QB Update

[Mr Lisle]

Let's look back at Rovig's first start. He faced then #5 South Dakota State, their opening game at home in front of nearly 16,000 Jackrabbits. Compare him with the other FCS quarterbacks on SDSU's regular season schedule.
The final number is rushing yards.

Opponent/score/completion-attempts-yards/yards per reception/TD-Interceptions...rushing yds

Montana State 45-14/13-25-164/13/1-2.....22
No Dakota State 17-21/9-20-182/20/2-1....182
Indiana State 54-51/19-29-276/15/2-0....293
Northern Iowa 9-24/13-22-172/19/1-0.....154
Youngstown St 36-7/14-27-208/15/1-2....136
Illinois State 38-28/19-29-364/19/1-4.....96
Missouri State 59-7/18-39-153/9/1-4....30
Southern Illinois 57-38/17-36-188/11/1-1....353
U North Dakota 49-27/34-58-295/11/1-2...150

Can't see Rovig as the problem. If SDSU stacked the box to bring the big heat on a new redshirt freshman quarterback, consider they had zero sacks that day. Given the Cats failure on the ground, perhaps they should have thrown more.

[technoCat]

I hate to keep harping on this but the numbers for SDSU will forever have a big ol' * next to them for me. I know dropped passes happen but their impact on this game was beyond the norm. We would probably have thrown more if we had gotten a couple first downs early on passes that hit open receivers in the hands.

[utucats]

I really have no idea why. But, Im excited to watch Rovig develop. I am trying to mentally prepare now that there will most likely be some growing pains. But, Im optimistic that the future is bright with him.

He doesn’t need to be an explosive, big play QB. He doesn’t need to thread the needle and throw bullets. He needs to be able to make the plays that are there. Hit wide open receivers, avoid sacks and manage the game. I think he can do that. We need another QB that can do the same.

There will be growing pains. He’s going to try to throw into heavy coverage, hold the ball too long and miss open receivers. How he responds to those growing pains is the key. He can’t get rattled and put too much on himself. If he can do that, he’s gonna be fine.

IMO, he’s going to have to do a little more than simply manage the game. In the past three seasons we’ve had a QB who could break one with his legs at any given moment and we won’t have that with Rovig at the helm. The complaint has been that we haven’t had an adequate passing game but a lot of opportunities that we did have generated because defenses were so keyed on stopping Murray and TA from breaking those long runs. That pass that Murray threw to seal the win against the Griz was completely because the defense was 100% dialed into to stopping him from running.

Ifanse is going to make defenses pay for sitting back in coverage but Rovig is going to have to throw the football with a lot more accuracy than would be required from a Murray or TA. His arm is really his only weapon so it is going to have to be serviceable. How many 3rd and long situations did TA and Murray convert with their legs the last few seasons? A lot. Rovig can’t do that so he’ll find himself in obvious passing situations and our only chance to convert will be him throwing a nice ball into a secondary that is expecting it.

[Cataholic]

Let's look back at Rovig's first start. He faced then #5 South Dakota State, their opening game at home in front of nearly 16,000 Jackrabbits. Compare him with the other FCS quarterbacks on SDSU's regular season schedule.
The final number is rushing yards.

Opponent/score/completion-attempts-yards/yards per reception/TD-Interceptions...rushing yds

Montana State 45-14/13-25-164/13/1-2.....22
No Dakota State 17-21/9-20-182/20/2-1....182
Indiana State 54-51/19-29-276/15/2-0....293
Northern Iowa 9-24/13-22-172/19/1-0.....154
Youngstown St 36-7/14-27-208/15/1-2....136
Illinois State 38-28/19-29-364/19/1-4.....96
Missouri State 59-7/18-39-153/9/1-4....30
Southern Illinois 57-38/17-36-188/11/1-1....353
U North Dakota 49-27/34-58-295/11/1-2...150

Can't see Rovig as the problem. If SDSU stacked the box to bring the big heat on a new redshirt freshman quarterback, consider they had zero sacks that day. Given the Cats failure on the ground, perhaps they should have thrown more.

Thank you for that info! The comparison to other teams does show Rovig’s performance was close to the norm against SDSU. And Technocat brings a valid point that we had a lot of drops that game. We were also still figuring out things at running back with Logan Jones and TA injured and Ifanse still unproven. With another year of maturity, growth and development for this upcoming season, Rovig should be ready to go. I am not expecting to see the second coming of Lully or McGhee, but Rovig is a capable starter.

