Friday, September 26, 2008
Recruiting rankings suspect for quarterback
Lalich’s 135 attempts a solid career by some standards
Doug Doughty
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This week’s column starts out with a housekeeping matter pertaining to last week’s poll question, in which 919 of 1,167 respondents (78.8 percent) said that quarterback Sean Glennon would have a contributing role in a Virginia Tech victory before the end of the season.
I’d be curious to know how many people voted following the Hokies’ 20-17 victory Saturday and whether they thought Glennon had a contributing role at North Carolina.
I was at the Tech-UNC game and while I would consider myself a Glennon guy going back to our first meeting at the Nike camp Tech sponsored in 2003, when he was an uncommitted rising Westfield High School junior, his contributions Saturday at UNC were relatively minor.
He completed the only pass he attempted, an 11-yarder that took Tech from its 26-yard line to the 37 on a critical drive after the Hokies had been buried at their 2, but it was a first-and-10 play. If it had been a third-down conversion that averted a punt, that would have been a different story.
I must admit I was surprised at the number of poll voters who felt Glennon is going to resurface at some point, but it would appear that Taylor is at something of a crossroads going into the Hokies’ game at Nebraska.
Taylor originally replaced Glennon because he could make plays with his feet, which Glennon can’t do, and the Hokies were at a loss for playmaking. Taylor was able to do that against Furman and Georgia Tech, but he wasn’t a threat against North Carolina.
All it takes is one 50-yard run and that could come at any time. He had non-scoring runs of 50 yards against Furman and 23 yards against Georgia Tech, but, if you key on him, as North Carolina did, maybe you can shut him down.
You could say that Glennon is a better passer, but there’s the rub. Taylor was intercepted twice Saturday at North Carolina, his only interceptions in 40 attempts. Glennon has been intercepted three times in 32 attempts and has a 56.2 percentage completion, compared to Taylor’s 60.0.
READERS OF THE print edition of The Roanoke Times may have seen the College Notebook earlier this week in which was stated that Vic Hall, not Peter Lalich, was the highest-rated quarterback ever signed by Virginia.
That was based on the 2005 SuperPrep All-America quarterback ratings in which Hall was ninth. That same list had Virginia Tech signees Ike Whitaker and Greg Boone rated as the Nos. 5 and 15 quarterbacks in the country.
It was fascinating to read the list and see how few of the 17 All-America quarterbacks that year have failed to pan out four years later.
Here’s the list:
1. MARK SANCHEZ – First year as a full-time starter for No. 1-ranked Southern Cal, upset Thursday night by Oregon State 27-21
2. RYAN PERILLOUX – Originally committed to Texas, signed with LSU, kicked off the team, now playing for Division I-AA Jacksonville State.
3. JOSH PORTIS – Signed with Florida, transferred to Maryland, missed the 2007 season after an honor violation, now running third-team.
4. JONATHAN CROMPTON – Starting at Tennessee
5. IKE WHITAKER – Back-up wide receiver at Virginia Tech.
6. CAMERON SEXTON – Third string at North Carolina; has played in one game since Butch Davis’ arrival.
7. KYLE REED – Signed with Cal, redshirted in 2006, didn’t play in 2007, transferred to San Jose State, where he is the starter
8. GREG PAULUS – Starting guard on Duke’s basketball team.
9. VIC HALL – In his second year as a starting cornerback at Virginia.
10. HARRISON BECK – Played briefly as a redshirt freshman at Nebraska, transferred to N.C. State, where he backed up Daniel Evans in 2007 and Russell Wilson this year.
11. JAKE CHRISTENSEN – Signed at Iowa, where he is in his second season as a starter; passed for 2,269 yards and 17 touchdowns last year.
12. TODD WALKER – Signed with Texas Tech, moved to wide receiver, has two receptions in the Red Raiders’ first four games
13. KERRY MEIER – Signed with Kansas, started eight games as a freshman in 2006, was beaten out by Todd Reesing in 2007 and later moved to wide receiver.
14. JASON FORCIER – Signed with Michigan, played in three games as a redshirt freshman in 2006, transferred to Stanford, sat out the 2007 season and now serves as a backup for the Cardinal.
15. GREG BOONE – Starts at tight end for Virginia Tech.
16. WILLIAM TUITAMA – Started 25 games over the past three seasons at Arizona and had passed for more than 6,000 yards entering this year.
17. DEREK SHAW – Committed to Miami; signed with Arizona State; transferred to Texas Tech, where he never played; then surfaced at Fresno City College, a two-year program.
SO, THERE YOU have it, the nation’s top 17 quarterback prospects, at least according to one reputable publication. They’re in their fourth year out of high school, a time when they should be peaking, and what do you have? Four who start at the Division I-A school of their choice coming out of high school.
It makes me think back to the conversation that took place in the winter of 2004 in Warm Springs, home to current William and Mary quarterback Jacob Phillips and his younger brother, John.
Jacob, the Group A player of the year at Bath County, already had committed to the Tribe but Virginia coach Al Groh pitched the idea of Jacob spending a year at Fork Union, honing his skills, and then signing with Virginia in the winter of 2005.
The older Phillips brother felt it was necessary to do the honorable thing and stick with William and Mary, but it makes for interesting speculation. All Phillips has done for the Tribe is throw for 5,643 yards and 44 touchdowns.
POLL QUESTION:
Peter Lalich had 135 passing attempts in two seasons at Virginia, which is more attempts than some of the above-mentioned All-America quarterbacks have had..
What kind of career do you see for Lalich at his new school, Oregon State?
