet]

The Griers may have been fully confident(ego) that WG would beat all competitors on performance.
But wanted guarantee that the spiritual negatives (bumping off the first 6 leader & residue of
resentment for goofing up our prior season) would not be held against him, keep him off the field?

Agreed. Mac has already walked several players since taking over for attitude/off field issues. Maybe Grier wanted assurance that he wouldn't spend the whole season without getting a shot at starting.....

 

[Concrete Helmet]

My source says that Trask is entrenched in a battle with Appleby for the backup spot. Franks will definitely RS as he is significantly behind Trask and there is more distance everyday. Trask is expected to challenge LDR later this season if LDR struggles at all.

Dude you're gonna put Law over the edge......

 

[GatorJ]

My source says that Trask is entrenched in a battle with Appleby for the backup spot. Franks will definitely RS as he is significantly behind Trask and there is more distance everyday. Trask is expected to challenge LDR later this season if LDR struggles at all.

 

[gatormandan]

Trask is gonna start. Just think about it, he is 10 times the QB Harris is so why not.

 

[Gator Fever]

I mentioned that earlier, but he also isn't going to get to the 26/27 games they prefer either. In my opinion he will need to play the 18 games that are available to him to maximize his draft potential.... But the way his family works there is a risk of him not seeing an NCAA snap again.

Yep he may end up really screwing himself if he doesn't watch it.

 

[LongTooth]

Thats not just STARTING to emerge, but some of you-- trying not to laugh here-- dont believe anything until (trying to breath here) DOOLEY writes it.

i really don't care for Dooley or much of what he writes, but he seems to have been given the green light to make public statements about what he knew regarding this situation that go beyond all the whispered speculations and posturing that goes on here and on other boards. several other outlets have decided to mainstream the story this week and i haven't seen any denials from any parties involved.

but carry on imagining I'm some sort of slobbering Pat Dooley sycophant if you must.

 

[GatorTom85]

I would have to disagree with you here. There were reports all last season that he was still practicing with the team all up till the bowl game. I think he has a good working knowledge of the playbook, even better by that time, so I think he will be G2G.

I think that is very unrealistic. No coach in his right mind would willingly plan for a mid-season QB change if they actually care about winning the games at the beginning of the season. That's because you have to be 100% focused on preparing your team each week to have the best opportunity to beat the opponent on that week's docket. Therefore any QB who can't play that week is not going to get anything beyond scout team reps at best which would mean he'd have no work with the first or second teams after Spring ball. He'd be unlikely to even get Spring reps actually because the coach would want to focus on preparing the new QBs who are unfamiliar with the system because they actually might have to play before game 8. Grier would therefore have no opportunity to get his timing with the receivers or the rest of the offense and that would make his transition into a mid-season starting role very messy at best and disastrous at worst because QB play is all about rhythm.

With 4 viable QBs in the stable, the only way a coach would even consider such a thing would be if several of those other QBs were hurt. Even then I think we'd have to be like 0-5 or 1-4 by week 5 for Coach Mac to start thinking about Grier's insertion because he'd have to change the QB rotation he'd been working with since Spring at least a couple weeks ahead of time to even give him a chance of being successful once he was eligible. That would also mean he would have to have lost all confidence in all his remaining QBs to be willing to bet on the guy with no meaningful practice reps to that point.

Bottom Line: It would take a perfect storm of disasters for Coach Mac to be willing to take on the level of risk involved in making a mid-season QB switch to a player who is ineligible until game 8 and part of that scenario would likely entail a really bad losing record. Given our fan base, everyone would be in such a state of frenzy by that point that a QB switch of this nature would be just a blip on the b*tch storm radar.

 

[G8RATL]

Grier can come back....as a walk-on...earn your way back to being a Gator...you f'd up...you decided to walk
Do I think the Willy family would get past their egos and do this? Nope

 

[NCOGator]

I think that is very unrealistic. No coach in his right mind would willingly plan for a mid-season QB change if they actually care about winning the games at the beginning of the season. That's because you have to be 100% focused on preparing your team each week to have the best opportunity to beat the opponent on that week's docket. Therefore any QB who can't play that week is not going to get anything beyond scout team reps at best which would mean he'd have no work with the first or second teams after Spring ball. He'd be unlikely to even get Spring reps actually because the coach would want to focus on preparing the new QBs who are unfamiliar with the system because they actually might have to play before game 8. Grier would therefore have no opportunity to get his timing with the receivers or the rest of the offense and that would make his transition into a mid-season starting role very messy at best and disastrous at worst because QB play is all about rhythm.