[codecat]

I hate to keep harping on this but the numbers for SDSU will forever have a big ol' * next to them for me. I know dropped passes happen but their impact on this game was beyond the norm. We would probably have thrown more if we had gotten a couple first downs early on passes that hit open receivers in the hands.

Am not sure about beyond the norm, but i see this much the same way that you do. There are at least 5-6 passes earlier in the game that were dropped that did two things imo: 1) They didn't do anything for Rovig's confidence an give the team some momentum, and 2) They told SDSU that we were really one dimensional and couln't do anything about it. I probably like stats as well as anyone but in order for them to tell the whole story, they need to be kept for dropped passes as well.

[CelticCat]

I really have no idea why. But, Im excited to watch Rovig develop. I am trying to mentally prepare now that there will most likely be some growing pains. But, Im optimistic that the future is bright with him.

He doesn’t need to be an explosive, big play QB. He doesn’t need to thread the needle and throw bullets. He needs to be able to make the plays that are there. Hit wide open receivers, avoid sacks and manage the game. I think he can do that. We need another QB that can do the same.

There will be growing pains. He’s going to try to throw into heavy coverage, hold the ball too long and miss open receivers. How he responds to those growing pains is the key. He can’t get rattled and put too much on himself. If he can do that, he’s gonna be fine.

IMO, he’s going to have to do a little more than simply manage the game. In the past three seasons we’ve had a QB who could break one with his legs at any given moment and we won’t have that with Rovig at the helm. The complaint has been that we haven’t had an adequate passing game but a lot of opportunities that we did have generated because defenses were so keyed on stopping Murray and TA from breaking those long runs. That pass that Murray threw to seal the win against the Griz was completely because the defense was 100% dialed into to stopping him from running.

Ifanse is going to make defenses pay for sitting back in coverage but Rovig is going to have to throw the football with a lot more accuracy than would be required from a Murray or TA. His arm is really his only weapon so it is going to have to be serviceable. How many 3rd and long situations did TA and Murray convert with their legs the last few seasons? A lot. Rovig can’t do that so he’ll find himself in obvious passing situations and our only chance to convert will be him throwing a nice ball into a secondary that is expecting it.

True, but MSU was 2nd to last in the conference in 3rd down conversion % last year so there is a ton of room for improvement here.

[bobcat99]

I really have no idea why. But, Im excited to watch Rovig develop. I am trying to mentally prepare now that there will most likely be some growing pains. But, Im optimistic that the future is bright with him.

He doesn’t need to be an explosive, big play QB. He doesn’t need to thread the needle and throw bullets. He needs to be able to make the plays that are there. Hit wide open receivers, avoid sacks and manage the game. I think he can do that. We need another QB that can do the same.

There will be growing pains. He’s going to try to throw into heavy coverage, hold the ball too long and miss open receivers. How he responds to those growing pains is the key. He can’t get rattled and put too much on himself. If he can do that, he’s gonna be fine.

This is spot on.

[91catAlum]

I really have no idea why. But, Im excited to watch Rovig develop. I am trying to mentally prepare now that there will most likely be some growing pains. But, Im optimistic that the future is bright with him.

He doesn’t need to be an explosive, big play QB. He doesn’t need to thread the needle and throw bullets. He needs to be able to make the plays that are there. Hit wide open receivers, avoid sacks and manage the game. I think he can do that. We need another QB that can do the same.

There will be growing pains. He’s going to try to throw into heavy coverage, hold the ball too long and miss open receivers. How he responds to those growing pains is the key. He can’t get rattled and put too much on himself. If he can do that, he’s gonna be fine.

IMO, he’s going to have to do a little more than simply manage the game. In the past three seasons we’ve had a QB who could break one with his legs at any given moment and we won’t have that with Rovig at the helm. The complaint has been that we haven’t had an adequate passing game but a lot of opportunities that we did have generated because defenses were so keyed on stopping Murray and TA from breaking those long runs. That pass that Murray threw to seal the win against the Griz was completely because the defense was 100% dialed into to stopping him from running.

Ifanse is going to make defenses pay for sitting back in coverage but Rovig is going to have to throw the football with a lot more accuracy than would be required from a Murray or TA. His arm is really his only weapon so it is going to have to be serviceable. How many 3rd and long situations did TA and Murray convert with their legs the last few seasons? A lot. Rovig can’t do that so he’ll find himself in obvious passing situations and our only chance to convert will be him throwing a nice ball into a secondary that is expecting it.

