Football Rutgers Football QB Ajani Sheppard to enter the Transfer Portal

[ashokan]

Sheppard was never the starter, so why would you tailor the offense for someone on the bench?

Same was true for other QBs including Wimsatt.
GS said they never threw long in 23 because OL could not hold blocks for long passes.
Wim was better at longer passes but outside of Washington RU had no deep ball threats anyway.
Wim was often stuck throwing to Dremel in flats - he never caught another TD after September 23
A short 6 year WR with 4 TDs vs Dymere Miller and Ian Strong? Not even close and no wonder Drem couldn't start again .

With blocking and WR weaknesses Wim should have been run more
The TV announcers like Millen kept predicting Wim should be running more in games and it never happened.
Guy ate real estate like Secretariat but no - cant violate the Dockers offense - running is too dangerous

Wim had rough 47.8 % but with 20 TDs and 8 INTs
AK only had a 53.9 with 21 total TDs and 7 INTs
We aren't talking an ocean of difference here for the % increase.

AND it must be recalled that in first part of 24 AK had brutal games with % in the 40s for 2 games and 1 in the 30s%.
Only when Kyle went down the the RU passing geniuses mix-up the stale and predictable passing game by using multiple sets and more aggression. Too bad it took an injury to do the obvious (play to win vs not to lose)

Over and over RU shows it wants a machine cog QB - no risks no heroic - just dinker and dunkers. AK would often have to throw a pass 15 yds along LOS to get 5 yds up the field.

I wont even get into the Siamese mesh where QB/RB run to LOS to fool nobody
Nobody with a good, young QB with good offers should pick RU for career

 

[-RUFAN4LIFE-]

"finished senior season 150-of-242 for 2,393 yards and 21 touchdowns … also added 142 carries for 1,291 yards and 11 scores on the ground … threw for 2,357 yards and 22 touchdowns and rushed for 1,041 yards and 16 scores as a junior in 2021"---from RU website

So 62% in high school. But training in shorts matters more?

I disagree with your estimation/conclusion from what you watched when a kid worked out in shorts, vs what he did when the lights come on. When he last played as a starter, the assertion you have made is not borne out. It appears unfair to repeatedly post here that AS in inaccurate when there is data to the contrary.

AND all of that disregards potential playmaking abilities separate and distinct from accuracy.

So to conclude, you watched off season workouts and think he is an inaccuate qb not built to be p4 or close starter. That context of how you got there gives us perspective. You're entiled to your opinion, but I don't share it, at least without a whole lot more data, as wahat we have points to the opposite conclusion.

He had every chance to lockdown the QB2 spot this spring and almost fell to QB4. He was being pushed by the true frosh QB for the QB3 role. But of course, HS stats trump what the coaches see daily against B1G DBs in practice.

 

[Knight Shift]

RU's MO.
Not sure why GS takes guys he knows are "a bad fit" for his Dockers offense.

Sheppard is currently listed as the #3 QB on the WSU depth chart. Let’s see if that changes.

So they run a Wrangler offense, or Amazon basics?

ESPN says he only got to throw 2 passes in a game - both completions.
He also had 4 carries for 34 yds (8.5 /carry)

Ajani Sheppard Career Stats - NCAAF - ESPN

Complete career NCAAF stats for Rutgers Scarlet Knights Quarterback Ajani Sheppard on ESPN. Includes scoring, rushing, defensive and receiving stats.

www.espn.com

They say good coaches tailor a system to fit the players skills and not the player tailored to fit the system.
Guess which way GS rolls? Its not hard!

Legendary backup QB Hayden Rettig was 9/11 in his fist start at Rutgers with a TD and he threw a TD against Ohio State. He never saw the field at Tennessee Tech.

 

[PaKnight]

Same was true for other QBs including Wimsatt.
GS said they never threw long in 23 because OL could not hold blocks for long passes.
Wim was better at longer passes but outside of Washington RU had no deep ball threats anyway.
Wim was often stuck throwing to Dremel in flats - he never caught another TD after September 23
A short 6 year WR with 4 TDs vs Dymere Miller and Ian Strong? Not even close and no wonder Drem couldn't start again .

