{mosimage} Ryan Mallett was the future of Michigan Wolverines football and now he's gone. Now Rich Rodriguez will attempt to find the next 'future of Michigan Wolverines football' and he's looking.

Nobody said is was going going to be easy for UM, who lose seniors Chad Henne, Mike Hart and Jake Long. They are also losing Mario Manningham and Adrian Arrington to the NFL. Nobody said this experiment would be easy for Michigan.

Mallett outlined the reasons he transferred and they all made sense. R-Rod talked to him but Mallet all along knew he was going to leave. After checking out film of West Virginia he knew he was could not run like Pat White. Ryan Mallet, in every way, now represents "Old Michigan." Old Michigan won Big Ten titles, pumped out NFL QB's and their receivers were always down for circus catches. New Michigan will be different.

West Virginia is the blue print.

The QB position: Don't put all your eggs in the Pryor basket

Rodriguez has been fighting an uphill battle for Pryor from the start. I have not yet decided if going to Michigan helps or hurts his odds of landing him. Either way, Pryor has yet to visit so only targeting him at the QB position would be foolish. As it stands, UM has two options at quarterback and both are probably worse off for the Rodriguez system than Mallat could have ever fathomed: David Cone and Steven Threet.

I know nothing about these guys other than on a David Cone profile his 40 time is listed at 5.12 seconds. That is really, really slow. There are 300 pound offensive lineman for Michigan that could top that mark. For Georgia Tech transfer Steven Threet I saw no 40 time but did see "speed" under the "areas for improvement" category. At least with Mallet you get an incredible arm, surprising speed (for a big dude) and athleticism. I think he could have still had a decent career at Michigan had he felt it could further his development for the NFL.

Bottom line is with or without TP, UM needs qb's fast (fast qb's). Here are some "potentials" to check out for last second verbals in 2008. All of these guys could possibly start for UM in 2008 if they went to Ann Arbor.

Star Jackson:

Jackson is an Alabama commitment and there is no reason to believe he is wavering. But R-Rod did recruit him hard and he even visited WVU. He is tailor made for a RR offense. Imagine the frustration for a second for Rodriguez, who last year turned down the 'Bama job and now loses to them on the recruiting trail for a QB who would likely take right over for Pat White. Now that RR has a bit more leverage at UM, it will be interesting to see if he can generate a last-minute visit with Star Jackson. This could be a pipe dream at this point but If I'm Nick Saban I'm watching my back.

Robert Griffin:

As I understand it, Griffin basically followed offensive guru, Head coach Art Briles, to Houston. Briles was the 2006 national coach of the year, who produced a 1000 yard rusher, 1000 yard receiver and 3000 yard passer in one season. Michigan loves Texas QB's and a last second steal is plausible. After all, Michigan is Michigan and Baylor is Baylor. Baseball is one thing, football is another. Briles will probably do good things at Baylor but for now don't be shocked if he has to fight the Michigan's of the world from his recruiting gems. His list of offers includes Tennessee, so it seems staying home and playing for Coach Briles are where his allegiances lie.

B.J. Daniels:

Daniels is lower ranked than Jackson or Griffin but is a stud regardless. He is USF's #1 target. Outside of USF I'm not even sure where he could be leaning. West Virginia recruited and offered Daniels before, so you think Rodriguez has him in mind for UM. Turning Michigan down for USF would be pretty crazy. I'm not saying it would be a right or wrong decision, just a pretty crazy thing to turn down. At USF he would follow Matt Grothe's footsteps and he sounds like a similiar type of quarterback. This could get interesting.

Armanti Edwards:

Edwards has led Appalachian State to two straight back-to-back D1AA titles after completing his sophomore season. I have zero reason to think he wants to go to UM or that UM would want him but it would be pretty ironic that his greatest win would lead to a transfer to that school. He'd actually be a great fit for the offense. Even though he is D1AA, I think he'd still have to sit out a year. If this is true than the chances of him transferring are at about 0-1%. Still, I'm throwing him on the list because Edwards is the man. If he did transfer, he'd have to compete with a highly touted freshman or sophomore for the spot.

Bottom Line:

Michigan needs a quarterback or three and landing any of the above guys would be a step in the right direction. Terrelle Pryor would obviously be choice but you've got to think RR is looking at any and all possibilities, digging deep into his phone book--looking at his play book.

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Lloyds Apple said:

	I've been reading the UM may be targeting QB MarQueis Gray, among others. Gray is committed to play at Minnesota.
	report abuse vote down vote up

January 15, 2008
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