Chris Balas on Brandon Peters: "There are recruiting mistakes, and this appears to have been a big one."

Submitted by Maizen on

Meanwhile Michigan had 4 passing yards in the 2nd half vs IU. I don't really know what to say about this if true, but thought it was extremely noteworthy.

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Errol Flynn

October 15th, 2017 at 9:21 AM ^

I thought something was off about Peters after watching the original singing the stars. His body language was incredibly bad. Texting during the event and seeming completely uninterested sure seemed to give off a smoking jay Cutler vibe. IMO, he didn't seem like the type of kid I would have seen as a future leader of the team.

Joined: 12/25/2010

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bluinohio

October 15th, 2017 at 10:45 AM ^

Yes! This! Higdon been the best back all year. How the hell can't they see it? JBB better at tackle. How can't they see it? Crawford should never see the field. How can't they see it? I'm supposed to believe the coaches somehow know okorn is better than Peters when I've seen them be wrong about other stuff?

Joined: 08/24/2015

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bluinohio

October 15th, 2017 at 11:12 AM ^

Haha, good one. Try watching a game once in a while instead of relying on a statistics guy to get your info. I never said they didn't have issues, I said they were the better choice to play. Sure Higdon misses a hole once in a while. How many tfl against does he have compared to Evans? How many fumbles compared to Isaac? It should be obvious to anyone watching that he should get most carries. But you're right, I'm blind and Brian knows everything. All hail Brian.

Joined: 08/24/2015

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MgoDlu

October 15th, 2017 at 11:09 AM ^

Higdon's been the only back all year to run hard, sometimes so hard that he gets tunnel vision and tries to run over someone instead of making a quick cut taking it to the house. 

Evans likes to bounce bounce and sometimes that gives you a breakthrough, from reports Evans sounds like he would be a great receiving back. He should be the third down back at this point. 

Joined: 08/07/2010

MGoPoints: 739

UMVAFAN

October 15th, 2017 at 1:25 PM ^

I'll take college Jay Cutler any day over what we have now. He was a 1st round draft pick and made an abysmal Vandy team competitive. Many teams have star players that seem self absorbed and "above the rest" and still have success in the college game. Usually those players flame out in the NFL, but can do great things with talent alone in college - Vince Young, Ryan Leaf, Johnny Football, Braylon Edwards....to name a few. Braylon was the definition of uninterested in anything but himself. I had friends on the team talk about him playing original music in the locker room... R Kelly's Ignition Remix but changing it to "Remix to Braylition." It made 90 percent of the team roll their eyes and they knew he was selfish, but he helped them win many games. If Peters is like this but they still win, I'll take it.

Joined: 10/15/2013

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YoOoBoMoLloRoHo

October 15th, 2017 at 9:26 AM ^

issue should be framed differently than taking an indirect shot at a RS freshman: What is wrong with the program at this point to only generate 58 yards passing? The recruiting certainly has some issues with the lack of top TE, OT and RB talent. The 2018 class is not collecting elite talent despite the recent draft success, 2.5 years of relationship time, high profile program and NFL coaching staff. The development of the OT, WRs and QBs also seems questionable at this point with a bunch of 2nd and 3rd year. Put it all together, the real issue isn't Peters but the breadth of holes on the offensive side of the ball at this point.

Joined: 11/01/2012

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YoOoBoMoLloRoHo

October 15th, 2017 at 12:40 PM ^

questionable development the last couple of years. Yes, Chesson had 5 big games and Darboh had a solid 2016. Unlikely a WR will get drafted in the next 2 years, so a 3rd and 4th round pick in 4 years doesn't reinforce a strong development area. As a group, though, our WRs put very little pressure on secondaries. Crawford and McDoom are generating 32% conversion this year (drops, misplayed deep passes), DPJ has route running issues after 10 months, Ways is a none entity. I am actually very bullish on the talent and the group has the potential to become a top unit if all the talent develops over the next year or two.

Joined: 11/01/2012

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MGoStrength

October 15th, 2017 at 9:34 AM ^

We're never gonna know until he gets out there in a live game and tries his hand at running the offense.  Everything else is simply speculation and talking points.