With blocking and WR weaknesses Wim should have been run more
The TV announcers like Millen kept predicting Wim should be running more in games and it never happened.
Guy ate real estate like Secretariat but no - cant violate the Dockers offense - running is too dangerous

Wim had rough 47.8 % but with 20 TDs and 8 INTs
AK only had a 53.9 with 21 total TDs and 7 INTs
We aren't talking an ocean of difference here for the % increase.

AND it must be recalled that in first part of 24 AK had brutal games with % in the 40s for 2 games and 1 in the 30s%.
Only when Kyle went down the the RU passing geniuses mix-up the stale and predictable passing game by using multiple sets and more aggression. Too bad it took an injury to do the obvious (play to win vs not to lose)

Over and over RU shows it wants a machine cog QB - no risks no heroic - just dinker and dunkers. AK would often have to throw a pass 15 yds along LOS to get 5 yds up the field.

I wont even get into the Siamese mesh where QB/RB run to LOS to fool nobody
Nobody with a good, young QB with good offers should pick RU for career

Gavin had roughly 2,200 combined passing and rushing yards in 2023, Athan had around 2,950 combined yards in 2024.

Gavin scored a lot of short yardage touchdowns, last year Kyle got more carries in close and increased his rushing TD’s from 8 to 13. Overall scoring improved from 23.2 to 28.9.

 

[vkj91]

"finished senior season 150-of-242 for 2,393 yards and 21 touchdowns … also added 142 carries for 1,291 yards and 11 scores on the ground … threw for 2,357 yards and 22 touchdowns and rushed for 1,041 yards and 16 scores as a junior in 2021"---from RU website

So 62% in high school. But training in shorts matters more?

I disagree with your estimation/conclusion from what you watched when a kid worked out in shorts, vs what he did when the lights come on. When he last played as a starter, the assertion you have made is not borne out. It appears unfair to repeatedly post here that AS in inaccurate when there is data to the contrary.

AND all of that disregards potential playmaking abilities separate and distinct from accuracy.

So to conclude, you watched off season workouts and think he is an inaccuate qb not built to be p4 or close starter. That context of how you got there gives us perspective. You're entiled to your opinion, but I don't share it, at least without a whole lot more data, as wahat we have points to the opposite conclusion.

And you know who watched all those HS passes? Colleges and that’s why he had offers from Air Force, army and bowling green.

 

[Plum Street]

This thread is crazy !! 4 pages on a guy that played in garbage time in 5 games over 2 years . We have had less discussion about some of our best players ever

 

[Yeah Baby]

Good to see someone back posting after threatening to leave the board a few days ago much like "insert celebrity" who threatened to leave the country and never did.

 

[ru-baby]

Legendary backup QB Hayden Rettig was 9/11 in his fist start at Rutgers with a TD and he threw a TD against Ohio State. He never saw the field at Tennessee Tech.

Was his playing time at Ttech due to skill level or performance, or was there more to that situation? And did he even have any meaningful stats there and play a full season? I have no idea what occurred, but he certainly seemed talented enough for that level. And his td thrown against OSU was nicely done. Did he really get a shot here with Flood who loved Laviano regardless of results.

Imagine if Retting threw the ball when past the line of scrimmage multiple times including the last play of a game? Flood's choosing and acumen dont tell me much re Rettig's abilities. Citing him as the fans always wrongly love the back up qb who is actually bad doesnt appear supported by actual facts and veers into trope.

Just thinking as to the overall thread its something to see the "I'm right" any way you look at it posts. A player's stats good-well some other coach chose someone else. Stats good, well I saw him thrown errantly at the gym. Bad stats, well they speak for themseleves. Backup qb-well you dont see practice and mistakes are never made by coaches. To say Ajani Shepard is a bad qb who is inaccurate, or Rettig for that matter, speaks to bias of the poster rather than empirical results. Wimsatt yes was inaccurate based on results. The backup qb trope is well, just weak as a point without backing information. Let's see if AS gets a shot and how he does-maybe he will be inaccurate. Maybe he won't. But what we have seen doesnt lead to a failure absolute conclusion.

