Wolverines gear for major QB shift
Let me reintroduce a guy named Brad Lewis.
Once a career backup at West Virginia, he was a good teammate and a hard worker. An overachiever. Lewis was West Virginia's first quarterback under Rich Rodriguez in 2001, the first in Morgantown to control the now wildly popular spread option offense.
Why do we care about Brad Lewis, you ask? Because he's Steven Threet, that's why. And Justin Feagin, Rodriguez's first quarterback recruit at Michigan, is Rasheed Marshall.
Stay with me, folks.
Lewis didn't fit Rodriguez's spread option offense in 2001, just as Threet — the leader of Michigan's quarterback competition this spring by default — doesn't now. Threet is a classic pocket quarterback who has no business running the multiple scheme, but he's all Michigan has. For now, anyway.
In 2001, Lewis held things together while Marshall (then a freshman) learned the system — and while Rodriguez learned to trust Marshall to take care of the ball and to manage a game. Marshall was the team's best quarterback by the end of 2001 and later had three productive seasons as the starter before some guy named Pat White arrived in the middle of the 2005 season to redefine the position.
No matter how Michigan's quarterback competition plays out this spring, the real question is how quickly Feagin picks up the offense in the fall and Threet hands over the keys. One more thing: West Virginia won three games in 2001. It's a process — so don't expect miracles in Year 1.
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