Sour Grapes for 2008
19 comments so far
February 8, 2008 by
You don’t need a PhD in to psychology to realize that if Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert had remained committed to Nebraska, Husker fans (and bloggers) would be praising him to high heaven. And yet, despite the five stars bestowed on him by Rivals.com (and their rating of him as the top pro-style quarterback in the country), he didn’t even make Parade magazine’s short list of All-Americans at the quarterback position.
Gabbert had a less than stellar senior campaign, appearing in only four games and accounting for only six touchdowns. While that might be blamed on injuries, who’s to say he won’t be injury prone in college?
A familiar name did make Parade’s short list – Sean Renfree. Renfree was the quarterback scheduled to visit Nebraska until the Huskers accepted Kody Spano’s commitment instead. Renfree ended up committing to Duke. That could imply that Spano was the more desirable player to the Husker coaching staff than Renfree. Or expressed mathematically, Spano > Renfree > Gabbert.
As a Husker fan, I might let that get me real excited if not for Oklahoma State. That’s the team that withdrew its scholarship offer to Spano. The Cowboys decided to replace Spano with…wait for it…nobody. That’s right. Their class of 2008 doesn’t include a quarterback. So now, in the eyes of Oklahoma State the math might be Nobody > Spano > Renfree > Gabbert.
So is Gabbert’s decommitment really worth losing any sleep over? In the eyes of some, he may be less than zero.
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Tyler Hughes Feb 08 08
If he was an Elite 11 QB, i don't think he's a zero. I wish him the best and can't blame him for transferring. i think he's gonna be good and we'll have our work cut out for us. Then again, Josh Freeman hasn't really hurt us through two seasons.....
doombob Feb 08 08
I would have liked to see what Blaine could do at Nebraska. I blame Andrew Jones for his and others decisions. He's the one that I really wanted to be a Husker. But after asking around about the things he said that can't be printed, my opinion now is, Andrew's a punk. I'm wearing my Nebraska gear to the rest of his basketball games this year. I'd say something to him, but I don't want to add fuel to his already burning derision for Nebraska football. Plus he's 6'5", 228 lbs lean muscle, and runs 4.6 - 40. I'm 5'10", 200, probably would collapse at about 30 yards.
Dale Rollings Feb 08 08
What a bunch of whiners! You guys have been raiding Missouri high-school talent for years quite simply because you had a better program. Well, those days are over. We finally got back in to the national spotlight and those talented high-school seniors are starting to stay home. Quit complaining, and get back to a good program. We did, and it must be working for all of the whining we are getting from Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma that Missouri players are not such easy picking any more.
Dale Rollings
St. Charles, Missouri
Bill in Iowa Feb 08 08
Dave, I don't really hear any whiners or complainers here? But in fact, it is just the opposite. What Steve is suggesting is maybe we actually got a better QB in Spano than we would have got in Gabbert. I guess only time will tell. I do believe we are going to better utilize a QB who can take off running with the ball, than a strictly pro-styled QB. So, I don't know if Gabbert would have been the perfect fit in a multiple offense than we will be running. However, I think we will be seeing a lot of Mr. Gabbert in the future and we may not like it, unless Bo and the Blackshirts can put him on his back about 10 times a game. Ultimately, I think losing Gabbert signalled about 8 other highly valued recruits to bail out...and that hurt much worse than just Gabbert leaving for Mizzou. In the end, I was thankful we were able to retain Missouri native Will Compton though.
Jason Feb 08 08
Hi Dale. Thanks for stopping by, but where's the whining you're referring to?
Steve just pointed out the subjective nature of recruiting comparisons and stars ratings. Heck, the first sentence points out the transparent nature of sports fans (Nebraskan's included).
You may be hearing Nebraska fans whining, but it's not coming from this site.
DT Feb 08 08
Wow...and even with Gabbert, Mizzou managed to finish 6th in the Big 12 recruiting rankings (a full 3 spots behind NU):
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/recruiting/football/news/story?id=3234286
OU7times Feb 08 08
Does anyone else get the feeling that Jason is related to Tom Osborne? Nothing seems to get under your skin. If eating Runza's makes you that way, then, I will have to definitely get a taste bud transplant. I would have to agree, not alot of whining (if any) from NU fans since the you know who's (both) are gone now. Sunsets must seem "prettier" now, in Nebraska, since.
