Ranking the Big Sky quarterbacks

[SDHornet]

I agree except for the average runner part, he's pretty slow and usually goes head to head with defensive guys rather than sliding. As far as accuracy goes, I'd put him a little higher than average.

[NAU_Alum10]

Every time ive seen Herrick on the field, whether it be practice, scrimmage or game he seems to have a giant chip on his shoulders out to prove to everyone that he should be an FBS QB. He not only looks to torch opposing defenses but flat out embarrass them. With the addition of San Jose St transfer Khalil Paden us Jack fans might just be in for one heck of a season.

[JALMOND]

Having only seen Higgins once (first round against W&M) I was less than impressed. The Tribe D was tough on a lot of good QBs last year, but he did not hold up well at all.

Having seen Higgins when he is on, I have to say that I was quite impressed with the W&M D when that score popped up out west. Those of us who follow the Big Sky objectively were hoping for something closer to his usual performance in the playoffs and your defense made him look very, VERY average.

[dbackjon]

Every time ive seen Herrick on the field, whether it be practice, scrimmage or game he seems to have a giant chip on his shoulders out to prove to everyone that he should be an FBS QB. He not only looks to torch opposing defenses but flat out embarrass them. With the addition of San Jose St transfer Khalil Paden us Jack fans might just be in for one heck of a season.

Welcome NAU_Alum10!! Great to see another Jack Fan!!

[NAU_Alum10]

Every time ive seen Herrick on the field, whether it be practice, scrimmage or game he seems to have a giant chip on his shoulders out to prove to everyone that he should be an FBS QB. He not only looks to torch opposing defenses but flat out embarrass them. With the addition of San Jose St transfer Khalil Paden us Jack fans might just be in for one heck of a season.

Welcome NAU_Alum10!! Great to see another Jack Fan!!

right back at ya, usually post over on AGS but wanted to find another outlet to catch up on FCS and it seemed as if I would find a few more friends over here

[dbackjon]

Welcome NAU_Alum10!! Great to see another Jack Fan!!

right back at ya, usually post over on AGS but wanted to find another outlet to catch up on FCS and it seemed as if I would find a few more friends over here

Glad you made it over here - very good Big Sky talk here

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

Welcome aboard new NAU dude.

Tribes4...I can see why you would have that opinion. It could be you're defense was perfect to stop his style or he may have been off a bit and the rest of his offense had trouble with your D as well. You guys did make him look average but he is not average. Most of us have seen him have bad days. For instance if I had only seen him play the Griz in the playoffs the previous year I would believe he was shit like you do because we did a similar thing to him.

I've seen him flat out torch the exact same defense that held him in check though also. You'll have to trust me on this one, he is not what you witnessed him to be in that game.

[Silenoz]

What was his stat line against us last year? It had to be pretty bad considering their one TD came in garbage time on a 50-yard flea flicker

[Screamin_Eagle174]

Welcome NAU_Alum!

[Green Laser]

Every time ive seen Herrick on the field, whether it be practice, scrimmage or game he seems to have a giant chip on his shoulders out to prove to everyone that he should be an FBS QB. He not only looks to torch opposing defenses but flat out embarrass them. With the addition of San Jose St transfer Khalil Paden us Jack fans might just be in for one heck of a season.

I agree that Herrick is a good QB but any "chip" he may have had on his shoulder was knocked off at Sac State last season.
After getting sacked 5 times he pretty much looked like he was afraid to handle the ball in the second half. Maybe that's why he is no longer FBS!

[Green Laser]

I agree except for the average runner part, he's pretty slow and usually goes head to head with defensive guys rather than sliding. As far as accuracy goes, I'd put him a little higher than average.

McLeod Bethel-Thompson may not be the fastest guy out there but he somewhat makes up for it with size and strength!
I would rate his arm and accuracy above average as seen in the 2nd half of the Causeway last season.
One knock on MBT has been his game management skills but that improved during the last part of the season once he saw more playing time.

[NAU_Alum10]

Every time ive seen Herrick on the field, whether it be practice, scrimmage or game he seems to have a giant chip on his shoulders out to prove to everyone that he should be an FBS QB. He not only looks to torch opposing defenses but flat out embarrass them. With the addition of San Jose St transfer Khalil Paden us Jack fans might just be in for one heck of a season.

I agree that Herrick is a good QB but any "chip" he may have had on his shoulder was knocked off at Sac State last season.
After getting sacked 5 times he pretty much looked like he was afraid to handle the ball in the second half. Maybe that's why he is no longer FBS!

