Earlier in the week UCLA got a quarterback commitment from T. J. Millweard out of All Saints' Episcopal School (Forth Worth, Texas). Getting T.J. helps Coach Jim Mora to build up depth at this position which is going to be hurting after this coming season with departures of Richard Brehaut, Kevin Prince, Darius Bell and Nick Crissman. While I am assuming Bruins are planning to take 2 QBs for the class of 2013 (that will include Eddie Printz from Georgia), don't be surprised of Mora and Noel Mazzone adds a QB transfer to our roster.
So on that note keep an eye on quarterback Pete Thomas, who just got his transfer release papers from Colorado State:
Pete Thomas, the quarterback who was supposed to be the cornerstone player of the Steve Fairchild era at Colorado State, today became the first player to leave since Fairchild's firing.
CSU has announced it has granted Thomas a release and the quarterback will transfer schools.
Reached by phone today, Thomas said, "It was a long, tough decision, but in the end, it was best for me."
CSU athletic director Jack Graham issued a statement saying, "We appreciate all that Pete gave to Colorado State University during his two years with us, and we wish him the best."
Thomas came into CSU with a lot of potential. He pretty highly recruited out of El, Cajon, California with offers from schools such as Arizona State (I am guessing when Mazzone was there), Boston College, Northwestern, Maryland and North Carolina State.
He set a number of CSU passing records including breaking the single-season yards record by a CSU freshman, but ultimately posted a record of 6-15 as a starter in Fairchild's struggling program. He was very tied to Fairchild and when former Alabama OC Jim McElwain took over as the new head coach, it became clear that he was going to look elsewhere.
Well now he is looking and the word is that UCLA and North Carolina state are sitting "at the top" of his list. While Thomas' season stats may not look too impressive to casual fans, I think adding Thomas to our program could work out well. More on that after the jump.
IMO we need depth badly at QB position. As excited as I am about Brett Hundley, he still has not taken a single college snap. We will see how much time he gets next year but I think the competition is going to fierce and someone like Richard Brehaut could perform well in Mazzone's offense.
Even if Hundley goes into his red-shirt sophomore season after getting some experience next year, he will be the only QB on our roster with any kind of D-1 experience. Millweard is going to be a red shirt freshman. I am guessing Neuheisel is not going to see a snap next year (unless we are into garbage time). So it will be hugely beneficial for Mora if we have a QB in our roster with credible D-1 experience who can be available. On that account having someone like Thomas could really help UCLA.
If you want to read up more on Thomas check out his bio on the CSU site. Little more on his stat lines from AOL Sporting News:
The 6-5, 225-pound quarterback is a big, physical presence and was off to a good college start with 21 straight starts for the Rams before he was sidelined all of last season with a knee injury.
In 2009, Thomas completed nearly 65 percent of his passes en route to passing for 2,662 yards. In 2010, his production slipped, as he passed for 1,607 yards, with seven touchdowns and eight interceptions. In two seasons, he had 21 interceptions on 414 pass attempts.
Here are some video highlights from CSU (v Utah State):
2011 CSU Football Highlight Video Week 4- CSU versus Utah State (via 56love)
You can also check out his highlights from high school days courtesy of Rivals.com.
I think it will be good to have in Westwood.
GO BRUINS.