Rovig is much more athletic than you're giving him credit for. Does he run like TA or Murray? No he doesn't, nobody in the league does. But he's not a statue back there. He can run with the ball a bit and he will convert some 3rd and mediums with his legs.

[utucats]

I really have no idea why. But, Im excited to watch Rovig develop. I am trying to mentally prepare now that there will most likely be some growing pains. But, Im optimistic that the future is bright with him.

He doesn’t need to be an explosive, big play QB. He doesn’t need to thread the needle and throw bullets. He needs to be able to make the plays that are there. Hit wide open receivers, avoid sacks and manage the game. I think he can do that. We need another QB that can do the same.

There will be growing pains. He’s going to try to throw into heavy coverage, hold the ball too long and miss open receivers. How he responds to those growing pains is the key. He can’t get rattled and put too much on himself. If he can do that, he’s gonna be fine.

IMO, he’s going to have to do a little more than simply manage the game. In the past three seasons we’ve had a QB who could break one with his legs at any given moment and we won’t have that with Rovig at the helm. The complaint has been that we haven’t had an adequate passing game but a lot of opportunities that we did have generated because defenses were so keyed on stopping Murray and TA from breaking those long runs. That pass that Murray threw to seal the win against the Griz was completely because the defense was 100% dialed into to stopping him from running.

Ifanse is going to make defenses pay for sitting back in coverage but Rovig is going to have to throw the football with a lot more accuracy than would be required from a Murray or TA. His arm is really his only weapon so it is going to have to be serviceable. How many 3rd and long situations did TA and Murray convert with their legs the last few seasons? A lot. Rovig can’t do that so he’ll find himself in obvious passing situations and our only chance to convert will be him throwing a nice ball into a secondary that is expecting it.

True, but MSU was 2nd to last in the conference in 3rd down conversion % last year so there is a ton of room for improvement here.

Makes sense since we were so one dimensional but that is still going to be the case with Rovig.

I’m just pushing back on the idea that all he has to do is throw the ball to wide open receivers. Without the TA or Murray threat do we really think our receivers will be as open as some got last season?

I hope we develop a passing game this year for sure but you don’t just move an athlete like TA and not see some negative impact as well. Our offense is losing a weapon and to pretend that the guy replacing him isn’t going to have to make up for that production with his skill set is wrong IMO.

[utucats]

I really have no idea why. But, Im excited to watch Rovig develop. I am trying to mentally prepare now that there will most likely be some growing pains. But, Im optimistic that the future is bright with him.

He doesn’t need to be an explosive, big play QB. He doesn’t need to thread the needle and throw bullets. He needs to be able to make the plays that are there. Hit wide open receivers, avoid sacks and manage the game. I think he can do that. We need another QB that can do the same.

There will be growing pains. He’s going to try to throw into heavy coverage, hold the ball too long and miss open receivers. How he responds to those growing pains is the key. He can’t get rattled and put too much on himself. If he can do that, he’s gonna be fine.

IMO, he’s going to have to do a little more than simply manage the game. In the past three seasons we’ve had a QB who could break one with his legs at any given moment and we won’t have that with Rovig at the helm. The complaint has been that we haven’t had an adequate passing game but a lot of opportunities that we did have generated because defenses were so keyed on stopping Murray and TA from breaking those long runs. That pass that Murray threw to seal the win against the Griz was completely because the defense was 100% dialed into to stopping him from running.

Ifanse is going to make defenses pay for sitting back in coverage but Rovig is going to have to throw the football with a lot more accuracy than would be required from a Murray or TA. His arm is really his only weapon so it is going to have to be serviceable. How many 3rd and long situations did TA and Murray convert with their legs the last few seasons? A lot. Rovig can’t do that so he’ll find himself in obvious passing situations and our only chance to convert will be him throwing a nice ball into a secondary that is expecting it.

Rovig is much more athletic than you're giving him credit for. Does he run like TA or Murray? No he doesn't, nobody in the league does. But he's not a statue back there. He can run with the ball a bit and he will convert some 3rd and mediums with his legs.

The defense does not have to account for the threat of Rovig running the ball when they gameplan. If Rovig runs the ball 10 times any defensive coordinator in the Big Sky is going to be happy as hell with his secondary.

