cwsox Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 Navarre - Heisman dark horse Navarre in position for stardom All signs point to a big season from senior QB Friday, July 25, 2003 BY JIM CNOCKAERT News Sports Reporter CHICAGO - Senior quarterback John Navarre can't help but chuckle any time he hears someone suggest that he might be the one player the University of Michigan football team can ill-afford to lose to injury this season. From Our Advertiser That's because he knows that a year ago the feeling among many Michigan fans was just the opposite. "If they would have found out I was hurt, they would have said, 'Good,' " Navarre said Thursday morning during the annual Big Ten summer meetings. "It is funny to think about it now. I can take a little satisfaction in knowing that I've changed some people's minds about me." Navarre has done that - and more. Many preseason football magazines rate him as the premier returning quarterback in the Big Ten. He was one of six college quarterbacks selected to participate this weekend as an instructor at the EA Sports Elite 11 Passing Camp in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. He is regarded as a serious candidate for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm and Davey O'Brien quarterback awards. Perhaps most complimentary of all, he is mentioned as a darkhorse candidate on many preseason Heisman Trophy watch lists. Navarre quickly squashes any talk of postseason honors, particularly about the Heisman. He said he doesn't want anyone to think he believes he is some kind of bigshot. If such honors were to come his way, Navarre said, that would be fine. He'd much rather win a championship. "I have always tried to focus on the things that I can control," Navarre said. "It's nice that people say those things about me, but I try not to pay attention to that stuff, just as I try not to pay attention to the criticism." Navarre got plenty of the latter two seasons ago after the Wolverines finished 8-4 and missed out on a chance to win a share of the Big Ten championship and earn a Bowl Championship Series bid. Navarre threw 19 touchdown passes, but he struggled down the stretch, throwing 10 of his 13 interceptions during November and a Citrus Bowl loss to Tennessee. U-M coach Lloyd Carr said Navarre was unfairly blamed for a last-second loss that season at Michigan State, even though he was not on the field for the final 4 minutes of the game. Navarre took the criticism without complaint, earning the respect of his teammates and coaches. Still, it weighed on him. "That's the nature of being a quarterback," Carr said. "You're going to get a lot of credit for winning; you're going to get a lot of blame for losing. Sometimes it isn't fair. That was not fair. But that's the way it is." Navarre improved his statistics last season, throwing for nearly 500 more yards than the previous year. He threw 21 touchdown passes and cut his interception total to seven. Navarre said he believes he can improve those numbers even more this season, in part because of his experience, in part because of his familiarity with offensive coordinator Terry Malone's philosophy, and in part because he is working with some of the best talent in the Big Ten. "I've always said that becoming an outstanding quarterback is a process. It's true of all the positions, but it's particularly true at quarterback," Carr said. "John Navarre has proven beyond any doubt his ability to deal with the pressures that go with that position. I'll tell you this, against the University of Florida on New Year's Day, he played against a guy who was drafted in the first round. And John played better. So, in my mind, he's got everything it takes." Navarre said his performance in the Outback Bowl - he threw for a career-high 319 yards and a touchdown - might not have been the best of his career, but it is a critical one in terms of his confidence and that of his teammates. Navarre said he was so fired up following the 38-30 win that he was ready to start another season as soon as the Wolverines returned to Ann Arbor. "It is so different to end a season on a positive note like that, and it carried over in to everything we did," he said. "Usually, when you get back from a bowl game, you want to take a couple of weeks off, but I was ready to start up again. That was a new feeling for me." Navarre said he is now so familiar with the intricacies of the Michigan offense that he almost feels like a coordinator on the field. He believes that will enable him to take even more of a leadership role on the team this season. "The one thing you know as a Michigan quarterback is that you have to be accountable to your teammates, your coaches, the fans and the media," he said. "Part of that means you're going to be criticized, whether you believe you deserve it or not. People think you're great when we win and bad when we lose. You have to be able to balance that." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmr31 Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 You a big college football fan, cw? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CubsSuck1 Posted July 31, 2003 Share Posted July 31, 2003 I can't stand Michigan or Navarre...... How bout Clarett? He can't practice or play with the team for now, but the with the NCAA, ya never know whats gonna happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiff Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 4 ACC teams in the top 25 (in the top 17, actually), just as I predicted. B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AssHatSoxFan Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 this is the year for the ILLINI to be above .500 .... but i still love the ILLINI! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwsox Posted August 1, 2003 Author Share Posted August 1, 2003 it would be fun if other college football fans posted something from the local press as opposed to the stuff all of us access in the national media, if stuff from the local press was posted about their favorite teams or players - would inform the rest of us who follow the college game - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AssHatSoxFan Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 i can keep you up to date on the Illinii, possibly N'Western too and you can keep me up to date on the maize and blue and mich state too maybe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Be Good Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 GO Georgetown..........EVEN though I only follow their Bball team Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AssHatSoxFan Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 here we go: Jon Beutjer was named to the 42-man Davey O'Brien Award watch list as announced by the Davey O'Brien Foundation. The award is given annually to the nation's top quarterback, named after the All-American and Heisman Trophy winner who led Texas Christian to a national championship in 1938. and some guy name Navarre was too never heard of him University of Illinois defensive end Derrick Strong was named to the 29-man Ted Hendricks Award watch list as announced today by the Award's Foundation. The award, in its second year, is given annually to the nation's top defensive end, named after the three-time All-American from the University of Miami. