Gar - The article below was in today's commercial appeal. I used to live in Memphis a while ago, so still check out the paper online every now and then. It is a pretty long article but it does talk at length about the Ole Miss QB situation as it currently stands.
OXFORD, Miss. -- Michael Herrick stepped on a scale over the winter and felt sick to his stomach, though that reaction had nothing do with his illness. A nasty bout with tonsillitis had kept him from eating for a couple of weeks, and when Herrick looked down, he saw what he already knew to be true.
<!-- /in content ad -->He had shed 15 pounds from his skinny, sinewy frame. During his first full year at Ole Miss, he had managed to bulk up to 185 pounds. But now, through the fog of being sick, he understood that he had lost muscle and sweat and hours of training at the Indoor Practice Facility.
"Terrible," Herrick recalled last week. Herrick, a redshirt freshman from Visalia, Calif., has encountered other obstacles in his quest to become Ole Miss' quarterback. Too short? Too thin? Too young?
Herrick has heard it all. But as he competes with seniors Seth Adams and Brent Schaeffer for that role -- a soap opera that seems certain to continue through the end of camp -- coach Ed Orgeron has spoken highly of Herrick, who has labored in the shadows cast by two seniors and a prized transfer.
"I'm expecting him to really, really push for a starting position," said Orgeron, who dismissed concerns about Herrick's size.
"Michael Herrick is 6 foot, three-quarter inch and 187 pounds. Brent Schaeffer is 6-1. There's a quarter of an inch difference between Michael Herrick and Brent Schaeffer. Well, I don't know anybody who's not going to play a guy because of a quarter of an inch."
Through the first half of camp's first week, offensive coordinator Dan Werner said he has come away with the impression that the offensive players worked hard during the offseason. He said they not only retained what he and the rest of the coaching staff taught them during spring workouts, they also honed those techniques during the summer. That, more than anything, has been encouraging, he said.
But when Werner was asked about his quarterbacks, he offered a wry smile.
"The who?" he said as several reporters chuckled. "Those guys have all worked hard. You might want to tape this, so you can just play it back: They've all worked very hard, shown a lot of improvement. They all understand what we're looking for, and I think it's going to be a great competition."
Informed that Herrick had joked about using a pillow to suffocate Adams, his roommate, Werner smiled again and said: "It's all about competing."
Herrick helped direct the scout team last fall alongside Cliff Davis, who abruptly quit the team during the second half of the Grove Bowl in April. Davis later explained that it had become apparent, at least to him, that he was not going to get the sort of opportunity he had envisioned at Ole Miss.
Herrick could have had similar feelings last December, when Ole Miss signed Jevan Snead, who has to sit out the upcoming season after transferring from Texas. Herrick was at home in California for winter break at the time and was unaware of the Internet buzz surrounding Snead's recruitment.
He said he only found out when Werner called to tell him that Snead had signed scholarship papers. Herrick said he was assured that he would have the chance to compete for the starting role, which was his primary concern.
"I understand how college football works," Herrick said. "You're going to bring in the best players that you can, and Jevan's a great player. Every year, the coaches are going to bring in guys that will try to beat you out, and I'm ready for it. It makes me a better player."
At Visalia (Calif.) High, Herrick emerged as one of the most prolific passers in state history. He threw for more than 11,000 yards, a state record, and 73 touchdowns. But he operated out of the shotgun, and when he arrived at Ole Miss, his footwork, by his own admission, was a mess.
"I just didn't really know what I was doing," he said.
Over the summer, he took snap after snap after snap under center, graduating to quicker and more balanced drops. He also improved his timing with his receivers.
"I can look down the field, see someone and know what they're thinking," he said. Even more important, he recovered from tonsillitis. He regained the weight he had lost, and added some. He supplemented his diet with post-workout protein shakes, then went to bed with peanut butter sandwiches and glasses of milk -- anything to pack on some pounds.
"I'm still pretty skinny," he said. "It's just sad."
Those who know Herrick find his candor refreshing, especially coming from someone who has so much at stake. For example, he was asked what he needs to do in camp to prove himself.
"What I'm told," he said.