Rovig’s success will come down to him being able to complete passes downfield. The entire argument for him replacing TA is that we will develop a passing game but now the opinion is becoming that he doesn’t really need to be able to pass all that well??? He does or we might as well just ride with TA.

[TomCat88]

I really have no idea why. But, Im excited to watch Rovig develop. I am trying to mentally prepare now that there will most likely be some growing pains. But, Im optimistic that the future is bright with him.

He doesn’t need to be an explosive, big play QB. He doesn’t need to thread the needle and throw bullets. He needs to be able to make the plays that are there. Hit wide open receivers, avoid sacks and manage the game. I think he can do that. We need another QB that can do the same.

There will be growing pains. He’s going to try to throw into heavy coverage, hold the ball too long and miss open receivers. How he responds to those growing pains is the key. He can’t get rattled and put too much on himself. If he can do that, he’s gonna be fine.

IMO, he’s going to have to do a little more than simply manage the game. In the past three seasons we’ve had a QB who could break one with his legs at any given moment and we won’t have that with Rovig at the helm. The complaint has been that we haven’t had an adequate passing game but a lot of opportunities that we did have generated because defenses were so keyed on stopping Murray and TA from breaking those long runs. That pass that Murray threw to seal the win against the Griz was completely because the defense was 100% dialed into to stopping him from running.

Ifanse is going to make defenses pay for sitting back in coverage but Rovig is going to have to throw the football with a lot more accuracy than would be required from a Murray or TA. His arm is really his only weapon so it is going to have to be serviceable. How many 3rd and long situations did TA and Murray convert with their legs the last few seasons? A lot. Rovig can’t do that so he’ll find himself in obvious passing situations and our only chance to convert will be him throwing a nice ball into a secondary that is expecting it.

Rovig is much more athletic than you're giving him credit for. Does he run like TA or Murray? No he doesn't, nobody in the league does. But he's not a statue back there. He can run with the ball a bit and he will convert some 3rd and mediums with his legs.

The defense does not have to account for the threat of Rovig running the ball when they gameplan. If Rovig runs the ball 10 times any defensive coordinator in the Big Sky is going to be happy as hell with his secondary.

Rovig’s success will come down to him being able to complete passes downfield. The entire argument for him replacing TA is that we will develop a passing game but now the opinion is becoming that he doesn’t really need to be able to pass all that well??? He does or we might as well just ride with TA.

If MSU can’t establish a running game with its OL and Ifanse, Jones, Andersen, Sumner and Perry, then there’s a huge problem. I’m thinking they’ll be able to do that just fine and from there it’s up to Rovig et al to be able to exploit (somewhat at least) teams overplaying the run.

[95bcfb]

The success of an offence almost always comes down to how good a QB you have. I can think of very few - if any exceptions to that. You may have a good QB but a bad offence but I can't think of many examples of teams that made a deep run into the playoffs without a good QB. I am not sure what people are shooting for next year but I would like to see a deep run and if we are going to do that we are going to have to have more than just a serviceable QB. With that said I think that TR can be more than serviceable. I know his stats weren't that great for the SD game but when I watched that game I saw a young kid in his first start who held in there and got progressively better as the game went on. The following game may not have been against top level competition but I don't see many other QB's doing better. I think that he will be just fine and I expect to see good things from him.

[TomCat88]

The success of an offence almost always comes down to how good a QB you have. I can think of very few - if any exceptions to that. You may have a good QB but a bad offence but I can't think of many examples of teams that made a deep run into the playoffs without a good QB. I am not sure what people are shooting for next year but I would like to see a deep run and if we are going to do that we are going to have to have more than just a serviceable QB. With that said I think that TR can be more than serviceable. I know his stats weren't that great for the SD game but when I watched that game I saw a young kid in his first start who held in there and got progressively better as the game went on. The following game may not have been against top level competition but I don't see many other QB's doing better. I think that he will be just fine and I expect to see good things from him.

I haven’t seen anyone say MSU is looking for a serviceable quarterback. Where are you getting that?

[utucats]

I really have no idea why. But, Im excited to watch Rovig develop. I am trying to mentally prepare now that there will most likely be some growing pains. But, Im optimistic that the future is bright with him.

