Penn State QB Transfer

[UAFAN]

D.J.Crook, QB 2

 

 

http://www.pennlive.com/pennstatefootball/index.ssf/2015/01/penn_state_football_qb_dj_croo.html

[Dane96]

Already a thread in the 2015 recruiting.

[Michigan_Dane]

Crook should bring the rest of the team with him :-)

 

We have a FBS coach, 2015 FBS games, FBS transfers.... Is there fire to this smoke?

[Dane96]

Nope. This is FCS football at the big level. This is normal.

[UAalum72]

From T-U Plus:

D.J. Crook leads QB battle at UAlbany

The Great Danes have five quarterbacks at spring practice that started last week. They're all vying to replace starter Will Fiacchi, who graduated after throwing 24 touchdown passes last season. There's a sixth quarterback scheduled to arrive this summer.

Crook, who's also a walk-on at UAlbany, said he loves his new situation. He's eligible to play right away because he transferred down from the Football Bowl Subdivision to the Football Championship Subdivision. "I enjoyed Penn State, every second of it," he said. "It goes to a point where you want to play the game and enjoy it the way you did when you were a kid. It's tough sitting on the bench for a long time. I'm just happy to get things rolling here."

UAlbany head coach Greg Gattuso, a Penn State graduate, said Crook has the edge over the others right now. However, Gattuso is not ready to anoint Crook as the starter with five months until the season opener at the University at Buffalo. The Great Danes, who went 7-5 in their second season in the Colonial Athletic Association, don't even have a quarterback depth chart yet. "That's a priority," Gattuso said. "If you're not good at quarterback, you can't play. You can't compete. You can't play in the type of league we're in without having a competitive quarterback. We've got to get better there."

Gattuso certainly has enough applicants for the job: Crook, incoming freshman Will Brunson, redshirt sophomore Shane Sweeney, senior Dan Harding and sophomore Steve Shanley. Neven Sussman is still in high school in Maryland and will be at training camp this summer.

Gattuso was impressed by what he saw out of Crook in the team's first scrimmage on Thursday afternoon. Crook wears No. 14, formerly taken by Fiacchi, though Gattuso said that's a coincidence. "I think right now, at this point, that D.J. Crook and Will Brunson have started to really assert themselves," Gattuso said. "I thought D.J. played very well yesterday for a first scrimmage. He's got a maturity. Big thing for us, he knows where he wants to go with the ball and mentally he made very few mistakes. He did the things we look for out of our quarterback."

Gattuso was asked whether the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Crook will be on scholarship next season. "I'd rather stay away from that one," Gattuso said. "He's got to win the job, obviously."

Crook is the only quarterback of the group who has thrown a pass in a college game. Brunson, who is from Myrtle Beach, S.C., graduated high school early so he could enroll at UAlbany in time for spring football. Gattuso joked that Bruson should be getting ready for his prom. Instead, he's absorbing the system of offensive coordinator Joe Bernard, who held the same position at Brunson's high school two years ago. "I think it's the best decision I could have made," Brunson said of coming in early. "Me and Coach Bernard have a great relationship ... It's a similar offense. It's just different terminology."

Sweeney, who grew up in Phelps in Ontario County, finally gets a chance after sitting behind Fiacchi. He wouldn't speculate about his chances of being Fiacchi's successor. "There's a lot of great talent out here," Sweeney said. "It's more about coming out here and getting better every single day. That's basically my main focus out here right now."

[uofalbany]

Do we have a countdown clock going yet for Sept 5th??????

[Eli]

I'll be there...what year is this kid? Article didn't mention it.

[DanesRGood]

Article from the record:

 

Quarterback battle wide open at UAlbany

ALBANY >> DJ Crook just wants to play football.

Desperately.

The recent UAlbany transfer, a former Penn State backup, spent the better part of the last two seasons pacing the sidelines, waiting for a chance, not only to prove himself but to, quite simply, throw the ball.

He’s getting that opportunity now. Or at least he’s fighting for it.

Crook is part of a spring battle for the Great Danes starting quarterback position, looking to replace multi-year starter Will Fiacchi who essentially rewrote the UA passing record book last season.

“I want to play. This was the best opportunity,” said Crook, a Massachusetts native. “(UAlbany is) closer to home, good academics and football. Coach Gattuso is a great coach, the staff is great too and the guys are awesome too. So it was a no-brainer for me, no matter what happens.”

The Danes are just a few practices into their spring schedule but Crook is already starting to find a rhythm.

He’s taken a good amount of snaps under center and he’s developed a rapport with his brand-new receiving corps already, working with the group, which includes reigning CAA Offensive Rookie of the Year Josh Gontarek, throughout the winter.

“The first drive (on Thursday) he drove them down, we didn’t get any points, missed a field goal. But the next chance he had he took us down and scored a touchdown so that’s huge,” said UA coach Greg Gattuso. “I think he’s got ability and I think he’s smart, understanding what’s going on now, so that’s a big leg up. He’s also a big kid. He’s 218, 220 pounds.”