With 4 viable QBs in the stable, the only way a coach would even consider such a thing would be if several of those other QBs were hurt. Even then I think we'd have to be like 0-5 or 1-4 by week 5 for Coach Mac to start thinking about Grier's insertion because he'd have to change the QB rotation he'd been working with since Spring at least a couple weeks ahead of time to even give him a chance of being successful once he was eligible. That would also mean he would have to have lost all confidence in all his remaining QBs to be willing to bet on the guy with no meaningful practice reps to that point.

Bottom Line: It would take a perfect storm of disasters for Coach Mac to be willing to take on the level of risk involved in making a mid-season QB switch to a player who is ineligible until game 8 and part of that scenario would likely entail a really bad losing record. Given our fan base, everyone would be in such a state of frenzy by that point that a QB switch of this nature would be just a blip on the b*tch storm radar.

Once again I disagree. Here is why. Technically he would be the second string QB at the start of the season IMHO. The only reason he wouldn't be the starter is because he has to sit out 6 games. Now mind you this is of course that he is welcomed back on the team by Coach Mac and the team. Therefore the only thing that he would need for him to take the starting role the second half of the season is a low production rate by the starter (LDR or Applebee). The other two QBs would be red shirted for sure. If he was to be welcomed back so he would only have to beat one of the other two for the back up role. What we don't know is how quick LDR and Applebee will grasp the system, and what we do know that WG knows a lot about the system. Yeah I was a huge WG pumper and thought he was the future, so I might lean a little towards him being the second half starter if he proves his worth through the coaching staff and the team.

 

[gatormandan]

Grier isnt coming back but go right ahead discussing it...Trask is our guy.

 

[GatorInKnox]

Why is anyone even talking about Grier coming back?

 

[GatorTom85]

Once again I disagree. Here is why. Technically he would be the second string QB at the start of the season IMHO. The only reason he wouldn't be the starter is because he has to sit out 6 games. Now mind you this is of course that he is welcomed back on the team by Coach Mac and the team. Therefore the only thing that he would need for him to take the starting role the second half of the season is a low production rate by the starter (LDR or Applebee). The other two QBs would be red shirted for sure. If he was to be welcomed back so he would only have to beat one of the other two for the back up role. What we don't know is how quick LDR and Applebee will grasp the system, and what we do know that WG knows a lot about the system. Yeah I was a huge WG pumper and thought he was the future, so I might lean a little towards him being the second half starter if he proves his worth through the coaching staff and the team.

No coach in the world would do that unless they want to lose. By definition a guy can't be QB2 if he can't come in when QB1 goes down. As a coach in a violent sport you therefore have to prepare a backup for your starter unless you are insane and want to get fired (or have no backup like UF after Grier was suspended). As such, all the meaningful practice reps would have to go to those who are eligible to play - period. NCAA rules also limit practice time to such a degree that there would be no extra time available to develop a guy in the background either because game planning in the modern era is also very time consuming especially in the SEC. Given those constraints, how would Grier have a chance to get ready to take over week 8 (which happens to be Georgia)?

You seem to think that just because a guy has some skills at a position it makes him capable of being effective on the field without proper preparation. That just isn't true especially at the QB position. Why do you think coaches stress practice performance so heavily? If you plan to have any kind of passing game in the SEC you have to be able to make quick reads and at times throw receivers open. To do that you have to have developed timing with the offense and have committed to memory the basic offensive philosophies including the tendencies of your skill players to such a degree that you don't have to think about them. That's what it means to have the game slow down. On top of that you also have to be able to add in weekly game plans around the other team's defenses including adjustments for the tendencies of their most impactful skill players. The unavoidable lack of preparation would therefore set him up for failure rather than success if he was asked to start playing so late in the season.