He doesn’t need to be an explosive, big play QB. He doesn’t need to thread the needle and throw bullets. He needs to be able to make the plays that are there. Hit wide open receivers, avoid sacks and manage the game. I think he can do that. We need another QB that can do the same.

There will be growing pains. He’s going to try to throw into heavy coverage, hold the ball too long and miss open receivers. How he responds to those growing pains is the key. He can’t get rattled and put too much on himself. If he can do that, he’s gonna be fine.

IMO, he’s going to have to do a little more than simply manage the game. In the past three seasons we’ve had a QB who could break one with his legs at any given moment and we won’t have that with Rovig at the helm. The complaint has been that we haven’t had an adequate passing game but a lot of opportunities that we did have generated because defenses were so keyed on stopping Murray and TA from breaking those long runs. That pass that Murray threw to seal the win against the Griz was completely because the defense was 100% dialed into to stopping him from running.

Ifanse is going to make defenses pay for sitting back in coverage but Rovig is going to have to throw the football with a lot more accuracy than would be required from a Murray or TA. His arm is really his only weapon so it is going to have to be serviceable. How many 3rd and long situations did TA and Murray convert with their legs the last few seasons? A lot. Rovig can’t do that so he’ll find himself in obvious passing situations and our only chance to convert will be him throwing a nice ball into a secondary that is expecting it.

Rovig is much more athletic than you're giving him credit for. Does he run like TA or Murray? No he doesn't, nobody in the league does. But he's not a statue back there. He can run with the ball a bit and he will convert some 3rd and mediums with his legs.

The defense does not have to account for the threat of Rovig running the ball when they gameplan. If Rovig runs the ball 10 times any defensive coordinator in the Big Sky is going to be happy as hell with his secondary.

Rovig’s success will come down to him being able to complete passes downfield. The entire argument for him replacing TA is that we will develop a passing game but now the opinion is becoming that he doesn’t really need to be able to pass all that well??? He does or we might as well just ride with TA.

If MSU can’t establish a running game with its OL and Ifanse, Jones, Andersen, Sumner and Perry, then there’s a huge problem. I’m thinking they’ll be able to do that just fine and from there it’s up to Rovig et al to be able to exploit (somewhat at least) teams overplaying the run.

Completely agree Tom. We should have a great run game with our line and RBs but in those passing situations we had a QB who had to be accounted for due to his explosive run capability. Rovig doesn’t have that so he’ll need to be able to do something with his arm. I think he can and any questions I had can be chalked up to inexperience and if he develops into a decent QB we’ll be tough for anyone to deal with. I also know we have some time until Game 1 so maybe someone else emerges as the starter. Either way, we can’t go far without some sort of production from the QB and, even if it wasn’t done in the classic manner, TA provides a lot of production.

If we are going to upgrade from last year we will need a QB who can zip a ball into a receiver that has a step on a DB. I haven’t necessarily seen that from Rovig but he hasn’t got to show a lot either so I’m optimistic.

[The MICKSTER]

I really have no idea why. But, Im excited to watch Rovig develop. I am trying to mentally prepare now that there will most likely be some growing pains. But, Im optimistic that the future is bright with him.

He doesn’t need to be an explosive, big play QB. He doesn’t need to thread the needle and throw bullets. He needs to be able to make the plays that are there. Hit wide open receivers, avoid sacks and manage the game. I think he can do that. We need another QB that can do the same.

There will be growing pains. He’s going to try to throw into heavy coverage, hold the ball too long and miss open receivers. How he responds to those growing pains is the key. He can’t get rattled and put too much on himself. If he can do that, he’s gonna be fine.

IMO, he’s going to have to do a little more than simply manage the game. In the past three seasons we’ve had a QB who could break one with his legs at any given moment and we won’t have that with Rovig at the helm. The complaint has been that we haven’t had an adequate passing game but a lot of opportunities that we did have generated because defenses were so keyed on stopping Murray and TA from breaking those long runs. That pass that Murray threw to seal the win against the Griz was completely because the defense was 100% dialed into to stopping him from running.

Ifanse is going to make defenses pay for sitting back in coverage but Rovig is going to have to throw the football with a lot more accuracy than would be required from a Murray or TA. His arm is really his only weapon so it is going to have to be serviceable. How many 3rd and long situations did TA and Murray convert with their legs the last few seasons? A lot. Rovig can’t do that so he’ll find himself in obvious passing situations and our only chance to convert will be him throwing a nice ball into a secondary that is expecting it.