Joined: 07/29/2010

MGoPoints: 20002

maize-blue

October 15th, 2017 at 9:59 AM ^

Agree. Especially when the analysis of Peters only consists of "not ready" or "not doing things" or other vague commentary that could mean 1,000 different things. If anyone had any real info like he only completes 35% of his passes or throws an INT every other pass then it would be a little clearer. Not sure I've heard any specific reason why he is "not ready".

Joined: 01/10/2013

MGoPoints: 44661

Reader71

October 15th, 2017 at 9:57 AM ^

Yes, but our coaches have commented on Peters’s readiness. Even they are speculating, but I’d argue that they have pretty good speculation skills. Seeing as they’ve seen every single football-related activity he has performed in the past two years.

Joined: 08/30/2009

MGoPoints: 22968

MGoStrength

October 15th, 2017 at 10:41 AM ^

I agree.  When given no other data other than what the coaches say, you have to take them on their word, and recognize them as the professional opinion.  Obviously they know more than average Joe fan sitting at home.  However, that doesn't mean coaches are immune from making mistakes.  That also doesn't mean it's unheard of for guys to struggle in practice, yet shine in games. 

 

For example, Vince Young was known for making bad decisions in practice.  I recall Mack Brown eventually giving in and saying we just had to let him be himself.  Once we resigned to not trying to control him and just let him do his thing, he shined.  Sumlin also used to get frustrated by Manziel before he got his shot and we know how that went.  Connor Cook was known for not being a great teammate in practice.

 

At the end of the day, coaches get paid to win (within the confines of the rules).  They need to play the best game players, not the best practice players.  I'm not saying Peters is the next Young, Manziel, or Cook, but there are plenty of examples of guys that play great in games, but for whatever reason don't seem to show the same thing in practice. I think this tends to be more so of highly talented players that may not be motivated by the consistency required in low pressure situations like practice, but get up for the excitement of the game.  Again, not sure if this is Peters, but we just don't know.  I think it's a fair question to ask, given Peters recruiting pedigree, spring game performance, and O'Korn/Speight's struggles.

Joined: 07/29/2010

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Reader71

October 15th, 2017 at 11:59 AM ^

In the interest of clarity, my position isn't one of trusting the coaches. It is more along the lines of pointing out that fans have virtually no evidence for their desires. You just cited a spring game and recruiting pedigree. Meanwhile, the coaches are citing literally every football-related activity Peters has performed for a few years. Coaches can be wrong. Fans who want the backup QB almost always are. And basing an argument for a backup based on the idea that coaches can be wrong is very, very weak. I don't care if Peters plays or not. I'd actually prefer he plays and plays well. I just don't have any evidence to believe that.

Joined: 08/30/2009

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MGoStrength

October 15th, 2017 at 2:28 PM ^

I don't care if Peters plays or not. I'd actually prefer he plays and plays well. I just don't have any evidence to believe that.
It may not be the evidence you want, but there is some evidence. O'Korn's performance is one. Sources (Webb?) making note that Peters is the most talented QB on the roster during the spring is another. Peters being a significantly higher ranked recruit than either Speight or O'Korn is a third. That is all evidence. Now, is it enough to start him?...obviously not yet. It is enough to make us wonder and ask the question?...for me, yes. I suspect we will see Peters in live action soon. If O'Korn continues to struggle and we get behind big in the PSU game, or down the road against either Rutgers, Maryland, or Minnesota my hunch is we will see him.

Joined: 07/29/2010

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Reader71

October 15th, 2017 at 4:04 PM ^

Fair enough. Except that I don’t see O’Korn’s play as having much to do with Peters. It’s likely that O’Korn gives us a very small chance of winning games and Peters simply offers an even smaller chance. In the end, your suggestion boils down to some variation of, “It can’t be worse.” But it can. And again, the people who watch him play every day are pretty convinced of that or, at a minimum, aren’t in any hurry to see if it is.

