NCAAbbs

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/myfox/pages/...geId=6.1.1

I guess we now know who our starting QB is next year.

Is he in school already? That's great news if so. Our San Antonio connection for quarterbacks remains strong.

I'm not sure if we can hand him the starting job right away but he'll definitely be in the mix. Good job coach Bailiff and staff.

What's the backstory on his leaving 'Bama?

Wow - this looks really impressive. Understanding that recruiting transfers (except from JCs) is forbidden, how is this typically handled if you are the coach at a school a prospective transfer is considering?

"Wow" is right.

I wonder if a certain frmr coach of both RICE and Bama might have had something to do with this?

Like the kid asked where should I go where I could play and ,,,

pure speculation on my part.

Ooooh, I like your thinking!

Holy Canoli!


That's the biggest "recruiting" news of the Bailiff era.

truthfully that mght be the first time anyone has ever said that to me

A quick web search found these 'Bama fan list threads:

http://www.rollbamaroll.com/2008/8/25/60...l-transfer

and

http://www.tidefans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74535

Info on Fanuzzi, from rolltide dot com:

Height / Weight:
6-3 / 207

An accomplished high school quarterback who was No. 3 on the depth charts in his freshman season.

2007 (FRESHMAN): Played in the season opener against Western Carolina but did not attempt a pass.

HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL DATA: A dual-threat quarterback at Churchill High School in San Antonio ... ranked the No. 18 dual-threat quarterback in the nation by Rivals.com ... rated No. 32 among all quarterbacks nationally by Scout.com ... listed in the Houston Chronicle Top 100 ... played in the 2007 U.S. Army All-American Bowl ... named to the Texas Class 5A Third-Team ... a 2006 Class 5A Region IV First-Team selection ... ran and passed for over 1,000 yards as a senior ... finished his final season completing 102-of-193 passes for 1,522 yards and 12 touchdowns ... averaged 200 yards passing and 100 yards rushing per game as a junior despite missing much of the season with an injury ... started his career as a running back ... coached by Carl Gustafson ... also a standout center-fielder in baseball, earning All-District honors after hitting .358 ... full name is Nick W. Fanuzzi ... born April 28, 1988.

Huge get, guess this answers any question as to what life after Chase Clement will be like on South Main.

HUGE

I'm excited about this news, but I wouldn't think we're exactly going to hand him the job - we happen to have another very talented freshman QB...

So Applewhite was the common link....I wonder if he also has connections with our other San Antonio standouts: Sendejo, Solomon, and of course CC and JD...?

This may be as big as when Bert Emanuel transferred from UCLA, although I wouldn't rule out JT Shepherd and Ryan Lewis challenging him.

I would assume Major was recruiting him while Major was at Rice, at that point he probably might not have been interested in Rice so we didn't hear much about it.

Great news.

Major told him he could play @ Rice....Kid was in Bailiff's office today....He never really panned out or had a shot at Alabama.

He had sunk to fifth on their QB depth chart. No hard feelings, it seems, to everyone's credit.

Coaches can set up a kid to fail - happens all of the time. Who knows what went on behind the scene, The new OC may have not liked him because he was one of "Major's boys". At any rate, he is a super talent and hopefully will fit in with the high character kids at Rice. It may take him a while to make that adjustment coming from Bama.

Fanuzzi was the highest-profile player coming out of San Antonio in '07. He played in a tough district for a traditional powerhouse with a huge fervent fan base, Churchill. They lost in the 3rd round of the playoffs to eventual 5A finalist Austin Westlake. In that game, Churchill scored in the last 35 seconds to get within 2 points. Of course they went for the 2 point conversion.The front page of the sports section the next day had a very memorable close-up photo of Fanuzzi stretching the ball out but coming up about a foot shy of the goal line. Makes you realize it really is a game of inches.

Marshall was in another district but Scott played against Fanuzzi as a junior and as a senior. He's a great pocket passer, makes great decisions, and definitely is a great runner. If this happens it would be huge for Rice.

Or you can watch the Fanuzzi highlight reels:

and

I agree.

However, the idea (expressed a few times in this thread, not by you) that he is automatically the starter next year is preposterous. Recently rivals rated Alabama's two deep (which he was not on) below ours (which Shepherd is on). He may ultimately win the job. But I'd wait until he goes through a practice or two before just handing it him.

I agree with Gravy - not only is it too soon to hand it to Nick, it is also too soon to write off Shep. Look at Tulsa, where the 5th year senior beat out the heralded JC transfer. Jobs are won on the field. But I will say that with Shep, Lewis, and Nick (and perhaps others) competing, that whoever wins the job will be very capable of handling it, and will have at least two quality back-ups.

O M G

No doubt there will be some spirited competition for the job. I think the only thing resolved at this point is Thor remains an H-Back.

Can't have too many outstanding QB's on the roster. They get hurt quite often these days.

MK already has the details up in his blog.

blogs.chron.com/owls

I see it as a good addition to the great class Bailiff is putting together (although I'm not sure if it counts as part of the same class). We wanted Gray, with this kid I think we get a similar prospect, albeit it with one year less of eligibility (but 2 more years of college experience and he gets to practice and workout with the team this year). I like what I've heard and seen on Lewis, so between the two of them and JT we have three capable QBs with different experience levels, plus Casey just in case.