Thanks for the welcome guys glad to be able to talk some FCS football with you

Good point Green Laser…but I think any football fan would have to agree that when you get sacked that many times your gonna be rattled a little bit off your game ex. Tom Brady against that swarming giants D in super bowl XLII. (and before anyone eats me up im in no way comparing herrick to brady, just saying if you pressure a qb enough he will make mistakes.) In the Sac St game Herrick still threw for 376 yrds and 70% CMP, but did have 2 picks. I believe that was a game in which herrick can lead the horse to water but cant make em drink. A QB is only as good as the guys around him.

[BigSkyBears]

If UNC had the same offense we had last year, I would have put Orms in the middle of the pack. We had a multiple set offense and he was able to run more often (which is his strength). However, we're going to more of a pro-style offense that doesn't fit his strength. Matt Baca will probably start for the Bears against Adams St. However, I do see both QB's getting playing time.

[rumple]

Going by a mix of on field accomplishments and pro potential my order is Herrick, Wiggins, Selle.

[DukeJack]

Another NAU fan! Nice!

[SUUTbird]

Going to have to go by what i have seen on this one:

-Selle: This guy should be the only QB starting for the Griz this year, i am not a fan of the 2 QB system however Roper is a good backup.

-Herrick: This kid really lit us up and every other opponent last year and has alot of potential. The jacks season is going to ride on this kids arm especially with the loss of Henderson in the backfield.

-Mitchell: A good transfer from SMU who was having a promising career there until a freshman named Kyle Pardon stepped in and took the spotlight. Now Bo has a chance to make a name for himself at EWU and with Jones in the backfield with him its looking to be a pretty good season for the Eagles.

-Higgins: Since his sophmore season this kid has had flashes of brilliance but then again just as many flashes of disappointment for the Wildcats. This erratic playing style really needs to end in order for the Wildcats to have a shot at the Big Sky Title and playoff berth this season.

The rest are all to intermingled to put into a rank but we will see what the season brings, should be an interesting 2010 season in the Big Sky

[Green Laser]

I agree that Herrick is a good QB but any "chip" he may have had on his shoulder was knocked off at Sac State last season.
After getting sacked 5 times he pretty much looked like he was afraid to handle the ball in the second half. Maybe that's why he is no longer FBS!

Thanks for the welcome guys glad to be able to talk some FCS football with you




Good point Green Laser…but I think any football fan would have to agree that when you get sacked that many times your gonna be rattled a little bit off your game ex. Tom Brady against that swarming giants D in super bowl XLII. (and before anyone eats me up im in no way comparing herrick to brady, just saying if you pressure a qb enough he will make mistakes.) In the Sac St game Herrick still threw for 376 yrds and 70% CMP, but did have 2 picks. I believe that was a game in which herrick can lead the horse to water but cant make em drink. A QB is only as good as the guys around him.

Welcome! Didn't mean to put a knock on Herrick, just a observation. To the contrary I was very impressed with him
in the first half, he has a very quick release and completed an insane number of consecetive passes. He was deadly if he had any time at all. Early in the game it looked like a long afternoon for the Hornets. He was the best BSC QB I saw last year. I was just saying that once the Hornets made adjustments and was able to put pressure on him he appeared frustrated and gun shy in the second half. Had he had better protection it may have been a different story.

[TribeNomad]

Everyone said Higgins had a bad day against us, but as I read the posters prior to the game (mainly Griz fans) they all noted that he could not take pressure. Our defensive line was in his face from the beginning, and once he got knocked down a few times it was over. He looked uncomfortable in the backfield, and in the second half he looked like he was scared to get the ball. Again, I only saw him once, and that was against a high quality defense, but again, not impressed after all the hype from the Big Sky fans about how he and the Weber offense would light us up.

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

Everyone said Higgins had a bad day against us, but as I read the posters prior to the game (mainly Griz fans) they all noted that he could not take pressure. Our defensive line was in his face from the beginning, and once he got knocked down a few times it was over. He looked uncomfortable in the backfield, and in the second half he looked like he was scared to get the ball. Again, I only saw him once, and that was against a high quality defense, but again, not impressed after all the hype from the Big Sky fans about how he and the Weber offense would light us up.

He can't handle it when there is a tough DLine that pressures him or linebackers that can get to him in a hurry.

BTW, as far as what was said last year before the game it is accurate. He CAN really light it up when he gets hot. You may have stepped into the middle of a very long running joke between a lot of Griz/BSC fans and CAA Fans.

I for one made a lot of outlandish statements about Higgins when replying to guys like wideright, JMU DJ, Col. Hogan etc. because we are all friends and pretty much beat on each other as friends do.