In all honesty, it really wouldn't be fair to Grier to put him into that position. Even Peyton Manning or Tom Brady at their college level of development wouldn't have been able to successfully step in under those conditions. Maybe if Grier was an athletic freak like a Cam Newton he'd have a chance to pull it off to some degree because at the college level Cam was able to use his size and sheer will power to ad lib his way around any game planning deficits. Grier hasn't got those types of tools so he would be at a severe disadvantage especially against any SEC defense in mid season form.

As much as I was a fan and excited about his future before the suspension, I've come to recognize that his decision to transfer was really the best situation for all involved. I do hope he finds somewhere to play that can give him an opportunity to redeem himself and any future he may want in football before his eligibility is gone. That just won't be and shouldn't be at UF.

 

[GatorTom85]

Why is anyone even talking about Grier coming back?

I guess I'm a sucker for hypotheticals (no matter how unrealistic, apparently). :)

 

[gatormandan]

I guess I'm a sucker for hypotheticals (no matter how unrealistic, apparently). :)

You wont have to go far!

 

[rogdochar]

As for transfers, my sources are already saying that Trash has completed his paperwork to go to the
South Waco Barber School. We wish him luck.

... doubt he makes the cut ?

 

[MJMGator]

I almost wish Mac would troll him and his dad. Tell them "hell yes he's gonna be the starter the minute he's eligible". Then, have his ass as the scout team QB all year.

 

[GatorTom85]

Here's my theory on Grier. Mac doesn't like him. On the field, off the field, his dad, the cut of his jib. Something about Grier rubs Mac the wrong way. How hard would it have been for Mac to tell the Grier family that Grier would likely be the starter mid season. I think any coach could honestly say "based on everything I've seen I think you will be able to start when you come back".
Secondly I think Mac/Nuss really like LDR or they would have had to have hedged their bets with the Grier family.

I think you may be right about Mac's dislike of the situation figuring into this. I think it is more likely the father who is driving that dislike, though, especially since I happen to have some inside info on him. My nephew does a lot of YouTube videos (Shameless plug - Legendary Shots) and he shares an agent with the younger Griers (Nash and Hayes) who are huge stars on Vine. Hayes was also on Dancing with the Stars last year. Apparently their dad is a real tool.

Whether it is the dad, the son or both, however, in the end it works out the same and it definitely sounds like it wasn't a tough decision for Mac to let them walk.

Mac doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who'd be disingenuous enough to promise that he'd come back and start either. For all the reasons I listed above I honestly don't know how any college team could pull off a mid-season switch like that. That is even difficult in the NFL when you have a proven star and don't have all the practice time restrictions or those pesky college courses to get in the way.

 

[GatorTom85]

I almost wish Mac would troll him and his dad. Tell them "hell yes he's gonna be the starter the minute he's eligible". Then, have his ass as the scout team QB all year.

Sounds more and more like they might have deserved it - or his dad did anyway. But I have to give Will the benefit of the doubt because he showed a lot of character by standing up in front of the entire football world and owning up to the situation. Most guys these days seem to be content with just going with a written statement. It takes a lot of guts for a 19 year old to face that level of negative scrutiny. That's why I hope he is able to land on his feet somewhere so he has a chance to salvage his college football career and forge whatever future in the sport he is capable of.

 

[Gatorphan]

I'm not so quick to blame Grier's dad for Mac's dislike. I think Will's choices off the field were the factor. It's just my opinion, but we do know that he at least chose badly with roommates, women and tattoos. The association with Hardin, a campus known high-lifer, is probably enough to be in the dog house. Mac was always critical of WG, even when he did well.

 

[WillGetIn]

I'm not so quick to blame Grier's dad for Mac's dislike. I think Will's choices off the field were the factor. It's just my opinion, but we do know that he at least chose badly with roommates, women and tattoos. The association with Hardin, a campus known high-lifer, is probably enough to be in the dog house. Mac was always critical of WG, even when he did well.

This. As starting QB, Will should have been showing better leadership qualities, working to keep Hardin from going out, not joining him...