Although Crook didn’t see much on-field action with the Nittany Lions, he does has some stats to back up the expectations already surrounding him.

He completed 6-of-9 passes for 57 yards and a touchdown against Massachusetts on Sept. 20th and was a consistent presence with Penn State’s second team in practices throughout his career.

But, still, the desire to blaze his own path drove Crook; straight into a Great Danes uniform and now that competition has started, he’s hoping that past Division I experience will help to separate him even farther.

“It’s beneficial no doubt but I mean it’s the same everywhere. Spring ball, open competition,” he said. “It’s very competitive, which, I mean, it always should be. We’re having fun out there, offense is getting the defense better and defense is getting the offense better. I mean, I’m looking forward to the next couple of weeks.”

Crook will face two main competitors throughout spring practice for that eventual starting spot and all three expect to see time with the ball in the Danes’ spring game on April 18.

Will Brunson, a 6-4 quarterback out of Myrtle Beach, left high school early to enroll at UAlbany following a career that boasted 7,134 passing yards. Dan Harding, a former backup to Fiacchi, is also in the starting mix.

Gattuso expected a competition and, right now, that’s exactly what he’s got.

He’s also pretty pleased with what he’s seen so far.

“They’re working hard. They’re competing,” said the Danes second-year coach. “Dan Harding has done well and really Will Brunson, for a kid that’s supposed to be going to the prom in a month, is doing really good. We’re excited but it’s competitive. I think DJ just has some maturity and experience that gives him a little bit of an edge.”

This spring has been a brand-new challenge for UAlbany, filled with early-season competition, position battles and even a few fights as tempers flared and excitement simply boiled over.

But Crook has found a way to maintain focus.

This is his moment, a chance he’s been waiting, literally, years for.

He’s worked, created relationships and read the playbook more times than he is physically able to count. Now Crook is prepping for a battle and, he’s hoping, it ends with a call in the starting lineup this fall.

“I’ve definitely matured. I think that’s the only thing really that’s grown,” he said. “I had some great coaches obviously at Penn State but I’m at the point where I’ve seen everything and I just want to get on the field. That’s really all that matters.”

[jimbo]

Good articles. It brings up a point that I don't know too much about. Scholarship numbers are limited, of course. When athletes are recruited are there guarantees of scholarships at the

time they are recruited or sign their letters? Or are the scholarships doled out on the basis of competition and play performance? It would seem that a highly sought after recruit

would have to be coming in with the scholarship locked up. Maybe it comes down to Will graduating and his scholarship at QB opening up and only one of the new QBs will get one (or a full ride). Anybody

know more about how the process works at UA's level or above?

[Dane96]

Scholarships are signed at the time of the Letter of Intent signature, and at that time you would know if you are receiving a full or partial scholarship. In FCS, we have 63 full scholarships that can be split up among 85 players.

However, scholarships are technically not a 4-year contract. They are renewable 1-year contracts and, sometimes, a kid's scholarship could not be renewed, which is akin, in some manner, to a student losing his academic scholarship for falling below the GPA threshold. For the most part, I am unaware of kids losing their scholarships with our programs. In fact, I know the school has gone out of its way to honor our commitment when kids have career ending injuries or medicals.

 

For Albany, my guess--and it is a total guess--is that many of the skill kids and difficult to fill positions get the full rides...and kids who are borderline either come in with no rides (NYS kid, maybe where they can pay tuition at lower rate), preferred walk-on (opportunity to earn a scholarship over time) or a gray shirt (delaying their enrollment a semester to ensure they have a scholarship available the next calendar year).

 

All speculation, but my understanding of how it is generally done at FCS / FBS schools.

[Dane96]

On a side note, there is a video on-line of Coach talking about camp...and he specifically talks about the O-Line making progression, the QB competition (sounds like it is Crook/Sweeney/Brunson as the standouts), and our need to continue to progress defensively.

 

I am excited the Brunson has made headway so early on, and at such a young age (he should be getting ready for Prom) for this important skill position. I think he could be special down the line.

[DanesRGood]

For those wondering, like myself, Crooks redshirted his first year at Penn State and was their backup last year as a redshirt freshman so looks like he has 3 years of eligibility.

[Eli]

For those wondering, like myself, Crooks redshirted his first year at Penn State and was their backup last year as a redshirt freshman so looks like he has 3 years of eligibility.

 

Thanks. Who the hell taught these reporters in journalism class? That's one of the most important details as to who the kid is and both articles seemed to have omitted that information. I mean, come on?

[DanesRGood]

 

For those wondering, like myself, Crooks redshirted his first year at Penn State and was their backup last year as a redshirt freshman so looks like he has 3 years of eligibility.

 

Thanks. Who the hell taught these reporters in journalism class? That's one of the most important details as to who the kid is and both articles seemed to have omitted that information. I mean, come on?

 

Agree, I had to go look at the Penn State roster from last year to see what year he was. Bad omission on their part.

[Dane Pound]

Shane Sweeney is out of the QB competition. He's transferring to Hobart - http://www.fltimes.com/sports/article_961a522a-20c1-11e5-8cca-b3bd8dd59e60.html