Rovig is much more athletic than you're giving him credit for. Does he run like TA or Murray? No he doesn't, nobody in the league does. But he's not a statue back there. He can run with the ball a bit and he will convert some 3rd and mediums with his legs.

The defense does not have to account for the threat of Rovig running the ball when they gameplan. If Rovig runs the ball 10 times any defensive coordinator in the Big Sky is going to be happy as hell with his secondary.

Rovig’s success will come down to him being able to complete passes downfield. The entire argument for him replacing TA is that we will develop a passing game but now the opinion is becoming that he doesn’t really need to be able to pass all that well??? He does or we might as well just ride with TA.

If MSU can’t establish a running game with its OL and Ifanse, Jones, Andersen, Sumner and Perry, then there’s a huge problem. I’m thinking they’ll be able to do that just fine and from there it’s up to Rovig et al to be able to exploit (somewhat at least) teams overplaying the run.

Completely agree Tom. We should have a great run game with our line and RBs but in those passing situations we had a QB who had to be accounted for due to his explosive run capability. Rovig doesn’t have that so he’ll need to be able to do something with his arm. I think he can and any questions I had can be chalked up to inexperience and if he develops into a decent QB we’ll be tough for anyone to deal with. I also know we have some time until Game 1 so maybe someone else emerges as the starter. Either way, we can’t go far without some sort of production from the QB and, even if it wasn’t done in the classic manner, TA provides a lot of production.

If we are going to upgrade from last year we will need a QB who can zip a ball into a receiver that has a step on a DB. I haven’t necessarily seen that from Rovig but he hasn’t got to show a lot either so I’m optimistic.

Last year the coaching staff determined that Rovig would start at QB even though TA was healthy. Then Rovig had a season ending injury in practice and the starting job went back to TA. Now that Rovig is healthy it appears to be back to Rovig, but as you mentioned maybe someone else emerges.

So the way I see it last year our staff felt that our team would be better with Rovig at the helm rather than TA. This year they know what kind of QB production they will get from TA, and they know more now than they did then about Rovig’s abilities. So with the knowledge our coaches have we will either have Rovig at QB or someone (Bauman, Beltran or transfer) who beats out Rovig at QB as our signal caller. So you can look at it as…...we have a unanimous BSC QB that we’re essentially benching for someone else……that’s a pretty good spot to be in. The fact that TA will/could get some plays at QB (just enough to make teams prepare for it) will keep defenses on their toes.

@Texas Tech, SEMO, @WIU is what I would call 'a character building experience' right out of the gate, followed by Norfolk State at home before we start conference play. I don’t know what I’m more excited about…..to see who our QB is, to watch TA play LB, or for the season to just get here. GO CATS!

[Hawks86]

The big thing holding Rovig back last year,other than his horrible spring and poor QB coach advice, was leadership. From all reports this spring he has made great gains in that department.

[Long Time Cat]

I really have no idea why. But, Im excited to watch Rovig develop. I am trying to mentally prepare now that there will most likely be some growing pains. But, Im optimistic that the future is bright with him.

He doesn’t need to be an explosive, big play QB. He doesn’t need to thread the needle and throw bullets. He needs to be able to make the plays that are there. Hit wide open receivers, avoid sacks and manage the game. I think he can do that. We need another QB that can do the same.

There will be growing pains. He’s going to try to throw into heavy coverage, hold the ball too long and miss open receivers. How he responds to those growing pains is the key. He can’t get rattled and put too much on himself. If he can do that, he’s gonna be fine.

IMO, he’s going to have to do a little more than simply manage the game. In the past three seasons we’ve had a QB who could break one with his legs at any given moment and we won’t have that with Rovig at the helm. The complaint has been that we haven’t had an adequate passing game but a lot of opportunities that we did have generated because defenses were so keyed on stopping Murray and TA from breaking those long runs. That pass that Murray threw to seal the win against the Griz was completely because the defense was 100% dialed into to stopping him from running.

Ifanse is going to make defenses pay for sitting back in coverage but Rovig is going to have to throw the football with a lot more accuracy than would be required from a Murray or TA. His arm is really his only weapon so it is going to have to be serviceable. How many 3rd and long situations did TA and Murray convert with their legs the last few seasons? A lot. Rovig can’t do that so he’ll find himself in obvious passing situations and our only chance to convert will be him throwing a nice ball into a secondary that is expecting it.

