Mike McNeil to Try Out Wide Receiver

[74Hunter]

Why do this in the guy's senior year? I think it could be beneficial, but it begs the question, "why now?"

It certainly seems to support the notion that NU will be looking to run more of a spread offense this year.

Both good questions, maybe it will help the run game, maybe the coaches decided that they needed someone who could actually run decent routes, get open, AND catch the ball. It was painful to watch this offense at times last year.

I just hope that he'll be as effective as he was at tight end, or be able to produce number like a Todd Peterson.

 

[jas11]

I think the move makes sense if the offense is truly moving to a more spread based attack. Plenty of time with spring ball to experiment with this.

 

[M I K E]

Is he going to slim down? At 240 he'd be 30lbs heavier than any other WR on the roster. Or are they going to keep him at that size and have him do a lot of blocking from the Slot? On a run play having a guy that size in the slot along with a TE would be nice. The crappy thing for the defense is, if they fake the run (think Option pass), McNeill is a huge threat down the field.

Imagine having Dreu Young and McNeill on the same side of the formation. Run the Option pass, pull the guard, and on a three count release both the TE and Slot downfield. Now who do you cover, and who do you cover him with? That's a grim choice for a defense, especially if the QB is athletic enough to pull the ball down and make you pay with his feet if you cover the WR and TE.

I'm getting pumped just thinking about that. Definitely one of my favorite plays. :woo

I just wish they would have tried more of this slot TE stuff last year...

 

[roundegotrip]

Is he going to slim down? At 240 he'd be 30lbs heavier than any other WR on the roster. Or are they going to keep him at that size and have him do a lot of blocking from the Slot? On a run play having a guy that size in the slot along with a TE would be nice. The crappy thing for the defense is, if they fake the run (think Option pass), McNeill is a huge threat down the field.

Imagine having Dreu Young and McNeill on the same side of the formation. Run the Option pass, pull the guard, and on a three count release both the TE and Slot downfield. Now who do you cover, and who do you cover him with? That's a grim choice for a defense, especially if the QB is athletic enough to pull the ball down and make you pay with his feet if you cover the WR and TE.

I see them having him maintain his size and trying to move him around a lot. There's so much cool stuff you can do with a TE who's versatile enough to line up in the slot. The best part, if they can manage to make it work, is that it would really help keep the offense on the field, as McNeill would theoretically be racking up a ton of short completions a la Dallas Clark. You have to have a guy who's big enough to play TE effectively and also quick enough to play slot effectively to make it work, though, so we'll see if Mike is up to the task.

 

[huzkerbob]

All I have heard from the majority of fans is that we desperately need a playmaker at WR who can both catch AND stretch the field. So pardon me for asking, but why does it now seem like all of you think McNiell will a boon at the position? Sure he can catch, but does anyone honestly think McNiell will be a reliable down field threat playing WR full time?

I fear that this could easily end up being just another ambitious spring experiment that is quickly abandoned when conference crunch time comes and the coaches realize that there 240lb mauler of a TE probably isn't the best option to have lined up against the kind of speedy safeties NU will face in the Big12.

Situationally I think McNiell in the slot could be a very effective wrinkle in NU's playbook, but I am skeptical that working at WR full time will be a good use of the limited practice time the team has to work with. Especially if Watts again has trouble settling on an offensive identity come fall.

 

[Enhance]

I think the move makes sense if the offense is truly moving to a more spread based attack. Plenty of time with spring ball to experiment with this.

Agreed.

But I'm wondering just how spread we will actually become. The coaches have said they want to be 50/50 this year, so my gut instinct is telling me that we may see something similar to Florida's offense, an offense which the Gators posted over 3,000 yards rushing and 3,000 yards passing in.

I don't see us becoming too much of a passing team, but the word "spread" will probably worry a few people given it's general connotations. I think 50/50 will be a pretty good bet.

 

[blackshirts5115]

Is he going to slim down? At 240 he'd be 30lbs heavier than any other WR on the roster. Or are they going to keep him at that size and have him do a lot of blocking from the Slot? On a run play having a guy that size in the slot along with a TE would be nice. The crappy thing for the defense is, if they fake the run (think Option pass), McNeill is a huge threat down the field.

