Freshman Fifteen, Part Three: Top New QBs in College Football

February 27th, 2009 by Jason Roberts

Fantasy College Blitz continues its coverage of the best the Class of 2009 has to offer in Part Three of our series, “Freshman Fifteen” . . .

Moses Alipate, University of Minnesota (Source: Jason Roberts, Osceola's Garnet Sports Media / Fantasy College Blitz)

Moses Alipate, QB, University of Minnesota

Ranked the #2 high school player in the state of Minnesota by Rivals.com, Alipate is described by GopherSports.com, official website for the University of Minnesota athletics, as an “impressive athlete, yet very polished in the pocket.” He has surprisingly good feet considering he is more a traditional passer that a dual-threat-type under center, and has an excellent arm which allows him to stretch the field without losing velocity or accuracy on his throws. Rivals ranked Alipate the #19 “pro-style” quarterback in the nation, while the 6’5”, 230 pound youngster that played both football and basketball at Jefferson High School in Bloomington, Minnesota landed a three-star rating each from Rivals and Scout.com. He threw for 1422 yards and 14 touchdowns / 10 interceptions as a senior in 2008, completing 51.3 percent of his passes, while adding to his overall numbers 81 rushing attempts for 201 yards and an additional six scores. His performance in his last season at Jefferson netted him All-State honors from the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the Associated Press, and the Minnesota Football Coaches Association. Alipate also was named to the 2009 Under Armour High School All-American Game in Orlando, Florida, where he went two-for-seven passing for 33 yards in limited playing time.

Josh Nunes, QB, Stanford Cardinals

Ask Nunes’ head coach at Upland High School (California), Tim Salter, his opinion of what makes his quarterback so good, and he’ll respond, as did in an interview with ESPN.com, “I have never coached a player that is as mentally prepared as Josh is. Obviously he has the physical makeup to do the job but he understands defenses, reads coverages and is in the film room constantly. He has worked to make himself the player he is.” That’s a pretty glowing set of compliments considering that Nunes has only been playing football since his freshman year in high school. Yet, don’t let the fact that this young man is fairly new to the game raise questions about his commitment level; Nunes, after all, gave up baseball to concentrate solely on improving his skills as a quarterback both on the field and in private camps. In doing so, the 6’4”, 211 pound youngster quickly elevated his status as a four-star recruit and came to be considered by most scouts as one of the twenty-best pocket passers in the nation. He has an incredibly strong arm and can make throws all over the field, including on deep-out routes and posts. Nunes also, say evaluators, possesses solid footwork and can scramble when required to, throwing on the run with little challenge. Originally committed to the University of Tennessee in June of last year, Nunes changed his mind after he discovered he had netted a 1980 on his SAT and 29 on his ACT, this while maintaining a core GPA of 4.6. A subsequent offer came in from Stanford, the articles notes — a school Nunes tells Scout.com “was always a dream school of mine” and somewhere he “always wanted to play” — and provided the young passer an opportunity in which deciding to switch schools “really wasn’t that difficult.” “Once I got that offer from Stanford I knew that’s where I was going to go,” he states. Intending to enroll early and begin taking class in June, Nunes seems very positive about his chances to be part of something big at Stanford, commenting “I’ve been in contact with [the Stanford coaching staff] and we really have a great class coming in. We’ve already bonded really well. I think we’ve got a lot of talent and even coach Jim Harbaugh said he’s really excited about our future.” Given the level of Nunes talent, we aren’t surprised.

Jordan Reed, QB, University of Florida

Though viewed as a bit raw mechanically by some recruiters, Reed has the ability to make things happen with both his arm and his feet. ESPN.com describes the 6’3”, 230 pound thrower as “a cross between Jamarcus Russell and Ryan Perriloux” – someone who can contain himself in the pocket long enough to make the big throw, yet is mobile enough to get out of tight spots whenever the need arises. He’s incredibly strong and difficult to bring down, with a tremendous amount of upper and lower body strength (bench press – 255, squat – 475). Given a solid frame and ability to think and react quickly, Reed seems the perfect fit for the spread-option offense at Florida. As a junior, Reed passed for 1,720 yards and 28 touchdowns (only two interceptions), while adding a total of 570 yards and eight touchdowns on 73 rushing attempts. He had problems with injuries as a senior, with an ankle hurt in late October sidelining Reed for the following month. Regardless, the youngster from New London High School in Connecticut still looks, as ESPN.com calls him, a “man among boys” and should be just the type of replacement for Tim Tebow that head coach of the Florida Gators, Urban Meyer, will be looking for once Tebow departs the team after next season. This seems particularly the case given that Cameron Newton was kicked off the squad in November and is now reported to be attending community college in Texas.

