Topic: skinner...wolf, blade and greenday correct?

[2xBison]

that will be a first :shock:

anyway, looks that way now.

http://www.dailymail.com/news/MU+Sports/

but alot can change before the WM game.

[marshallmark]

:)

Skinner no longer an afterthought at QB

Chuck Landon
Daily Mail sportswriter

HUNTINGTON -- Nobody gave Jimmy Skinner a shot.
Not me. Not you. Not anybody who watches Marshall University football.

We all believed the next Thundering Herd quarterback either would be ultra-athletic sophomore Bernard Morris or junior college transfer Derek Devine.

Skinner was hardly more than an afterthought.

His arm never seemed strong enough. His composure never seemed secure enough. His lanky 6-foot-3, 190-pound frame never seemed sturdy enough. His confidence never seemed staunch enough.

Skinner simply never seemed good enough.

Until this spring, that is.

When Marshall's spring practice began, it was as if a new and very improved No. 16 was taking the field. I never have seen Skinner throw the ball so well or play with such confidence or display such composure.

Suddenly, this afterthought of a quarterback is acting like a starting QB.

That's why he will be the starter at 6 p.m. Saturday when Marshall holds its annual spring practice at Oakes Field in South Charleston. Oh, sure, Morris and Devine will get their share of playing time, but the starting quarterback will be Skinner.

"Jimmy really has a grasp of what we're doing right now," said Marshall interim coach Larry Kueck, who also serves as quarterback coach and offensive coordinator. "He's calm out there. It's the most calm I've ever seen him. He's playing with composure and he's playing with confidence.

"The confidence comes from he knows what we're going to do."

It also comes from Skinner realizing both his strengths and weaknesses.

"He knows what he can do and he knows what he can't do," said Kueck. "And he does a real good job with it. He knows exactly what he can do. He knows what we're trying to do on different plays.

"He knows when to get rid of the football. He knows how to not take the sack. Those are just maturation things for the quarterback."

Those qualities certainly showed in Marshall's first spring scrimmage last Saturday. Skinner completed his first five passes and finished 8 of 11 for 68 yards. His incompletions included a perfectly thrown 35-yard strike that Shawn Lauzon didn't catch in the end zone.

Yet, as improved as his throwing is, that isn't where Skinner believes he has made the most progress this spring.

"Mentally, I think I've gotten a whole lot better," he said. "I spent all winter up in the film room just watching play after play. I was just trying to learn from last season and even the season before that.

"I've gotten stronger, too. But I think my greatest improvement overall is probably the mental aspect of the game."

Which explains why his poise, composure and confidence have grown by leaps and spirals.

"You have to play with confidence -- especially at quarterback," said Skinner. "You've got to let the offensive line and receivers know that you are confident and you're ready to go. Hopefully, in return, you get their confidence up.

"A confident offense can be dangerous."

So can a confident Skinner.

"Jimmy has really been progressing - from the first year to the second year to the third year," Kueck said. "He's a bright kid and he's a real studious kid. Usually, those guys end up becoming really good quarterbacks for you."

They just need time.

And a shot.

[Max]

To be perfectly honest, this QB battle, and the attention it is getting, is masking a major problem that I'm afraid is going to come back and bite us early in the season:  the offensive line.  I realize it is much more enjoyable to debate the strengths and weaknesses of each QB candidate, but if our line doesn't make the necessary strides it needs to make before the start of the season it won't matter who is behind center because we will be in the same situation we were in vs. Troy.

[W0lfman]

"I spent all winter up in the film room just watching play after play. I was just trying to learn from last season and even the season before that.

There wasnt any doubt he would do that.  I felt all along that this kid was the type of kid that nothing more mattered to him than being the QB at Marshall.  

"You have to play with confidence -- especially at quarterback," said Skinner. "You've got to let the offensive line and receivers know that you are confident and you're ready to go. Hopefully, in return, you get their confidence up.

Having confidence in yourself and performing well goes hand-in-hand with gaing respect from your teammates.  And there is no question he has respect from his teammates.

"Jimmy has really been progressing - from the first year to the second year to the third year," Kueck said. "He's a bright kid and he's a real studious kid. Usually, those guys end up becoming really good quarterbacks for you."

I witnessed this as well from his RS year to his 1st year and from his 1st to his 2nd and so on.   When you have a good work ethic, grasp of the offense and talent there really isnt any reason he shouldnt succeed in our offense.  

They just need time.

And a shot.

He wont be a Leftwich but I think he could very easily grow to be as solid of a QB as Pennington was.