Imagine having Dreu Young and McNeill on the same side of the formation. Run the Option pass, pull the guard, and on a three count release both the TE and Slot downfield. Now who do you cover, and who do you cover him with? That's a grim choice for a defense, especially if the QB is athletic enough to pull the ball down and make you pay with his feet if you cover the WR and TE.

When there were rumors going around a month ago about this switch, the tag-along rumor was that he'd be dropping to 220 or 225

 

[GMoose]

This definitely brings up a lot of q's. Bringing in Chase Harper makes more sense now though, Bo isn't one to bring in a JuCo to ride the bench. But this does lead me to believe that the coaches have confidence in someone's throwing ability. Paul and Kinnie are clearly 1 and 2, but adding McNeil in there leads me to believe that Wats really does want more spread. I'd prefer more of a pro set, but whatever moves the chains I guess...

 

[Axl_sued_me]

Maybe the coaches see a lack of talent at the WR department. If we had good depth at WR, do you still see this happening?

 

[jas11]

Maybe the coaches see a lack of talent at the WR department. If we had good depth at WR, do you still see this happening?

I'm sure that the lack of experience/depth at WR is playing into this decision. Seems like the coaching staff feels pretty good about where things are sitting at TE and wants to create some options at WR.

 

[Apathy]

I just hate to see talent like McNeil go to waste and thats what happened last year in my opinion. Mike McNeil had a surprising year as a Sophomore and had high hopes among fans for the 2009 season. I was pretty disappointed the way we used McNeil for the 2009 season because we didn't use him enough when we needed too. With the way our WR's were dropping passes, McNeil seemed like a guarantee receiver to catch the ball and make something happen. Here are some surprising stats that I found.

2008 w/ Swift and Peterson

442 yard receiving with 6 touchdowns on 32 catches.

2009 w/o Swift and Peterson

259 yards receiving with 4 touchdowns on 28 catches.

In 2009 McNeil was again ranked 3rd amongst our receivers (like in 2008) in yards and he was behing Niles Paul who had 796 yards and surprisingly Gilleylen who had 302 yards and he only started 2 games. I believe that moving McNeil will add more threats at the WR position and allowing more TE's like Cotton, Young, Hill, Reed (if he stays at the TE position) and quite possible Harper. McNeil was a huge help while blocking as a lineman and he'll bring that to the WR position.

 

[redroar]

Im all for what is best for the team...and getting the best players on the field.

Cody Glen is one switch I had doubts would work ...with limited time to learn the position. But I would say the move was best for the team and became best for Cody.

 

[Hunter94]

I just wonder who was the one who decided it was time to finally try to get McNeil the ball. This is great news. I also wish they would have did this last year. (Looking at you Shawn Watson...)

absolutely spot on, Wats has always been a dollar late and a day short IMO. :facepalm:

 

[Hunter94]

Maybe the coaches see a lack of talent at the WR department. If we had good depth at WR, do you still see this happening?

Wats should have pulled his head out and made this change last season......the more i see what he has missed as OC, the more i continue to be disappointed, the guy has little creative thinking. i would also bet this was Pelini's own idea....thank God he is getting more involved in the offense, as he stated he would! :hellloooo

 

[zoogs]

I just wonder who was the one who decided it was time to finally try to get McNeil the ball. This is great news. I also wish they would have did this last year. (Looking at you Shawn Watson...)

absolutely spot on, Wats has always been a dollar late and a day short IMO. :facepalm:

We didn't try in 2008?

McNeil was seriously injured and played through it for a lot of 2009. And, we had no legit WR playmaking threats for most of the year, allowing teams to take away the TE without worrying as much on the outside. Not to mention we had less able QBs...but yet, people still want to see QBs that will just be fast and run with the ball, which would entail even less getting the ball to our TEs and WRs. It doesn't make sense to me.

McNeil had 28 receptions to Paul's 40. And he had 32 in his breakout 2008 campaign. Though his 2009 campaign had less TDs and much less yardage, it was no less short of incredibly clutch catches on 3rd down and TDs (Mizzou) that really were really game-defining.