Greg Morrow Feb 08 08
I think Gabbert should make a nice quarterback, similiar to Freeman. Gabbert decommitted his "verbal" weeks before Callahan was let go, which really, I appreciated. Those decommits the day of, or the week of, were the more difficult ones. Gabbert had a nice workout highlight video, but long, lanky guys don't always physically mature strength wise before they're 21 anyway, which can be problematic for "our" league. I think Freeman decommitting, then Beck running away was more impactful, halfway into Callahan's effort.
I'd rather Gabbert play for the Corn, but who's to say he'd have beaten out Patrick Witt or even Zach Lee, in '09? As a third year soph in '09, Witt could very possibly be the guy, into the next decade. He might even be "the guy" in '08. I'm sure he'll have opportunities to compete for it.
johnny rotten Feb 08 08
You have got to be kidding me!! Spano couldn't hold Gabbert's jock in terms of raw talent or speed. You lost Blaine because he realized Missouri was simply a better team.
Maddog Feb 08 08
Johnny Rotten,
Better team? Please clarify. Sure, NU got wholloped in 2007 down in Columbia. That, I won't deny. But, my research concludes that the series record is 63 victories for the Big Red, and 35 losses for the Tigers. That equates into NU winning 64 percent of the time. So, using the phrase "better team" is a relative term. And for the record, there's no comparison in tradition. NU is superior in tradition. How many National Championship's have the Tigers won? Wait.....I think I know the answer.....ZERO.......
GBR!!!!
cvldfg Feb 09 08
I always find it funny when a school has a year or two of success, and all of a sudden their "loyal" HA, fanbase comes out of the woodwork and starts yapping like their team is all that.
cvldfg Feb 09 08
OU7times,
You can talk as much crap as you want. Your school and fanbase has earned that right. Besides, I appreciate your sensible commentary. What is your favorite OU website? Eventhough I hate OU, I, at least respect what your school has accomplished. Even if your school is a renegade program. Ha Ha, just kidding.
OU7times Feb 09 08
cvldfg, Hey man, where ya been? Really, I don't frequent OU websites. Too snooty and besides, there are alot of people/fans that expect (as opposed to want)championsihps...EVERY FREAKIN YEAR!! BRN is by far the best all around sight. What I mean by that is you get the 95% Nebraska talk and great info, 3% other teams fans perspectives and the remaining 2% is non-football related bitchin and fightin. What more could a guy want?
cvldfg Feb 10 08
I've been here. I read every post these guys put up. A lot of times, I just don't have anything to add. Their knowledge of the recruiting is way more than mine, so I just like to read and learn. But, sometimes douche bags like Mizz, KU and KSU fan pipe-up and spew #2 out of their collective mouths it just makes me irritated.
But I promise, when the sledgehammer that is NEBRASKA FOOTBALL comes swinging back down, these pinheads (pun intended) will be put back in their places. Sometimes a nail comes loose and thinks it's breaking free from it's rightful place and it takes some maintenence to slam it back into place.
ze bop Feb 10 08
me thinks gabbert is the real deal, me dont care what anybody else thinks :)
ze bop Feb 10 08
OU7,
wtf happened to the sooners inda bowl--they got wasted bro!!!
OU7times Feb 10 08
ZE!! Yea, those guys got wasted alright. I think it was before the game, though. No excuses, just bad f-ball. Nice to hear your back (probably never left)on the site. Thanks for rooting for the boys in crimson anyway.
Scott Feb 10 08
Isn't it hard to get back into something, such as the national spotlight, if you've never been there before?
I didn't see any whining in here earlier either. At least not like I heard from Mizzou fans when Shevin Wiggins "illegaly" kicked the ball to Matt Davison.
ze bop Feb 10 08
ou7,
yeah, wv just rocked the sooners, didnt expect that. almost as bad as the pats losing the SB, im still in denial about that one.
i'd been having trouble opening pages on this site, but been chatting w babes on chat sites.
feeling the fb itch again...BO P rocks!!!