Rockne's Roundtable

the biggest growth for a quarterback is between year one and two.

That said Dayne Crist when in rhythm had the ND offense looking unstoppable. With a year in the system the indecisiveness that plague him should be gone. The timing issues that were what caused the inaccuracy should also be gone.

That should make him the front runner for the job.

Tommy Rees strength and edge was his knowledge of the offensive system and what the system is supposed to do.

While he throws on time, accurate and with nice touch beating out Dayne will be difficult if Dayne makes the leap that he should going into year 2. It wouldn't be impossible for Tommy to win the job he showed a great deal of heart and proved he could lead the offense to wins.

Alex Hendrix, we no little about probably the one thing that should indicate that he has a chance to win the job was the that coach Kelly said that he has only coached 1 other qb in his entire career that can do the things Alex can do.

What exactly that means none us really know since coach Kelly did not elaborate.

Who wins the job though should make the 2011 year an exciting year for the Fighting Irish.

I can not remember anytime in recent years that the Fighting Irish appeared to have this much and experience depth at qb.

After watching his tapes, I would not be surprised to see Golson in games next year in some special packages. I think before even taking one snap at ND he is the most dangerous of all the qbs...

true, i just don't think rees is the qb that gives nd the best chance to win,

despite his 3-0 record as a starter. i'm a chicago bears fan, at one time

kyle orton won 8 games in a row as their starter, am i sad he is in denver?

not in the least.

Honest question here, not a rhetorical one:

Does having 4, possibly 5, QBs competing for the spot offer a better scenario than 2 or 3 TRULY vying for the spot with another 2 or 3 providing depth for worst case scenarios?

I am absolutely happy that we have depth. On the one hand, it's great to think that we might have 3 or more QBs on the roster who can win games for us. On the other hand, does it say that we really don't have a great QB but just a bunch of good QBs? While Rees's TD/INT ratio hasn't been great, his QB rating is still ahead of Crist's. While Crist threw 5 more TDs and 1 fewer INT than Rees, Rees emerged with the better passer rating because...his completion percentage was a good bit higher.

With Rees, I think you have a fairly dependable kid who will only get better in the cerebral department of the game but has a fairly limited physical skillset. With Crist, he doesn't seem to have a command of the offense like Rees has, but his physical tools -- injury bug aside -- seem to offer more upside. I think the mental part of the game is what has slowed down Hendrix as well. He seems to be more physically built for the position than Rees but hadn't yet grasped the offense.

I tend to agree with GIGA's analysis of Kelly's hierarchy. What I would like to know is how well Crist would've done with our current running game and defense. Yes, Rees has managed the game well, but against USC, 4 turnovers by the QB have rarely been paired with a win. The big upside for Rees is that he is just a Freshman.

If I had to guess, I would say that if Rees or Crist wins the job, Golson sees some situational duty. He would offer a different dimension that those two can't really offer. If Hendrix wins the job, I would expect Golson to redshirt, and I would honestly be surprised if we didn't have at least one transfer. I am just unsure about turning the reins over to yet ANOTHER first year starter.

I am excited about Rees. But I'm not so excited about Rees that I'm ready to cast Dayne Crist aside. Rees proved himself as a player in the quarterback competition, in my opinion, by going 3-0 as a starter. As I pointed out, I'd be curious to see what Crist could do with a focused running game and a good defense.

But I'm not going to use Rees' 3-0 record, while notable and appreciated, as evidence that Dayne Crist will not, nor should not, see the field again.

I like what Dayne Crist brings as an experienced player. I like what Rees has done, especially in posting a 3-0 record as a starter. I like that Hendrix has caught the staff's attention. And I like that Golson is a handpicked addition to the competition. And I'm curious about Luke Massa. The five of them should be able to bring a good competition to the position next fall.

If you had to give percentage of likelihood to start or odds or whatever you want to use to indicate the order and likelihood, how would it look?

Methinks:

Rees - 30%
Crist - 30%
Hendrix - 25%
Golson - 10%
Massa - 5%

Crist did not really look comfortable ever in this offense..Rees was better right away, IMO. Crist is drop back only as far as I have been able to observe...terrible at throwing on the run, terrible. You dont have to be a great runner in this offense(see Pike) but you have to move the pocket...throw on the run or else...plus Crist has proven to be very fragile...he was looking to avoid contact or so it appeared and thats usually when you get hurt..and he did. not ruling him out if he improves but the competition will be fierce which is good for the Irish

All Q.b's on N.D's roster better step it up, before Mr Golson get there, because that kid is the real deal & fit's perfect in B.K's offense.