Bubba Starling

[tilgaham]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20101225/BIGRED/712259900

Just read it and salivate. It would take us millions, but if he's here when we pick and Cole/Purke/Rendon are gone, I don't see a better prospect in the draft.

[Frobby]

Wow. All that, and his name is Bubba Starling. Reason enough right there to want to draft him. But you have to be pretty confident you can sign him to take him with the 4th pick, considering the other players who are highly regarded and don't have the option to play big time football.

[Stotle]

Because words don't do him justice...

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[Arthur_Bryant]

He's really good at a lot of things. Will he be great at any of them?

Well, he already is, in some respects. I've seen him several times on the football field, and he is as hard to tackle as anyone I've ever seen.

I've seen him play baseball only once, and although it was just one game, I kept thinking that this was what it must've been like to see Mickey Mantle at age 18... if Mickey Mantle had been 6-5, 200. What the article doesn't go into is how little time he has devoted to baseball in the past several years. I don't think he picks up a baseball from the start of football practice in August until the end of March.

A couple of my son's friends are acquainted with him, and by all reports he is a great kid and very well liked. I have no inside info, but I expect that he will play baseball.

There is a chance that my son will be pitching against him this spring.

[tilgaham]

Wow. All that, and his name is Bubba Starling. Reason enough right there to want to draft him. But you have to be pretty confident you can sign him to take him with the 4th pick, considering the other players who are highly regarded and don't have the option to play big time football.

I know it's a purely biased piece, but that article made me think of the natural. Athletes that talented don't come along very often.

We'd pay him and Boras 5 million dollars, and have one hell of a gem on our hands.

[Frobby]

Because words don't do him justice...

Well, if the O's draft him, they can field one helluva flag football team...

[Arthur_Bryant]

Because words don't do him justice...

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At 0:49 you will see the "19-second" run described in the article.

[Stotle]

He's really good at a lot of things. Will he be great at any of them?

I have very little doubt. He hits with dead hands in his load and still has no trouble generating bat speed and driving the ball with wood. His swing plane is inconsistent, but he still has the coordination to regularly get the barrel to the ball against good pitching. His throwing mechanics from the outfield need to be tweaked, as he's currently losing lots of carry on his throws -- he still has no issue having his arm play in right field on throws to 3b and home.

What sets him apart, I think, is the fact that his athleticism isn't just speed/jumping/strength. The physicality is top shelf, for sure, but his body control is incredible. He has that natural fluidity that makes it apparent he can get his body to do incredible things without thinking about it.

Someone with his mechanics shouldn't make as much hard contact as he does, and shouldn't be able to hit the ball as far as he does. There's just a freakish comfort within his skin to relax and let the natural ability just take over. From a few up close observations, he appears to be very coachable, humble and eager to improve at everything. I think he is the type of player that turns into Jason Heyward and shockingly quick, considering how raw the mechanics are.

Of course, this post means he'll flame out in HiA...

[Stotle]

Well, if the O's draft him, they can field one helluva flag football team...

Haha! Avery and Hudson split wide and Starling at QB. I have no clue how to defend that.

Glad he isn't committed to ND -- it would be depressing to lose him to baseball.

[Arthur_Bryant]

Wow. All that, and his name is Bubba Starling. Reason enough right there to want to draft him. But you have to be pretty confident you can sign him to take him with the 4th pick, considering the other players who are highly regarded and don't have the option to play big time football.

As the article says: most people don't go to Nebraska to become a pro quarterback, and you don't usually sign on with Scott Boras if you aren't serious about getting a big baseball contract.

Baseball was actually his first sport, and I think he will sign.

[tilgaham]

So if he's there, do we take him over a college pitcher? I was in the middle of writing a paper, and that article just sent me into a tizzy. I want this guy in the Orange and Black. :vader:

[Arthur_Bryant]

I have very little doubt. He hits with dead hands in his load and still has no trouble generating bat speed and driving the ball with wood. His swing plane is inconsistent, but he still has the coordination to regularly get the barrel to the ball against good pitching. His throwing mechanics from the outfield need to be tweaked, as he's currently losing lots of carry on his throws -- he still has no issue having his arm play in right field on throws to 3b and home.

What sets him apart, I think, is the fact that his athleticism isn't just speed/jumping/strength. The physicality is top shelf, for sure, but his body control is incredible. He has that natural fluidity that makes it apparent he can get his body to do incredible things without thinking about it.

Someone with his mechanics shouldn't make as much hard contact as he does, and shouldn't be able to hit the ball as far as he does. There's just a freakish comfort within his skin to relax and let the natural ability just take over. From a few up close observations, he appears to be very coachable, humble and eager to improve at everything. I think he is the type of player that turns into Jason Heyward and shockingly quick, considering how raw the mechanics are.

Of course, this post means he'll flame out in HiA...

His quarterbacking is just as undeveloped, but the natural ability is still startling. Look at 1:30 on the video, the jump pass that he throws while backpedaling and falling away.

[atlantaoriole]

Stotle I'm glad Notre Dame didn't get Starling because the next Tony Rice in Everett Golson wouldn't be on campus right now.

[Stotle]

Stotle I'm glad Notre Dame didn't get Starling because the next Tony Rice in Everett Golson wouldn't be on campus right now.

Like Golson, but I think he is going to be slot WR -- at least for next season. Could fit Kelly's mold at QB in a spread, but I think he'll need to work to climb the depth chart at this point. Assuming Crist can stay on the field for two full games in a row, he, Rees and Massa would (I'd think) be the trio competing for QB this spring/fall.

Just my thoughts. Golson is definitely exciting.

[higgybaby]

Stotle,

Do you believe that he could end up being drafted in the top 5 or 10 of this draft?