GingaNinja Transferring
Not entirely unexpected, but a little sad nonetheless, word came out today that last year’s QB1 Michael Birdsong, is transferring out of JMU. While this sounds shocking, it’s really not surprising at all given that last year’s Georgia Tech starter Vad Lee had transferred in and, according to reports, outplayed the Ginger Giant in last weekend’s Spring Game.
As we’ve said, Rob and I are a little tied up with life this week so we don’t have any extended thoughts, but we will offer the following:
1) We don’t want to hear a damned thing about Birdsong “being afraid of competition.” We played his ass off for the Dukes the last two years (and weren’t we all grateful when he took over for JT two years back!). He’s just being squeezed by the business end of small-time college football (darn tootin’ I meant to say “small time”). We thought of LeZotte the Elder too and while I’m sure he was glad to stick around for the title and his brother, I’ll also bet there’s a part of him that wished he’d been slinging it his whole career.
2) A HUGE thank you to Birdsong for his time at JMU. Seemed to be a good kid who enjoyed JMU, life, and the game.
3) We hope semi-heralded recruit and early enrollee Rob Nittolo, he of the “JMU’s going to CUSA” fame, is capable of backing up the team’s new leader in Lee.
4) And finally, we’ll really miss the hell out of this:
No experience behind Vad now. Let’s hope he doesn’t get injured. He runs a lot.
Football aside – he’ll be missing out on a great education.
This season that is just the first of many letdowns I’m sure. Nothing like shoving all in on a triple option QB that wants to throw more but runs often. Good luck Dukes.
I attended the spring game and you could see that Lee was way better than Birdsong. When he throws deep it is a bullet and not a lofted ball. I think anyone there could see who the starting QB was going to be. Now we just need to get the back ready just in case. Go Dukes!
So you can truly judge who’s better based off of attending the spring game? Have you done any research to see that the new coach knew Vad since his early high school days and they both come from the same town? Ironic? Since you were at spring game you should’ve also seen which QB had the better o-Line. not excuses but an unfair advantage from the day in January it was announced Vad would be transferring in. Instead of sticking around with an entire inexperienced new coaching staff, Birdsong did what any human with brains would’ve done and followed his gut instinct. Please pay attention to the facts prior to posting. Best of luck to Vad and even more luck goes to Withers, this past Monday morning he single-handedly lost the best thing that has ever happened to JMU.
Lost the best thing that has ever happened to JMU? Birdsong isn’t even the best QB to ever come to JMU, let alone the best player, LET ALONE the best thing to happen to the team. I seem to remember an NCAA Championship Trophy from my tour inside the Plecker Center that might take offense to that statement.
Don’t get me wrong. I realize that MB had tremendous talent. I went to high school in the same district as he and got to watch him DISMANTLE my schools defense. And I was just as happy as anyone else when he got the starting job at JMU. But calling him the best thing to ever happen to JMU is ridiculous. (especially considering the NON-football side of JMU, which, let me blow your mind, is the MAJORITY of the school.)
With all the QB’s on the roster, it doesn’t come as any suprise.
The real story here is that JMU has a serious problem with athletes transferring. It’s not like walk-ons and no-names are quietly leaving. In the past month, we’ve had like 3 or 4 major players in JMU athletics announce they are transferring. That is a huge red flag.
For the longest time, i was a RABID fan. At this point in time though, I really don’t see anything to get excited about with JMU athletics. The basketball team is a joke with no indication of changing. Vad Lee doesn’t excite me at all and was likely gifted the job because of his good-ole-buy network with the coach and his ability to run around in circles. The students all show up late and leave at halftime. The CAA has gone from national powerhouse to suck-fest. We are still “monitoring the situation”. Can someone remind me why I should renew my Duke Club membership?
“Can someone remind me why I should renew my Duke Club membership?”
Free parking?