Joined: 08/30/2009

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swan flu

October 15th, 2017 at 9:37 AM ^

Is the fact that we opted to add Doyle to this class indicative of something the staff thinks about the current roster or just preparing for the losses of OKorn and maybe Malzone?

Joined: 08/16/2010

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mgoO

October 15th, 2017 at 11:30 AM ^

You may want to re-think this.  If Speight cannot play next year (he isn't being nudged anywhere) our QB situation will be a disaster in terms of depth.

If Peters truly is as far behind as UMBig11 and Balas suggest we have to search for a grad transfer QB again. - NOW.   Unless you want the depth chart to read McCaffrey (who could be in the same spot as Peters next year), Peters (who supposedly is significantly worse than John O'Korn), and true freshman that are both considered projects.  That is a recipe for disaster.

Best case scenario is for McCaffrey or Peters to elevate and pass a healed Speight but those things are all very unsure at this point.  

The coaching staff knows Speight's medical prognosis and needs to plan accordingly otherwise we could have another season subverted by the one position that Harbaugh was supposed to be able to give us an automatic edge at.

Joined: 10/11/2010

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Fezzik

October 15th, 2017 at 9:49 AM ^

If this is true then I'm uber concerned we are taking a raw developmental guy and what looks to be a low ceiling guy for our 2018 class of QBs.

Joined: 09/11/2015

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I dumped the Dope

October 15th, 2017 at 9:54 AM ^

There's a lot of heat on the QB on most plays (OL)

I saw Huard's replay of the ball that JOK threw deep into double coverage when Gentry was breaking 3 yards open on a crossing route....but if you stop that play at the time when the ball had to be thrown the openness wasn't obvious.  To connect with above idea, maybe JOK felt the heat in the backfield...

OKorn, while taking a few sacks, is a pretty good escape artist.  I feel like WS3 would be sacked consistently given the same amount of pressure, although he may make better reads.

I don't feel like a call for change.  The coaches see the players once a day (guessing).  I see them once a week....its really easy to analyze a game from a pressbox tower (aka the TV angle) and damn hard when you are on the field and everyone is going everywhich way all on the same plane (playing field)...

From the comments above a thing I could see is that sometimes people who are gifted physically or academically don't feel the same impetus to "put in the work" to refine their craft and be dedicated to working on the soft areas of their game....obviously I don't have any knowledge so this is pure speculation.

Joined: 09/22/2013

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war-dawg69

October 15th, 2017 at 11:53 AM ^

Ever heard of throwing guys open. You have to have some anticipation and know the route tree. Gentry is fast and was allready past his man. This is all irrelevant as JOK locks in on his primary and there are several more examples of it. Nobody knows if Peters will perform better, but man how could he do worse. We have all seen this kid and looks to be the real deal. The one thing we all know is we don't have a qb and are going to lose several more games. I don't believe for one second Peters is a bust. I have seen enough of JOK to know he is. I like JOK as a person and wish him well in life, but I can't watch any more games this year with how good the rest of the team is. I may be wrong but I can't watch us lose to teams we would have more than a good chance to beat otherwise except we are not good at the most important position.

I always believed JBB should get the nod just on size alone. I just think he needs in game experience to gain confidence. Mcdoom is a gadget guy and not a reciever and they should use him more that way. They ran him one time with great success except for penalty on crawford. Crawford is a great blocker and should stay in because of that alone.

This coaching staff is not making all the right decisions or may be basing them on more than who is the best player. There are politics in everything and personal feelings when human beings are involved.

I like Balas but he is flat out full of shit on this one. I also have a feeling he may be trying to shake things up as I swear he backs playing Peters.

Going grouse hunting with my shorthairs next Saturday to keep my BP down. Sorry I let my emotions get the best of me yesterday with not choosing my words correctly as they were taken wrong, but that is spilt milk. I still feel my evaluations are correct and we have very little chance with Okorn at the helm and can't watch it anymore. Harbaugh needs to start whispering or maybe yelling but with no QB no team has much chance against decent teams. Good luck to everyone. Until there is a change I'm out.

Joined: 10/07/2016

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