The verbal sparring between injured starting quarterback Kyle Wright and current starter Kirby Freeman continues. Come spring, this thing will be an all out war. Bank on it.
Jorge Milan of the Palm Beach Post wrote a piece today regarding both gunslingers and their desire to hold down the starting gigs come spring 2007. Wright feels the spot is his when healthy again, while Freeman plans on making his case against Nevada on Sunday, his fourth start since Wright injured his throwing hand.
Personally, I’m a fan of all this stuff. Not so much guys talking the talk and not walking the walk, but more so the fact that we’ll enter spring football with something intriguing here.
I’m neither a Wright or Freeman guy. I prefer whoever will give the Canes the best chance to win and to date and I’m still waiting for someone to step up and do so. Wright has started 20+ games to Freeman’s three, so you can’t judge the two solely on their accolades. You have to base your opinion on the intangible and that’ll come out in the next few months.
Unlike former coach Larry Coker, it seems Randy Shannon is going to open this thing wide up and may the best man win. I like that. I’m not a fan of seniority. Save that for law enforcement and folks in the airline industry. I could care less if a kid has been on campus four years or four months – put the best players on the field.
Miami’s success – past and recent – has always come from the competition on the practice field. The best man winning out. The senior unable to get complacent because he knows a freshman is gunning for his job. It’s a healthy and sometimes heated process.
Wright did his fair share of talking in 2006, en route to a 5-4 record as a starter. I think he has more raw, natural talent than Freeman but the prototypical kid isn’t always the most successful one. Sometimes the guy who’s a gamer, a winner and a playmaker has the intangibles needed to lead a team. Freeman seems to have that “gamer” quality about him.
A full on quarterback controversy entering spring will truly separate the men from the boys once and for all. If Wright has the right stuff, he’ll elevate his game and the push from Freeman will make him a better all around player and teammate. But if he gets caught up in the process, talking the talk but not walking that walk, he’s done. Freeman will win out.
Things will be in full force by April, but entering this weekend it’s Freeman who will get his first crack at auditioning for the starting job. The MPC Computers Bowl isn’t a big time game, but Freeman gets four quarters to strut his stuff and leave a lasting impressing, for better or worse.
Another large factor here is the offensive coordinator hire. Who does Shannon go with? A pro style coach (Dirk Koetter) will gravitate towards a prototypical drop-back passer like Wright whereas a coach who prefers a spread offense (Kevin Rogers) will utilize Freeman’s abilities.
Miami’s season finally comes to an end on New Years Eve, but something tells me the fireworks will continue over the next few months.
.:Canes305:.
I wouldn’t even call it a QB controversy. I’d call it a QB competition. Wright has 20 games under his belt and does he really have a signature win yet, where HE took it upon himself to lead the team to a win? Not that I can think of. Freeman looked awful against BC in his third start. I think that could be chalked up to being only his third real game action. Like you, I don’t favor either one. I want a difference-maker and someone who can lead this team. I saw that Koetter was at practice in Boise this week, so maybe that is a good sign. I think Rnady should extend him the OC job if he wants it, as long as he’s not just using the offer as leverage for sonething else. We’ll see soon I guess.
What makes Freeman a “gamer”? Because he can run and not throw – I dont see any more of being a gamer in him than anyome else. Having said that – I do agree that competition is best for every position on the football field, I strongly believe however that if a good teacher is brought in that Wright will far outpace Freeman in spring practice.
I wouldn’t even call it a QB controversy. I’d call it a QB competition.
I see where you’re coming from, CC. I called it a “controversy” because I believe it’ll turn into that. Some feeling one guy deserved the job more than the other, etc. Plus, with the comments Wright always spews, it will get controversial.
The controversy will stem from the fact Wright lost the job due to injury, not the 5-4 record. Coker would’ve kept starting #3 if healthy. Had he benched him and played Freeman after the Georgia Tech loss, no controversy.
What makes Freeman a “gamer”? Because he can run and not throw?
No. I think Freeman has better instincts. Against Maryland, Miami has a first down and I watched Freeman hang on to that ball, scramble and find Greg Olsen for an 8 yard gain where Wright would’ve taken a sack for a six yard loss.
Freeman seems to find a play or an opportunity where right never did. Maybe “gamer” isn’t the best adjective, but he seems to have much better football instincts than Wright. Wright may have the laser, rocket arm — but that does you no good when laying on your back after taking a sack…
I, like you guys, have no favorite here. Wright has never done anything, ever, that even remotely impressed me. He does know how though, to take the hell out of a sack. He’s got that down. That falls on both the “O” line and his lack of speed when processing coverages.
Freeman showed some spark, I agree. He was also thrust into games in charge of a seemingly disinterested and non-coached offense, so it is kind of hard to judge his true ability.
If I was forced to pick between the two, I would be of the opinion to go ahead and see what Freeman can do. We know what we have with Wright already.
I am telling you, this kid Robert Marve from Tampa Plant, already looks more polished than both of them. I would love to see him with a U on the side of his hat for four years.
JMG
Tampa
I hope Freeman wins the job. He is a gamer and for example on the long pass that Ryan Moore dropped against the Terps, Wright would have taken a sack and fumbled the football, but Freeman escaped the pressure and then threw a rope that should have been caught by Moore.
Example 2:
Freeman throws an INT vs BC. Coker talks to him and Freeman responds by leading a TD drive in less than a minute. Wright would have told Coker it was the WRS fault, blamed his teamates and let adversity take over the team and things would have spiraled out of control. And oh, we would have missed a bowl game.
If Wright transfers to a 1AA school he can play next year and that is where he belongs.
Koetter is out of work partly because he had the guts to sit Sam Keller a senior QB who like Wright was overhyped but produced little on the field in big games. His instincts are to make the right decision, and while that did not work out with ASU, I think he’ll like Freeman’s gutsy play more than Wright’s inept play.