Freeman led a Thanksgiving Night comeback versus BC last year
This morning we got confirmation of what had been suspected and discussed on message boards since Christmas Eve: Kirby Freeman is transferring to Baylor. Freeman is being panned for his 1 of 14 performance versus NC State which was one of the worst quarterback performances I have had the misfortune of watching in person. His body of work in 2007 after being named the starter in the fall was one epic drive against Florida State and otherwise horrible performances against Oklahoma, Duke and NC State and a barely passable one against Marshall. In other words, Freeman's 2007 was an embarrassment. This has been rightly pointed out on message boards and by Canes fans everywhere.
However what has been forgotten was 2006, when the Pata murder, FIU brawl and imminent Coker firing had sent the program spiraling out of control. Kyle Wright was the Hurricanes starter but he didn't show the guts and play-making ability as a junior he demonstrated this past year. Wright's performances against Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech in consecutive weeks were reminiscent of Freeman this year against Marshall and Oklahoma. The team led by Wright was destined to die in 2006 as we did in 2007 on a long long losing streak. Then Kirby Freeman entered the picture and brought the Canes back from a 14-0 deficit to essentially beat Maryland. (Sure the Canes lost the game, but not due to Freeman who put what would have been the winning TD on the mark for Ryan Hill in the 4th quarter a pass Hill flat out dropped in the back corner of the end zone.) The Freeman after playing a poor first twenty eight minutes against Boston College Thanksgiving night brought the Canes from 14-3 behind with some nice passes mostly on the run while out of the pocket to win 17-14 and become despite of all the adversity bowl eligible.
Many Hurricane fans laughed at the trip to Boise to play in the MPC Computers Bowl. But given the obvious poor state of Miami Football a year later perhaps our fans are having second thoughts now reminiscing about that game. That day versus Nevada Kirby Freeman had the best bowl game for a UM QB since Ken Dorsey in the Rose Bowl and led the Canes to a victory. Freeman made plays with his feet and with his arm, throwing two long TD passes on the run, one to Sam Shields and one to Ryan Moore. The Canes for all the adversity and tragedy of 2006 had a Bowl victory thanks to Kirby Freeman. That is how I will always remember him.
Next year Freeman will be at Baylor with Art Briles, a great offensive mind who runs a highly gimmicky system which inflates numbers. Should Freeman start, don't be shocked if his passing numbers leave 1-14 in its proper wake, because all of the QBs that play in that system have high completion percentages and yardage totals. If Freeman is not able to play at Baylor than many of the critics of his 2007 season will be vindicated. If he does play and works well in the Briles system, then many will ask why it did not happen here. Well the simple answer is coaching and both Kirby Freeman and Kyle Wright have suffered from schizophrenic coaching philosophy the past three seasons.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Farewell True Cane
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6 comments:
Kirby, thanks for the FSU drive but seriously if you want to play, please transfer to a 1AA school. The NCsT game sealed your fate here.
You and your fam seem nice enough, but even your dad watching that performance against NcSt would have to have been shaking his head.
I thought Brock v TN was apocryphal but this was absolutely regottdammdiculous.
YAY! So now we have kyle and kirby gone. we may finally get the qb situation rolling again with marve. we all know he has talent. if he lets james and coop do some running and throws safe passes...he'll thrive. Celebrate Hurricane Nation-losing Kyle and Kirby is a great step to getting back to the glory days!
If Freeman is such a big winner as you write, why doesn't he stay and compete for the job? And stop making excuses for him and Kyle. They were equally bad. Dumber and Dumbest. The two worst QBs EVER!
Kirby was always the wrong fit for this team - c'mon a running qb with limited elusiveness? What were they thinking?
The guy brings all he has but he doesn't have enough. He always did strike me as a consummate team player. I wish him all the luck and success.
Let's be honest, scary or not he was not going to start next year. Most telling was Jacory Harris' comment on his injury "tell Marve I'll be competing"...he didn't even mention Kirby.
There are reports out of Texas that Baylor has received a release from UM, which would allow the Freeman camp and the Briles camp to talk. But there still are no guarantees here because the NCAA must grant Freeman a waiver allowing him to transfer. The release in this case is just a formality. If the NCAA says no, then Freeman probably has 3 options: 1) Return to UM 2) Transfer to a Division IAA school 3) Retire and move on with his life No word yet on any of this from Freeman
However you are jumping the gun saying he can play for Briles next year. I agree- if he plays for Briles he will have a good year. But he may not be granted a waiver and if he isn't, he's stuck here or at some IAA school.
Regarding the Kirby transfer, I was hoping he was willing to put in the work this offseason to lead this team, and give the young QB's time to learn the offense. Patrick Nix is still trying to work his offense with Coker's recruits. So far, I am missing Chudzinski and his play calling, but I will give Nix the benefit of the doubt and allow him next year to implement his offense before passing judgement. I guess RS was not as willing to with Walton!!
I do find it strange that UM Hoops is ranked higher than UF Hoops. Haith is doing a good job so far this year, especially since they were projected by many to finish last in the ACC. I hope RS does the same next year, as I expect most writers will underestimate this team's potential next year!!
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