Tate Forcier, QB, University of Michigan

ESPN’s Tom Lubingill calls Forcier an “undersized, scrappy dual-threat” that is a magnificent manager of the spread offense, as well as someone who in the right scheme “can be really effective” at the collegiate level. The 6’1”, 183 pound passer comes from a family full of talented football players and should carry on a strong tradition at quarterback; Forcier’s brother, Jason, originally signed to play with the University of Michigan, as did Tate, but transferred to Stanford after serving as a reserve quarterback in 2005 and 2006, while a second brother, Chris, is a redshirt-freshman at the same position for UCLA. That all three have landed gigs with Division I schools should go a long way in suggesting the athletic talent that Tate should bring to Rich Rodriguez and the Wolverines starting in 2009. A three-year starter at Scripps Ranch High School in San Diego, Tate, says head coach Sergio Diaz, provided the ability for the team to develop a system on offense that “kind of evolved around him . . .” As a junior, the youngster ran for more than 700 yards, while passing for nearly 2,400 yards; in regard to the latter, he completed a remarkable 77 percent of his passes, while racking up a total of 21 touchdowns. Due to such impressive numbers, Tate was named, writes the website MLive.com, the most accurate passer in the Class of 2009 by Rivals.com, as well as its sixth-best dual-threat quarterback. Diaz goes on to tell MLive.com, “[Tate is] one of the best I’ve seen in high school. There are quarterbacks who can pass, and those who can run. He’s great at both. He’s got incredible strength in his arm, incredible accuracy in his arm and he can throw on the run. And when runs, he’s a playmaker. He can make people miss.” Having graduated in time to arrive on campus for the spring semester, Forcier is already making waves in Ann Arbor, with the Detroit Free Press declaring that, “Last fall, as U-M stumbled to one of its worst seasons ever, Michigan fans wondered what Rodriguez’s offense would look like with a quarterback who fit the system.” The articles concluding statement? Thanks to Tate, “[t]hey are about to find out.” That there exists a great deal in that statement emerges from the fact that both Kevin Newsome and Shavodrick Beaver decommitted at the last second from Michigan and ended up elsewhere, leaving just Foricer and Denard Robinson as the quarterbacks from which Rodriguez will presumably choose to led the Wolverines come the start of next season. Robinson is definitely expected to give Tate a true run for his money when it comes to starting at quarterback, yet, as it stands now, all signs currently point to the latter being the one chosen to carry Michigan to the next level beginning in fall of 2009.

Morgan Newton, QB, University of Kentucky

Considering the troubles at quarterback the University of Kentucky saw last season, landing a prized recruit like Newton is a true answer to the prayers of UK fans and coaching staff alike; says ESPN.com analyst Craig Haubert of the quarterback’s signing, Kentucky “went a long way towards solidifying that position for the next few years” in getting the 6’4”, 215 pound youngster from Carmel, Indiana to sign on board with the Wildcats. The #16-rated player at his position in the country, Newton, it was noted throughout the recruiting process, rarely ever doubted that he would end up playing for an SEC school, this even though he included schools like Clemson, Purdue, and Indiana in his list of selection finalists. What sealed the deal for Kentucky, however, was how greatly enamored he became with both quarterbacks coach Randy Sanders and offensive coordinator for the Wildcats, Joker Phillips. A traditional pocket-passer type that admits finding more comfort throwing the ball than running with it, Newton, say scouts, is phenomenal at getting the ball to his receivers in order to make a play; ESPN writes, for instance, that the youngster can “make every throw, and shows outstanding zip,” particularly on deep passes. Still, don’t think that the passing game is the full extent to which Newton’s overall talents are applied. The Parade All-American and state of Indiana’s Mr. Football for 2008 also retains, evaluators claim, deceptive speed when on the run, as well as the physical size to make for a difficult tackle when tucking away the ball and taking off downfield. To prove this point, one only need look at Newton’s senior campaign in 2008; here, Newton passed for 1,938 yards and 22 touchdowns, and added to those numbers an outstanding 1,664 yards and 26 touchdowns rushing. Such numbers reinforce just how much of an all-around solid athlete this youngster is, and why so many believe he’ll have an outstanding future during the span of his career at the University of Kentucky. Newton is sure to see stiff competition from fellow UK quarterback recruit from Frisco, Texas’ Ryan Mossakowski, but, as summed up by Haubert, has the natural ability and talent to develop into a magnificent player under center certain to “remind Wildcat fans of departed quarterback Andre Woodson.”

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