 

[Yeah Baby]

Rooting for Ajani to do well. That is all.

 

[Plum Street]

Rooting for Amani to do well. That is all.

He had a second good Super Bowl ! Helped with that win over New England

 

[PaKnight]

Good to see Bruce Springsteen back posting after threatening to leave the country a few days ago.

He never said that.

 

[PaKnight]

Was his playing time at Ttech due to skill level or performance, or was there more to that situation? And did he even have any meaningful stats there and play a full season? I have no idea what occurred, but he certainly seemed talented enough for that level. And his td thrown against OSU was nicely done. Did he really get a shot here with Flood who loved Laviano regardless of results.

Imagine if Retting threw the ball when past the line of scrimmage multiple times including the last play of a game? Flood's choosing and acumen dont tell me much re Rettig's abilities. Citing him as the fans always wrongly love the back up qb who is actually bad doesnt appear supported by actual facts and veers into trope.

Just thinking as to the overall thread it’s something to see the "I'm right" any way you look at it posts. A player's stats good-well some other coach chose someone else. Stats good, well I saw him thrown errantly at the gym. Bad stats, well they speak for themseleves. Backup qb-well you dont see practice and mistakes are never made by coaches. To say Ajani Shepard is a bad qb who is inaccurate, or Rettig for that matter, speaks to bias of the poster rather than empirical results. Wimsatt yes was inaccurate based on results. The backup qb trope is well, just weak as a point without backing information. Let's see if AS gets a shot and how he does-maybe he will be inaccurate. Maybe he won't. But what we have seen doesnt lead to a failure absolute conclusion.

I think Rettig got a few reps at TT, but quit the team after not winning the starting job.

 

[Knight Shift]

I think Rettig got a few reps at TT, but quit the team after not winning the starting job.

ESPN has not stats for him at Tennessee Tech

 

[MADHAT1]

This thread is crazy !! 4 pages on a guy that played in garbage time in 5 games over 2 years . We have had less discussion about some of our best players ever

Don't you know that after leaving Rutgers , every player that leaves proves to be a major talent lost and destined to be the next Heisman winner .
Ajani is just the latest future College HOF member that would have made RU the next National Champion if he stayed.

 

[MADHAT1]

I think Rettig got a few reps at TT, but quit the team after not winning the starting job.

Your right,

>Rettig split time with fellow quarterback Andre Sale during Tennessee Tech's season-opening loss to Western Illinois. He was 4-of-8 for 29 yards with an interception. Sale started the second game.<

Former Rutgers QB Hayden Rettig leaves Tennessee Tech

QB Hayden Rettig played in 1 game at Tennessee Tech after graduate transferring from Rutgers, where he spent 3 years.

www.nj.com

 

[rudad02]

More RU urban legend re not being accurate. (Join the Townsend drop would have won the game and Hairston was a fumbler) How would anyone on this board know AS' in gaem accuracy? In both spring and real games we didnt see enough to for an evidence based conclusion. I from an opinion basis saw what i thought were gamer potentials, but it was a small sample.

To throw him in with Wimsatt from whom we had a huge sample is unfair. Very little doubt that GS wanted to do right by the elder Surace if things at all close. This was just not the right time and place for AS. No reason to impugn his skills without sample size.

Hoping AS tears it up in Pullman.

"very little doubt that GS wanted to do right by the elder Surace if things were at all close." That's why I posted earlier that Sheppard got screwed. Hardly saw the field at all last year, & there were plenty of opportunities. What if he played well? Oh Oh! You could see that handwriting on the wall.

 

[-RUFAN4LIFE-]

Was his playing time at Ttech due to skill level or performance, or was there more to that situation? And did he even have any meaningful stats there and play a full season? I have no idea what occurred, but he certainly seemed talented enough for that level. And his td thrown against OSU was nicely done. Did he really get a shot here with Flood who loved Laviano regardless of results.

