At first it seemed like a joke. You know the kind you make up on the fly after drinking too much.
Me: Okay. Okayokayokay. Get this. A Duke point guard.... No wait.... A graduating SENIOR Duke point guard... wait for it... enrolls at Michigan to play QUARTERBACK on the football team. So... it gets better... he hasn't played football in four years and says he's going to compete for the starting job!
You: Har! Good one. Did you hear the one about the mayor, the pope and the hermaphroditic Giraffe with three ba... Wait. You're serious? Jeezus. My Giraffe joke was less farfetched.
Me: Yeah. I'm serious. But you should've seen the look in your eyes after I told you it was real. Now stop crying.
And so our little soap opera at quarterback continues to unfold.
Honestly, I really don't think this is that big a deal. Greg Paulus, at best, is a rent-a-backup for a season if he enrolls. Michigan is dangerously thin at quarterback. Right now, at least until Robinson gets here, it's Forcier and then.... well.... nothing. And I don't care how much Rodriguez says Sheridan was improving, even with half a dozen games under his belt I'm not convinced he's a D1 quarterback. We need help. And not the kind of help I have to spend an hour researching for a single good piece of information amid the crushing negativity to hang my shattered hopes on.
At least with Paulus I don't have to convince myself that he was an overlooked recruit, or just unlucky when he played. Paulus held dozens of D1 football offers, including one from Michigan, and garnered effusive praise from Rivals for his gridiron game.
The New York Top 20 for 2005 is headlined by two-sport star Greg Paulus of Manlius (N.Y.) Christian Brothers Academy. Honestly, there might not be a better quarterback in the nation, but Paulus (6-1, 180) has made a commitment to Duke in basketball, but there is still is talk that he might test the football waters some this fall. - emphasis mine.
So, the kid can obviously play. But he's no savior. He's not going to start. Four years away from football is just too damn long for anyone to be useful. We know this. Exhibit 1A is former Michigan quarterback Drew Henson. Ask him how well he faired after leaving the game for four years.
If Paulus shows up, makes an impression, and sticks; fine. Doesn't bother me one bit. Michigan needs help at QB, if for no other reason than depth. Sick flow and mad jukin' skizzels aside, David Cone ain't leading us to wins any time soon. Sure it'll expose us to some "Duke Sucks" chants, allow people to make fun of our issues the last two years securing a quarterback, and allow the internet illiterates to type GP2UM?LMMFAO!ROR! a few times; but what the hell. A safey blanket is still a safety blanket. There's really no downside. If he's good, Woo!. If he sucks, who cares? He's not going to see the field.
Bottom line, Forcier looks pretty damn good. Robinson thinks he can take Usain Bolt in a foot race, and I'm not betting against him. Delvin Gardner gets here in a year. Even if Michigan is shopping around for a rent a back up at a critical position, so what? I can name a certain national championship team that stole convinced a starting corner from Utah to transfer. It's part of the business these days. Paulus, if you're any good, suit up and prove it.