Boisture Personal Observations and Thoughts

It was a pleasant surprise to many MSU fans that Saline QB Joe Boisture committed to MSU last week after initially giving a verbal to Boston College this March.

With the commitment the hope is that the Spartans' near-term and long-term QB situation is settled. It would be logical to expect Boisture, a top 100 overall recruit and top 10-15 QB recruit by some recruiting services, to be redshirted his freshman year given the relative depth at the position although he will enroll at MSU in January.

The timing of the commitment is not coincidental. Robert Bolden of Orchard Lake St. Mary's visited Penn State's camp last weekend and he was expected to make a decision in the near future, possibly between MSU and PSU. Boisture beat him to the punch.

While Boisture will be playing his senior year at Saline, he played his junior year at Goodrich High School and is transferring because his family moved. He led Goodrich to a 10-1 record last season, losing to Marshall in the second round of the Division 4 state playoffs. The reality is that Boisture didn't face the same level of competition in the Genesee Area Red Conference as he will this year playing teams like Ann Arbor Pioneer, Ann Arbor Huron and Adrian.  

Boisture has amassed his lofty reputation largely based on his performance in summer camps. He sat his entire sophomore season at Goodrich with an injury. But at 6-foot-6 and 200 pounds, he has the stature to be a Big ten quarterback, with the arm to make all the throws, according to media reports.

I haven't seen Boisture play and so I won't pretend to be an expert. But check out this link to see a lot of his highlights from last year. He seems to throw the ball well on the run and can make all the throws, from out, curls, fades, posts, screens and more. At times he holds the ball a little low in the pocket, which likely is a product of him being the tallest player on the field in just about every game. Like most high school quarterbacks he'll have to get accustomed at staying in the pocket a bit longer as well. But at the high school level he certainly seems to have all the tools.

The thing about getting a top-rated QB is that it can often help attract other top recruits, especially on offense. And Boisture, like Andrew Marshall, is a pro-style QB, something fewer college teams seem to recruit these days with the growth of spread offenses. That could give MSU a huge advantage moving forward as schools in the Big Ten and around the country continue to fight for the spread option QBs while the Spartans crank out guys who run offenses similar to what the NFL uses. 

You could say that Boisture and William Gholston may be two of the biggest recruits MSU has had in years. Edwin Baker of course could be in that category as well, as could Iowa offensive lineman David Barrent. What do you think are some of the biggest needs for the 2009-2010 recruiting class now and what does your gut tell you about who will be the starting MSU quarterback the next 2-3 years?

Comments

[Big Jon G]

So is Maxwell likely the 3rd stringer this year or could he be redshirted?

Look I know MSU made a New Year's Day Bowl last year but I'm more excited about our QB situation this year than last year. These QBs seem to give me the idea that we'll be more balanced in future years on offense.

Now if our WRs could just stop dropping so many passes. Goodrich's WRs seemed to have better hands in this video of Boisture than ours do in East Lansing.

[Rexrode (evil twin)]

agreed big jon. i think hoyer took a lot of crap for receivers who dropped a lot of easy passes. then when he had to force something on third and long we screamed at him. well if his receivers had caught the ball the first time around then forcing things wouldnt be needed. but i am still confident in the ability of Cousins. not to prompt a yea baby-a-thon from tan fan, but i think Cousins should start. the way i see it so far him and Nichol are pretty close the difference being Cousins has at least some game experience inside spartan stadium. he has paid his dues behind Hoyer and deserves the starting spot. but Dantonio wont let him rest on that for long, if he messes up coach D will pull him. and thats something you would expect Cousins to keep in the back of his mind. something to really motivate either guy, whoever starts. the knowledge that a capable high profile player is just waiting for that errand throw or any bad decision. like i said in Joes blog i see this team going 8-4. thats a modest goal. i hope and think they could do much better. but baby steps.

[kmarv]

Still nobody has answered two important questions. 1) Why did he choose BC over MSU in the first place? 2) If he grew up an MSU fan like he has said why did he not chooseMSU months ago?

[nomaduper]

Boisture was a little frustrated by MSU's recruiting philosophy. Slow, easy, coach makes sure you check all the avenues before committing. You also have to expect discipline and play in a family atmosphere. But, he kept his eye on the QB recruiting situation and almost saw a commitment by Bolden. This made him react to where his heart was all along. The kid was anxious and though we would go after Bolden early on. I expect him to red shirt next year. This year, both Nichols and Cousins will get plenty of playing time. Imagine defensive coordinators trying to react to two completely different types of offenses run by the same team. Cousins has the big arm and accuracy which will be good for large chunks of yardage. If our running attack fizzles, Nichols will use his legs and arm to open up the defense and keep them hones. If we can score, the D will be one of our strongest we have had in years and will keep us competitive in all games.

[Alpesh Shah]

kmarv : He didn't choose MSU cause they didn't offer originally...they (MSU) was upfront with boisture and said they are only offering Gardner and Bolden. Boisture respected that and went to look at other schools felt BC was the right fit but he always wanted to go to State. He's going to be a great addition to the team cause he wants to be here.

What we need ? WIDE RECEIVERS ; We need some breakneck speed guys who can catch the ball. We got a good Running Back situation (Caper and Baker) although it's a high injury position. Wide receivers are going to be key for our Qb's to win big ten titles.

[watcher67]

Coaching Staff... If we can keep the current staff together.... The stable is coming together.... Coach D's reputation and recruiting is building momentum... There now needs to be a continuum in the coaching staff.

WR and Offensive and defensive tight ends are needed....

Go Green!

[Larry Gagnon]

Mort:
In Lancaster County, PA we have a super senior playing defensive and offensive end for the same high school Jeff Smoker attended - Manheim Central! He is a high school agricultural major. MSU is on his short list of five. His name is Dakota Royer. He has the potential to be a great one! He has backfield player speed, the strength of our late great who played so many years for the NY Giants. Royer could provide our quarterbacks with some real protection. He was all-state last year as a junior. Maybe his interest in agriculture will steer him towards MSU. Then, again PSU is on the short list, also.
Lancaster Larry

[Michael Motta]

Thanks Lancaster Larry. For the younger generation, I'm sure the "late great" to whom you refer is Brad Van Pelt. The ag thing sounds good for MSU, however, one of the things I know about PSU is that it too is a Land Grant institution, and I believe also has a good agriculture reputation. This is of course a reason why George Perles started the Land Grant Trophy. PSU was founded in the same year as MSU (though I've heard that MSU was first). I used to have the First Day Cover for this stamp, but regrettably I've misplaced it: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Land_grant_college_stamp.jpg

I'm sure it's because it's my only First Day Cover I've ever cared to show off!

[Dennispapoi]

The more quality QB's in camp, the better the chance of one emerging as a big time QB! All these recruits have solid high school credentials, but Big Ten football is yet another level of development and some just do not make the adjustment. Nichols could be pleasant surprise, but you need more than one to be successful!