Imagine if Retting threw the ball when past the line of scrimmage multiple times including the last play of a game? Flood's choosing and acumen dont tell me much re Rettig's abilities. Citing him as the fans always wrongly love the back up qb who is actually bad doesnt appear supported by actual facts and veers into trope.

Just thinking as to the overall thread its something to see the "I'm right" any way you look at it posts. A player's stats good-well some other coach chose someone else. Stats good, well I saw him thrown errantly at the gym. Bad stats, well they speak for themseleves. Backup qb-well you dont see practice and mistakes are never made by coaches. To say Ajani Shepard is a bad qb who is inaccurate, or Rettig for that matter, speaks to bias of the poster rather than empirical results. Wimsatt yes was inaccurate based on results. The backup qb trope is well, just weak as a point without backing information. Let's see if AS gets a shot and how he does-maybe he will be inaccurate. Maybe he won't. But what we have seen doesnt lead to a failure absolute conclusion.

It was common knowledge that Rettig couldn't grasp the playbook which is way he didn't play much. He failed at LSU, RU and Tenn Tech.

It never fails that RU fans hail flawed QBs as better than they were and claim the coaches held them back.

 

[TRU2RU]

"very little doubt that GS wanted to do right by the elder Surace if things were at all close." That's why I posted earlier that Sheppard got screwed. Hardly saw the field at all last year, & there were plenty of opportunities. What if he played well? Oh Oh! You could see that handwriting on the wall.

Great now the Coaches don’t want players to play well, can’t make this nonsense up, the backup qb crew is amazing with making up BS

 

[-RUFAN4LIFE-]

"very little doubt that GS wanted to do right by the elder Surace if things were at all close." That's why I posted earlier that Sheppard got screwed. Hardly saw the field at all last year, & there were plenty of opportunities. What if he played well? Oh Oh! You could see that handwriting on the wall.

 

[Knight Shift]

Don't you know that after leaving Rutgers , every player that leaves proves to be a major talent lost and destined to be the next Heisman winner .
Ajani is just the latest future College HOF member that would have made RU the next National Champion if he stayed.

Well they did screw up with Cole Snyder. People can laugh all the want, but he made the Lions mini camp. Last RU QB to make NFL was Teel and last ex RU QB to do that was Savage.

 

[-RUFAN4LIFE-]

Well they did screw up with Cole Snyder. People can laugh all the want, but he made the Lions mini camp. Last RU QB to make NFL was Teel and last ex RU QB to do that was Savage.

Wow, that bar is really low if being a warm body in a mini camp qualifies as screwing up. He hasn't even made a practice squad yet.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Well they did screw up with Cole Snyder. People can laugh all the want, but he made the Lions mini camp. Last RU QB to make NFL was Teel and last ex RU QB to do that was Savage.

Nova was invited to a mini-camp, wasn’t he?

I don’t think your logic is entirely fair. If we were talking about Evan Simon not getting a fair shake vs Wimsatt and then going on to have that success, it would be different. Vedral earned and deserved the QB one role in 2021 and had he not suffered what turned into a career ending injury, he would’ve been invited to mini-camps too. Noah was an experienced junior, and Snyder had redshirted 2020 (Covid year). Cole never really competed with GW for a starting spot. It’s probably safe to say he saw the writing on the wall and left because he didn’t think he’d get a fair shake. But that’s different from what your suggesting.

 

[Doctor Worm]

Wow, that bar is really low if being a warm body in a mini camp qualifies as screwing up. He hasn't even made a practice squad yet.

The more accurate statement is that Snyder hasn't made the Lions (or anybody else's) 90 man off-season roster yet. Practice squads aren't set until after the final preseason cuts.

But yeah, getting a tryout is nice, but unless it results in a contract it's really no big deal.

EDIT: Per Wikipedia, on May 18 Cole Snyder was signed by the Edmonton Elks of the CFL. Whether he will make their final roster is unknown. If he does, I am confident that we will all be duly notified.😉

 

[Knight Shift]

The more accurate statement is that Snyder hasn't made the Lions (or anybody else's) 90 man off-season roster yet. Practice squads aren't set until after the final preseason cuts.

