Thirty FBS quarterbacks have thrown for at least 2,900 yards this season. Twenty-seven had at least 25 touchdown passes. A Minnesota quarterback has never done either — ever.
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An incalculable number of factors have contributed to the Gophers' 50-year Big Ten Championship drought (remember when they hired Tim Brewster over Gary Patterson?). Average or downright terrible quarterback play sits among the biggest reasons. And P.J. Fleck will not end that mediocrity by delivering the program's first conference title since the LBJ Administration if he does not find and develop the right quarterback.
He has two first shots at beginning that process in 2018 with redshirt freshman Tanner Morgan and JUCO transfer Victor Viramontes. The pair are the clear front-runners for the starting job following the graduation of Conor Rhoda and transfer of Demry Croft.
Morgan was handpicked by Fleck — flipping from Western Michigan to Minnesota the day Fleck was introduced — and has been lauded by the staff for improvements throughout the season. Viramontes, meanwhile, is a former Michigan commit who redshirted during the 2016 season at Cal, spent 2017 at Riverside Community College and didn't have a Minnesota offer until late October.
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"I didn't know much about them," he told HERO Sports. "When I was in high school, I didn't get recruited by them. I learned a lot on the visit."
The 6-foot-2, 230-pounder visited Minneapolis the last weekend of November and committed immediately. He is top-ranked JUCO dual-threat quarterback, carried offers from Kansas, Ole Miss and others and will have three years of eligibility remaining after enrolling in January.
"Not many people get a second chance at something," he said. "I was blessed to get a second chance [at] JUCO and get a chance to play at Power Five school. As Coach Fleck would say, I have a crack in my shoulder. This is a blessing to have another chance and I need to do whatever it takes to succeed in life."
Viramontes is an "extremely hard worker" and "polite young man" who's "not entitled like a lot of kids," Riverside head coach Tom Craft told the Minneapolis Star Tribune last week. Craft, a former San Diego State head coach, has also gushed over the three-star recruit's attitude and playmaking abilities that made him a highly sought-after high school prospect two years ago. He was the 23rd-ranked athlete in the 2016 class and held nearly a dozen Power Five offers. Though things didn't work according to plan on his first college try, he's grateful for the adversity.
"It makes me more mature," he says of how his college experience has given him a new approach. "…I told all the [Minnesota] coaches that I just want an opportunity to show what I can do. I want to be able to compete for the spot. Minnesota was that place where I could compete and show people what I could do."
What can Minnesota fans expect from Viramontes — who accounted for 3,214 total yards and 43 touchdowns in 12 games at Riverside — if he seizes that opportunity?
"[To be honest] I wouldn’t know what to say," he said when asked how to describe his game to someone who's never seen him play. [A] lot of people have different perspectives."
That answer is fine with starved Gophers' fans who wouldn't care how a quarterback like Victor Viramontes tops the 3,000-yard mark, throws for 25 touchdowns and delivers Big Ten contention. If he can finally bring above-average quarterback play to Minnesota, both he and P.J. Fleck will be program legends.
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