Column: Gabbert era is upon us

By Jake Kreinberg

Published Aug. 24, 2010

As an observer and a fan, it's always interesting to see athletes buck the odds and achieve success when few thought they could.

Taking football as an example, athletes are clearly divided into haves and have-nots. As someone who would undoubtedly fall into the "have-nots" category, seeing Chase Daniel lead the Tigers to national prominence for three years was refreshing.

Standing at only six feet tall, Daniel continues to make headlines, now as a professional. He found himself directing the reigning Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints to a preseason victory over the Houston Texans Saturday.

In only his second appearance on the field for the Saints, Daniel completed 15 of his 21 passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns. Seeing extensive playing time for a preseason game, Daniel's performance over three quarters forced Coach Sean Payton to give him another look at being the first backup to Drew Brees, who tops out at six feet as well.

Daniel's relatively short height has brought him hardships along the way. In the NFL alone, he's experienced four different cuts from practice squads after originally signing as an undrafted free agent. Collegiately, Daniel traveled to Missouri after receiving little attention from his dream school, the University of Texas, despite winning a state championship at Southlake, Texas, Carroll High School.

Contrast this with Blaine Gabbert, who is about to lead the MU football team for his second season. Gabbert's physique (6 feet 5 inches, 250 pounds) makes him the prototypical professional quarterback and already has him on the radar for the 2011 NFL Draft. Sports talk radio is abuzz with projections of Gabbert leaving Missouri after this season as a first round pick.

What will be more interesting to Tiger fans is if he can replicate Daniel's success in Daniel's junior year, when MU achieved its first No. 1 ranking since 1960. Obviously, it is unfair to make statistical comparisons between the two, as there is a different supporting cast.

Daniel's success came from the mental part of the game more so than the physical. He relied on his experience at Southlake with the spread offense to become in sync with coach Gary Pinkel. Daniel quickly ascended the depth chart to be named the starter in his sophomore season, following the departure of Brad Smith.

Gabbert didn't come to Missouri with the luxury of knowing Pinkel's system. Ranked the nation's top "pro-style" quarterback by Rivals.com, Gabbert played in a traditional West Coast offense at Parkway West High School in suburban St. Louis.

Gabbert has had to acclimate into the spread offense since coming to Missouri. He succeeded last year, leading the Tigers to eight wins in a "rebuilding" year. But with higher expectations this year and a younger receiving corps, Gabbert will be relied on as the focal point of the offense even more so than Daniel.

The advantage for Gabbert is that he already possesses the raw talent. He can overcome breakdowns in the offensive line or his own mistakes through his agility. He can see farther downfield and see the play developing more clearly. What Gabbert needs to do is emulate Daniel's leadership presence on the field by making as few mistakes as possible to take MU one step further.

Gabbert is the prototypical professional, but is he the prototypical Missouri quarterback? If not, then he will be leaving Columbia with some unfinished business.