But yeah, getting a tryout is nice, but unless it results in a contract it's really no big deal.

EDIT: Per Wikipedia, on May 18 Cole Snyder was signed by the Edmonton Elks of the CFL. Whether he will make their final roster is unknown. If he does, I am confident that we will all be duly notified.😉

Name the last RU QB besides Teel and Savage who got a sniff of the NFL or CFL. Maybe Nova.

 

[Knight Shift]

Nova was invited to a mini-camp, wasn’t he?

I don’t think your logic is entirely fair. If we were talking about Evan Simon not getting a fair shake vs Wimsatt and then going on to have that success, it would be different. Vedral earned and deserved the QB one role in 2021 and had he not suffered what turned into a career ending injury, he would’ve been invited to mini-camps too. Noah was an experienced junior, and Snyder had redshirted 2020 (Covid year). Cole never really competed with GW for a starting spot. It’s probably safe to say he saw the writing on the wall and left because he didn’t think he’d get a fair shake. But that’s different from what your suggesting.

What success did Evan Simon have? Must have missed it. Cole Snyder got the same bad shake because the staff was locked on Wimsatt. Disagree on Vedral. No way.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

What success did Evan Simon have? Must have missed it. Cole Snyder got the same bad shake because the staff was locked on Wimsatt. Disagree on Vedral. No way.

No success. My point was that what you said only would’ve applied if Cole stayed and didn’t get a chance to play in 22 / 23 (if he did what Evan did and went on to have success).

it doesn’t take very much to get invited to camps but whether vedral could’ve gotten added as a practice body with a decent 22 season is besides the point. Go back and look at Noah’s numbers in 2020 and the beginning of 2021 before our OL got decipated with injuries. He was a veteran QB who was doing reasonably well in our program given the GS 2.0 starting point. On no planet did true frosh or redshirt sophomore Cole Snyder deserve to beat him out for the starting role in 2020 or 2021. Greg started the best option to win games for those seasons. Period. Had he stayed in 2022 and been passed over, you’d have a point. Thats all I’m saying.

 

[gef21]

I think the real point is the O we ran was fine of AS, he just wasn’t good enough to be the guy here. Nothing wrong with that

agreed.

 

[PaKnight]

Great now the Coaches don’t want players to play well, can’t make this nonsense up, the backup qb crew is amazing with making up BS

It is called an echo chamber, someone makes something up and another person uses it as proof for their theory.

 

[Yeah Baby]

He never said that.

Springsteen is just an example but I'll fix it in my post.

 

[Yeah Baby]

Very few of our NFL players sat on the bench here. It does happen but not so much here for what I have seen.

 

[ru-baby]

Indeed something is made up or opinion and gets reposted as support. Stats or results fall behind what occurred in off season workouts or when no one but coaches saw.

As is not better than ak. Is he better than others- bona fide issue. Reasonable to debate but the absolutism and tropes say more about the poster than the issue.

 

[ashokan]

Gavin had roughly 2,200 combined passing and rushing yards in 2023, Athan had around 2,950 combined yards in 2024.

Gavin scored a lot of short yardage touchdowns, last year Kyle got more carries in close and increased his rushing TD’s from 8 to 13. Overall scoring improved from 23.2 to 28.9.

AK had MUCH better WRs.
People would get mad at me in 23 when I said GW's top WR was not a legit BIG starter - then he couldn't start in 24.
Kyle was best running in traffic but not that great on OL - he never had a lot of TDs compared to others like Blake Corum (small guy)
GW was actually good running on goal and/or in the push - even OSU guys bounced off him
Remember GW did set RU records for QB scoring and rushing in a season - he also led BE for both in 23.
None of that is to minimize AK - he played hard and well when RU was forced to take the Gump braces off

 

[TRU2RU]

As is not better than ak. Is he better than others- bona fide issue. Reasonable to debate but the absolutism and tropes say more about the poster than the issue.