Apology accepted.

[BigSkyFootball]

I looked up Herrick's stats against Sac State in a loss: 31-44 for 376 yards (2 TDs/2 INT). Not a bad day for the QB. In fact, the Lumberjacks only had the ball for 3:13 in the third quarter and 10 minutes in the second half. That's not alot of time, even for the greatest of QBs yet it went right down to the final 50-yard FG miss by NAU. You can hardly say he wasn't good in this game. He'll probably take the blame; that's the kind of player he is but, as everyone knows, the Jack defense, with all the injuries, was the reason for most of the losses and was the primary reason in this one.

[Green Laser]

I looked up Herrick's stats against Sac State in a loss: 31-44 for 376 yards (2 TDs/2 INT). Not a bad day for the QB. In fact, the Lumberjacks only had the ball for 3:13 in the third quarter and 10 minutes in the second half. That's not alot of time, even for the greatest of QBs yet it went right down to the final 50-yard FG miss by NAU. You can hardly say he wasn't good in this game. He'll probably take the blame; that's the kind of player he is but, as everyone knows, the Jack defense, with all the injuries, was the reason for most of the losses and was the primary reason in this one.

I disagree. Sacramento State won this game because of the Jack's offense inability to adjust to the Sac State defense in the 2nd half. The halftime score was NAU 24 Sac State 17. Second half Sac State 10 NAU 0, that is not a failure of the NAU defense in the second half it is a failure of their offense. I know it is hard for some of you folks to admit it but the Sac State defense stepping up might of had a little to do with it! As I said Herrick for my money was the best QB in the BSC and had a incredible first half ( as the stats proved) but he was stuffed and ineffective in the second half, and those two interceptions came in the 4th quarter. The complete play by play is on the Hornet's wesite at: http://www.hornetsports.com/livestats/f ... acfb08.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; check it out.

[Screamin_Eagle174]

This is the first in a series ranking the Big Sky players from the Billings Gazette's Cat-Griz Insider Blog:

TOP 10 QUARTERBACKS
1 - Michael Herrick, Sr., Northern Arizona
Comment: Big, accurate and primed for a huge year.

2 - Cameron Higgins, Sr., Weber State
Comment: Threw 83 TDs in the last three seasons.

3 - Andrew Selle, Sr., Montana
Comment: Ready to prove last year was no fluke.

4 - Bo Levi Mitchell, Jr., Eastern Washington
Comment: All eyes are on the talented SMU transfer.

5 - Drew Hubel, Sr., Portland State
Comment: Back from injury; dangerous when healthy.

6 - Cody Kempt, Sr., Montana State
Comment: Has one more chance to prove his worth.

7 - McLeod Bethel-Thompson, Sacramento State
Comment: Solid as the starter at the end of last season.

8 - Justin Roper, Sr., Montana
Comment: The best backup in the league, maybe the FCS.

9 - Dylan Orms, Jr., Northern Colorado
Comment: Has shown flashes. Can he be a good starter?

10 - Russel Hill, Sr., Idaho State
Comment: Pocket passer needs tons of help in Pocatello.

Okay, the blood's in the water. Ready...set.....GO!!

RESULTS (minimum 100 pass attempts, conference play only)

PASS EFFICIENCY Cl G Comp-Att-Int Pct. Yards TD Long Effic
1. Denarius McGhee-MSU FR 8 154 - 251 - 2 61.4 2246 17 77 157.3
2. Jeff Fleming-SAC JR 8 119 - 205 - 8 58.0 1784 20 80 155.5
3. Bo Mitchell-EWU JR 8 154 - 262 - 9 58.8 1931 19 55 137.7
4. Michael Herrick-NAU SR 7 143 - 220 - 5 65.0 1508 11 51 134.5
5. Dylan Orms-NC JR 7 106 - 196 - 6 54.1 1523 12 77 133.4
6. Cameron Higgins-WSU SR 8 154 - 264 - 9 58.3 1850 12 65 125.4
7. Justin Roper-UM SR 8 132 - 220 - 9 60.0 1320 13 54 121.7
8. Chase Stangel-NAU JR 7 38 - 66 - 0 57.6 323 2 24 108.7
9. Russel Hill-ISU SR 7 77 - 166 - 5 46.4 1005 7 42 105.1

[Grizalltheway]

Roper.

[cats2506]

That was really a fun bump to read

[BigSkyBears]

Orms will be a top 2 QB in the conference this year, with our new offense. He'll thrive under a spread offense. It's going to be up-tempo, no huddle stuff. He's got a great first step. Look out 'Sky!!!