Rovig is much more athletic than you're giving him credit for. Does he run like TA or Murray? No he doesn't, nobody in the league does. But he's not a statue back there. He can run with the ball a bit and he will convert some 3rd and mediums with his legs.

The defense does not have to account for the threat of Rovig running the ball when they gameplan. If Rovig runs the ball 10 times any defensive coordinator in the Big Sky is going to be happy as hell with his secondary.

Rovig’s success will come down to him being able to complete passes downfield. The entire argument for him replacing TA is that we will develop a passing game but now the opinion is becoming that he doesn’t really need to be able to pass all that well??? He does or we might as well just ride with TA.

If MSU can’t establish a running game with its OL and Ifanse, Jones, Andersen, Sumner and Perry, then there’s a huge problem. I’m thinking they’ll be able to do that just fine and from there it’s up to Rovig et al to be able to exploit (somewhat at least) teams overplaying the run.

Completely agree Tom. We should have a great run game with our line and RBs but in those passing situations we had a QB who had to be accounted for due to his explosive run capability. Rovig doesn’t have that so he’ll need to be able to do something with his arm. I think he can and any questions I had can be chalked up to inexperience and if he develops into a decent QB we’ll be tough for anyone to deal with. I also know we have some time until Game 1 so maybe someone else emerges as the starter. Either way, we can’t go far without some sort of production from the QB and, even if it wasn’t done in the classic manner, TA provides a lot of production.

If we are going to upgrade from last year we will need a QB who can zip a ball into a receiver that has a step on a DB. I haven’t necessarily seen that from Rovig but he hasn’t got to show a lot either so I’m optimistic.

Last year the coaching staff determined that Rovig would start at QB even though TA was healthy. Then Rovig had a season ending injury in practice and the starting job went back to TA. Now that Rovig is healthy it appears to be back to Rovig, but as you mentioned maybe someone else emerges.

So the way I see it last year our staff felt that our team would be better with Rovig at the helm rather than TA. This year they know what kind of QB production they will get from TA, and they know more now than they did then about Rovig’s abilities. So with the knowledge our coaches have we will either have Rovig at QB or someone (Bauman, Beltran or transfer) who beats out Rovig at QB as our signal caller. So you can look at it as…...we have a unanimous BSC QB that we’re essentially benching for someone else……that’s a pretty good spot to be in. The fact that TA will/could get some plays at QB (just enough to make teams prepare for it) will keep defenses on their toes.

@Texas Tech, SEMO, @WIU is what I would call 'a character building experience' right out of the gate, followed by Norfolk State at home before we start conference play. I don’t know what I’m more excited about…..to see who our QB is, to watch TA play LB, or for the season to just get here. GO CATS!

Mickster, I like the way you think!

I don't understand the negativity towards Rovig. He beat TA for the job last year and did it again this year. I think we will be fine.

As far as bringing in another QB. it doesn't mean Rovig is not up to the job it may mean that Bauman and Beltran aren't up to the job. We have to have a competent backup. FB players do get hurt sometimes.

[allcat]

Holy cow all this hand wringing over the quarterbackhas my hands chafed. Since there are so many armchair experts, can one of you recommend a good hand cream.

[catatac]

I really have no idea why. But, Im excited to watch Rovig develop. I am trying to mentally prepare now that there will most likely be some growing pains. But, Im optimistic that the future is bright with him.

He doesn’t need to be an explosive, big play QB. He doesn’t need to thread the needle and throw bullets. He needs to be able to make the plays that are there. Hit wide open receivers, avoid sacks and manage the game. I think he can do that. We need another QB that can do the same.

There will be growing pains. He’s going to try to throw into heavy coverage, hold the ball too long and miss open receivers. How he responds to those growing pains is the key. He can’t get rattled and put too much on himself. If he can do that, he’s gonna be fine.

IMO, he’s going to have to do a little more than simply manage the game. In the past three seasons we’ve had a QB who could break one with his legs at any given moment and we won’t have that with Rovig at the helm. The complaint has been that we haven’t had an adequate passing game but a lot of opportunities that we did have generated because defenses were so keyed on stopping Murray and TA from breaking those long runs. That pass that Murray threw to seal the win against the Griz was completely because the defense was 100% dialed into to stopping him from running.