It is only an issue with posters who think there is some grand conspiracy to keep a better player off the field for some made up reason that does not exist. Keep disregarding the multiple people who attend practice & scrimmages who say the same thing about Sheppard, that he lacks accuracy & that is why he was going to Old Dominion before RU threw him a life line.

 

[ashokan]

Name the last RU QB besides Teel and Savage who got a sniff of the NFL or CFL. Maybe Nova.

I'll never forget Nova from RU vs PSU in 2014.
Penn St DB coach promised his secondary they would get 4 INTs - they got 5.
What did PSU coach see that RU coaches couldn't?
I had permanent realizations about RU's pass game coaching after that

"Gary was aggressive with his thought process. Does he need to be that aggressive? I don't know that he needed to be that aggressive at that point in the game. Those are things that we'll coach him through. I do want the players to play the game aggressively." - Flood

Upon Further Review: Breaking down Rutgers QB Gary Nova's five interceptions against Penn State

Nova's five interceptions were caused by a variety of factors.

www.nj.com

A constant problem with Nova (good guy with good arm) was that when the pressure was on he would make ill-advised turbo chucks into triple coverage. In HS he got away with it but not in college - but he was allowed to get away with it for years by coaches who supposedly dreaded turnovers.

Dodd - underrated - only got to win the USF game with Sanu only after GS saw Nova booed-off the field

"Dodd, who saw his first action in five games, had replaced a struggling Gary Nova, and he and Sanu immediately began clicking."

Sanu made a circus catch after what looked like a sloppy throw by Dodd but it was intentionally off target

"Sanu, who was well-covered on the play, raced across the field on a crossing pattern and Dodd put the ball the only place he could — slightly behind him and low."

"It was a little lower than I wanted it to be but I threw it behind him on purpose," said Dodd, who came off the bench at the start of the fourth quarter to complete 11 of 17 passes for 125 yards, one touchdown and one interception.to rally the Scarlet Knights

"https://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/2011/11/rutgers_mohamed_sanu_saves_sca.html

 

[PaKnight]

AK had MUCH better WRs.
People would get mad at me in 23 when I said GW's top WR was not a legit BIG starter - then he couldn't start in 24.
Kyle was best running in traffic but not that great on OL - he never had a lot of TDs compared to others like Blake Corum (small guy)
GW was actually good running on goal and/or in the push - even OSU guys bounced off him
Remember GW did set RU records for QB scoring and rushing in a season - he also led BE for both in 23.
None of that is to minimize AK - he played hard and well when RU was forced to take the Gump braces off

Gavin was a good runner no doubt, and he did average 8.5 carries per game excluding sacks. For a guy with no experienced backup behind him, that is a fair numbers of carries.

 

[-RUFAN4LIFE-]

Indeed something is made up or opinion and gets reposted as support. Stats or results fall behind what occurred in off season workouts or when no one but coaches saw.

As is not better than ak. Is he better than others- bona fide issue. Reasonable to debate but the absolutism and tropes say more about the poster than the issue.

Yeah must be a conspiracy when Richie reports on the podcasts that Surace was the clear #2 and the true freshman almost outplayed Ajani for the QB3 spot.

But stick to your guns here and keep making these statements when you have no basis to support anything in Ajani's favor other than HS stats that are multiple years ago now.

 

[ashokan]

Gavin was a good runner no doubt, and he did average 8.5 carries per game excluding sacks. For a guy with no experienced backup behind him, that is a fair numbers of carries.

When an interviewer asked Teel why he never ran he answered "because coach told me not to ."
GS does not like QBs to run by design.
GW rarely got to run between the 20s

GW wasn't a blazer but like Underwood (4.4s at combine) he had a long stride that ate real estate. Once he got beyond LOS he caught defenders by surprise because he got out of their reaches so quickly - could have had 1000+ yds easy with RU's strong run game blocking. As I mentioned, there were a bunch of times broadcast guys expressed surprise he was not running (vs scrambling) more

 

[ru-baby]

Richie says… As a basis for a conclusion.///

I realize that in this day and age not all are cognizant of opinions versus facts and data but as I said at the top, everyone’s entitled to their opinion. And I find it interesting that at no time did I ever say that AS should be number two, but if one tries to discuss data for the formation of an opinion, they are described with having baseless opinions or agenda. The assumption is that if one bases their conclusion one way that everyone then must also have their own gut feeling opinions in the same way, and don’t want to or cannot discuss the data that’s reviewable and the conclusions that may flow from that.

