Greg Paulus, having completed his eligibility for the Duke University basketball team, has decided he is not ready to join the real world.
Paulus never amounted to more than an adequate point guard during his college career. When NBA scouts weren’t knocking down his door for a chance to play at the next level, he knew major changes had to be made.
So what did Paulus do? He decided he wants to play football – at the University of Michigan no less.
Paulus was one of the nation’s top prep quarterbacks in 2004 and had forgotten about standing under center. That is until the Green Bay Packers contacted him last week.
Apparently, that contact with the Packers got Paulus to thinking he might want to try his hand at football again.
As reported on Thursday, Paulus has been offered a one-year scholarship to attend Michigan and have a chance to earn the starting quarterback position.
According to the NCAA rules, college students are allowed fours years of eligibility for each sport, meaning he has one year left for football. This opens the door for Paulus to peddle his services to anyone willing to give him a chance.
Michigan’s football team is in a rebuilding process. The Wolverines compiled one of the worst records in the program’s illustrious history, finishing with a 3–9 record last season.
Michigan’s offense was awful at times, with the Wolverines shifting from their traditional “I” formation to the spread option offense employed by head coach Rich Rodriguez.
The Wolverines top two quarterbacks last season, Nick Sheridan and Steven Threet, combined to complete only 48.8% of their passes for 1,700 yards with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. There’s no question Michigan needs help at the quarterback position in 2009.
Despite the poor quarterback play from last season, Michigan is making a mistake if they bring in Paulus. He is already behind the eight ball when it comes to competing against the other quarterbacks because of the four-year layoff from football.
Paulus is going to take valuable reps away from the other quarterbacks on the roster. Despite the struggles of Sheridan and Threet last season, at least they have a full year of learning the spread option under their belts.
Paulus on the other hand, will have to start from scratch. Just ask former Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville what happens to an offense when your quarterback is learning the spread option offense for the first time.
Michigan may win an extra game or two this season, but it won’t be because Paulus is under center. The Wolverines best chance for improvement will be the continued development of Sheridan and Threet as they progress in their understanding of the spread option.
While there have been college basketball players like Antonio Gates and Julius Peppers who have gone on to have Pro Bowl careers in the NFL, neither of them were quarterbacks.
Had Paulus been able to play at Duke, he would have gotten the opportunity to learn from one of the best quarterback coaches in the country, the Blue Devils head coach Dave Cutcliffe.
Cutcliffe you might recall had two pretty good students in the past, Peyton and Eli Manning, both of which have done okay for themselves in their NFL careers.
Paulus, however, is no where near the caliber of player either Manning is, nor is he even close to the better college quarterbacks.
What Michigan is contemplating can add another year to the rebuilding process, and that’s possibly one year too many to keep the Wolverines rabid fan base happy.
If Rodriguez wants to keep his job at Michigan, he’d be well served to maintain the current course and forget about the Paulus project.
You do realize that Threet is long gone, don’t you, and that UM has passed on Paulus?
I checked Michigan’s roster at ESPN and he’s still listed. Thanks for pointing that out.
Yes I know Threet is gone, and they lost Sheridan to an injur, but they did bring in a freshman QB, Tate Forcier
He has been getting solid reviews since the start of Spring. He will be the starter for the Wolverines for the 2009 season. I know the big concern for him is his size and if he can take a hit.
Michigan has not closed the book completely on Paulus but it is looking less likely with each passing day. Which is a good thing.
And didn’t Cutcliffe tell him there was no way he could compete for Duke’s starting QB position? So why would RichRod even give him a chance? So ridiculous.