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| Alex Swieca |
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 210 lbs.
High school: New York (NY) Frisch
Position: Quarterback
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #13
Last year: I did not rank Swieca. He did not see any game action.
Swieca walked on to the team as a true freshman back in 2011. He has yet to play in a game, but he did play a little bit in the spring game back in April.
With backup quarterback Russell Bellomy going down with a torn ACL in the spring, that bumps the other quarterbacks up a little bit on this list. Swieca will certainly be behind Devin Gardner and probably even freshman Shane Morris, but options are thin beyond those two. If nothing else, I would expect Swieca to have a pretty big hand in running the scout team while the aforementioned guys and presumed #3 quarterback Brian Cleary get reps with the regular offense.
Prediction: Scout team quarterback, perhaps a few snaps in garbage time
He for sure won't be simulating Braxton Miller.
ReplyDeleteI'm not convinced that Brian Cleary will be the #3 QB. Morris comes in with better physical tools, but he won't have much time to learn the offense, and he struggled on the camp circuit against elite talent. I think his 4/5-star rating was for potential, not for what he can do on Day One.
ReplyDeleteHow can you say a kid that made the Elite 11 finals "struggled on camp circuit"? Morris has a lot to learn and probably isn't as,you said, college ready as say Chad Henne but the kid can ball and for sure will beat out a walk on, even if they are a RS soph. And have you seen Cleary throw? Kid has no arm.
DeleteIt took Morris two tries to get invited to the Elite 11. There were also pretty consistent issues with his accuracy, a problem that was mentioned just about every time he camped.
DeletePretty debatable putting the 4th string walk-on QB this high, but I guess your argument is that the people below him will red-shirt, and a scout team QB is more important than a scout team whatever else.
ReplyDeleteI don't really buy that because there are people lower on this list who could play (at least special teams), and if an injury or two occurs they could be thrust into a meaningful role. That's highly unlikely for Swieca because he's still 2 guys back.
Plus, in general, a walk-on is pretty replaceable.
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The decision to not take another QB or Ath/QB in addition to Morris was a poor one.
Walk-ons are pretty replaceable, but not necessarily quarterbacks.
DeleteAlso, I would say that the scout team QB is less replaceable than a freshman like Royce Jenkins-Stone, who simply ran downfield on the kickoff team last year. You can find any number of guys on the team who can do that job, whether it's a walk-on, fullback, safety, linebacker, running back, etc.
Cleary is terrible, Swieca should be the #2 if not Morris
ReplyDeleteSwieca has an interesting background re how he came to football. Observing the Jewish Sabbath (which I am not sure if he does) typically involves various restrictions on Friday night and Saturdays. I don't think he was on the travel squad his first two years but if he is/forced to be high enough on the depth chart, will be interesting to see how things play out.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nydailynews.com/sports/high-school/freshman-alex-swieca-walk-on-football-player-university-michigan-played-game-high-school-article-1.981492