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AssHatSoxFan Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 GO Georgetown..........EVEN though I only follow their Bball team btw they dont play football so maybe u ought to know that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmr31 Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 I just moved to Vegas, and i need a college football team to follow. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AssHatSoxFan Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 I just moved to Vegas, and i need a college football team to follow. Any suggestions? UNLV has a team if you are looking right in your area but otherwise there are plenty good teams out west in Pac 10, Mt West, and WAC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Be Good Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 I just moved to Vegas, and i need a college football team to follow. Any suggestions? UNLV ......BY the why bmr, how close are you to the strip of casino's or hotels or do ya live on the strip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiff Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 other notables on the o'brien list... chris rix, carlyle holiday, and matt lovecchio jr (indiana) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiff Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 If I were living in Vegas without a team, I'd jump on the Colorado St bandwagon. Van Pelt is the real deal, the Rams should be good this year, and UNLV's gonna suck. But regardless, I love the WAC/Mt. West conferences, they seem to play so wide open, nobody respects them, and they produce some damn good teams (Air Force, Fresno St., etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AssHatSoxFan Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 If I were living in Vegas without a team, I'd jump on the Colorado St bandwagon. Van Pelt is the real deal, the Rams should be good this year, and UNLV's gonna suck. But regardless, I love the WAC/Mt. West conferences, they seem to play so wide open, nobody respects them, and they produce some damn good teams (Air Force, Fresno St., etc.) yeah good call do they still have sapp at colorado state cuz he was awesome i was just saying if he wanted to root for a vegas team but the mt west and wac are good conferences... i love watching them play usualy thursday nite games Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiff Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 yeah good call do they still have sapp at colorado state cuz he was awesome i was just saying if he wanted to root for a vegas team but the mt west and wac are good conferences... i love watching them play usualy thursday nite games Thursday night, and late Saturday night. It's especially fun to watch when it starts snowing up in the mountains. Sapp has moved on but four of their o-lineman are back, and their two backs, Rashaan Sanders and Tristan Walker should be adequate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwsox Posted August 1, 2003 Author Share Posted August 1, 2003 matt lovecchio jr (indiana) he may be very, very good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwsox Posted August 1, 2003 Author Share Posted August 1, 2003 i can keep you up to date on the Illinii, possibly N'Western too and you can keep me up to date on the maize and blue and mich state too maybe deal! if we could one thread where we kept information going and no trash talk, it could benefit us all! folks can do their razzing in another thread or threads, I'd like one just for information - spiff, thanks for the info you have posted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CubsSuck1 Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 I know its early but any predictions for NCAA title game (sugar bowl, I think) I really have no idea, but I loved some guys prediction on espn. He said that he would go out on a limb and pick Kansas State and Va Tech. THAT would be an interesting game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CubsSuck1 Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 If I were living in Vegas without a team, I'd jump on the Colorado St bandwagon. Van Pelt is the real deal, the Rams should be good this year, and UNLV's gonna suck. But regardless, I love the WAC/Mt. West conferences, they seem to play so wide open, nobody respects them, and they produce some damn good teams (Air Force, Fresno St., etc.) I really don't have a team. I'd go with Illini, but I'm not too sure about them :\ If i had to pick I'd maybe say Ohio state, just beacuse i read about them somewhere before last season, especially about Doss, and I kinda just ran with them, but I wasn't die hard AT ALL. I did pick up a Clarett jersey for like $30 though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiff Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 deal! if we could one thread where we kept information going and no trash talk, it could benefit us all! folks can do their razzing in another thread or threads, I'd like one just for information - spiff, thanks for the info you have posted no problem, it is somewhat selfish anyway, since a) i have to go find the info and learn it myself, and b ) i love talking about college footbal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonkeyKongerko Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 Boise St. baby. Blue Field nuff said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capn12 Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 I'm USC all the way, seeing as I'm in South Carolina, its a given...(f*** Clemson)....go to every game...its mandatory for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmr31 Posted August 1, 2003 Share Posted August 1, 2003 UNLV ......BY the why bmr, how close are you to the strip of casino's or hotels or do ya live on the strip I can walk to a casino in 4 minutes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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