Ifanse is going to make defenses pay for sitting back in coverage but Rovig is going to have to throw the football with a lot more accuracy than would be required from a Murray or TA. His arm is really his only weapon so it is going to have to be serviceable. How many 3rd and long situations did TA and Murray convert with their legs the last few seasons? A lot. Rovig can’t do that so he’ll find himself in obvious passing situations and our only chance to convert will be him throwing a nice ball into a secondary that is expecting it.

Rovig is much more athletic than you're giving him credit for. Does he run like TA or Murray? No he doesn't, nobody in the league does. But he's not a statue back there. He can run with the ball a bit and he will convert some 3rd and mediums with his legs.

The defense does not have to account for the threat of Rovig running the ball when they gameplan. If Rovig runs the ball 10 times any defensive coordinator in the Big Sky is going to be happy as hell with his secondary.

Rovig’s success will come down to him being able to complete passes downfield. The entire argument for him replacing TA is that we will develop a passing game but now the opinion is becoming that he doesn’t really need to be able to pass all that well??? He does or we might as well just ride with TA.

If MSU can’t establish a running game with its OL and Ifanse, Jones, Andersen, Sumner and Perry, then there’s a huge problem. I’m thinking they’ll be able to do that just fine and from there it’s up to Rovig et al to be able to exploit (somewhat at least) teams overplaying the run.

Completely agree Tom. We should have a great run game with our line and RBs but in those passing situations we had a QB who had to be accounted for due to his explosive run capability. Rovig doesn’t have that so he’ll need to be able to do something with his arm. I think he can and any questions I had can be chalked up to inexperience and if he develops into a decent QB we’ll be tough for anyone to deal with. I also know we have some time until Game 1 so maybe someone else emerges as the starter. Either way, we can’t go far without some sort of production from the QB and, even if it wasn’t done in the classic manner, TA provides a lot of production.

If we are going to upgrade from last year we will need a QB who can zip a ball into a receiver that has a step on a DB. I haven’t necessarily seen that from Rovig but he hasn’t got to show a lot either so I’m optimistic.

Last year the coaching staff determined that Rovig would start at QB even though TA was healthy. Then Rovig had a season ending injury in practice and the starting job went back to TA. Now that Rovig is healthy it appears to be back to Rovig, but as you mentioned maybe someone else emerges.

So the way I see it last year our staff felt that our team would be better with Rovig at the helm rather than TA. This year they know what kind of QB production they will get from TA, and they know more now than they did then about Rovig’s abilities. So with the knowledge our coaches have we will either have Rovig at QB or someone (Bauman, Beltran or transfer) who beats out Rovig at QB as our signal caller. So you can look at it as…...we have a unanimous BSC QB that we’re essentially benching for someone else……that’s a pretty good spot to be in. The fact that TA will/could get some plays at QB (just enough to make teams prepare for it) will keep defenses on their toes.

@Texas Tech, SEMO, @WIU is what I would call 'a character building experience' right out of the gate, followed by Norfolk State at home before we start conference play. I don’t know what I’m more excited about…..to see who our QB is, to watch TA play LB, or for the season to just get here. GO CATS!

Mickster is spot on here, great post. The only other thing I'll add here is that if a team's game plan is to only put a spy out there if we're running the wild cat and just pretend that TR can't run when he's lined up at QB - they'll be in for a rude awakening. He's much better at running the ball than you might think. Also, I liked his ability to look downfield when he scrambles out of the pocket rather than run first. If he can find open receivers when this happens and deliver the ball (which it looks like he's pretty good at from my observations in the Spring), this will be huge.

[91catAlum]

...
Mickster is spot on here, great post. The only other thing I'll add here is that if a team's game plan is to only put a spy out there if we're running the wild cat and just pretend that TR can't run when he's lined up at QB - they'll be in for a rude awakening. He's much better at running the ball than you might think. Also, I liked his ability to look downfield when he scrambles out of the pocket rather than run first. If he can find open receivers when this happens and deliver the ball (which it looks like he's pretty good at from my observations in the Spring), this will be huge.

I agree about Rovig being much more athletic than some people here give him credit for, I alluded to that in my earlier post.

Rovig doesn't need to be a superstar with our O-line, RBs, and Defense. If he can throw for around 220-230 per game while completing 60% and limiting his turnovers, the Cats are going to be a very very tough team to beat this season. I'm pretty confident he'll be able to do that. Maybe even better than that. We shall see!