Any twisting of the data or lack thereof is just twisting as the post speak for themselves. It’s a message board I guess so if someone has a contrary conclusion, then they must be ascribed with some sort of opinion based bias that the asserter has-have at it, but the post describing the data speak for themselves.

 

[MADHAT1]

Well they did screw up with Cole Snyder. People can laugh all the want, but he made the Lions mini camp. Last RU QB to make NFL was Teel and last ex RU QB to do that was Savage.

Snyder gained a tryout, but don't act like he made the team.
Cole proved to be a good QB facing mid major competition , not B1G
When it comes to invites.
Snyder was not selected in the 2024 NFL Draft, but received an invite to the Detroit Lions' rookie mini-camp . The team opted not to sign Snyder.
But take heart >The CFL's League's Edmonton Elks signed Snyder.

Remember Cole was losing snaps to CJ Ogbonna his last year at Buffalo.
He left the Bulls , maybe, because he felt CJ was the front runner for the Bull's starting QB job in 2024.
Buffalo had turned to a two-quarterback system in 2023, Snyder as the passing quarterback and CJ Ogbonna as the run-first option. Buffalo might have been changing into a run orient offence and Snyder felt that type of offense wasn't a good fit for him and the staff felt the same way about how he fit the team's offense in 2024
At Eastern Michigan Cole did have a great season and also could be proud of his Buffalo games.
But as good as he was at the mid major level, we can only speculate how his B1G play would have been if he could beat out Noah in 2021 or stayed and took over for Vedral in 2022 like Wimsatt did.

The one that got away is one of the best fish stories told, seems like that pertains to RU QBs as well.

Evan Simon's Temple stats comped to Cole's EM's play

Stats
2024

CMP	ATT	CMP%	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	LNG	RTG
181	308	58.8	2,032	6.6	15	9	91	124.4

Snyder EM
2024

CMP	ATT	CMP%	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	LNG	RTG
240	402	59.7	2,684	6.7	15	9	79	123.6

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Richie says… As a basis for a conclusion.///

I realize that in this day and age not all are cognizant of opinions versus facts and data but as I said at the top, everyone’s entitled to their opinion. And I find it interesting that at no time did I ever say that AS should be number two, but if one tries to discuss data for the formation of an opinion, they are described with having baseless opinions or agenda. The assumption is that if one bases their conclusion one way that everyone then must also have their own gut feeling opinions in the same way, and don’t want to or cannot discuss the data that’s reviewable and the conclusions that may flow from that.

Any twisting of the data or lack thereof is just twisting as the post speak for themselves. It’s a message board I guess so if someone has a contrary conclusion, then they must be ascribed with some sort of opinion based bias that the asserter has-have at it, but the post describing the data speak for themselves.

Okay but regardless - AK was clearly going to be QB1 and there should be no discrepancy around this. Similarly - there should be no discrepancy around Greg’s decision to start Noah Vedral through the 2021 season. There is no basis for even entertaining the possibility that Cole Snyder was a better option that Schiano pushed under the rug at that time. The data through the 20-13 Michigan game (national runner up) speaks for itself. Nobody - not Cole Snyder, GW, Surace whoever could’ve overcome the season ending loss of Sutton, and the rate limiting injuries to O’Neal and AC (who was our best position blocker). We had no depth to begin with on the OL - we were obliterated in the trenches. Just such bad pass and run protection the rest of the way period.

So the reality is there really is no official history of Greg not ultimately playing the best available QB. If Cole had stayed for 2022, perhaps he is the difference in the Nebraska game. I don’t think it’s the case that he wouldn’t have gotten a shot that year.