The Opening Drive: Utah alum Jordan Gross is fed up with the HarBros

Published Aug. 27, 2015 6:31 p.m. ET

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We’re on the road again as the #FS1OpeningDrive tour bus is leaving Charlotte and headed for our next stop: Atlanta. Throughout the tour, we’ll provide a morning recap of the news, commentary, tidbits and whimsy surrounding our tour stops, as we prepare for Michigan vs. Utah, Sept. 3 on FOX Sports 1.

JORDAN GROSS STANDS UP FOR UTAH, THROWS KHAKIS AT THE HARBROS

We had a chance to talk shop with Jordan Gross — former All-American for the Utah Utes and three-time Pro Bowler for the Carolina Panthers — as we parked the HarBus right outside Bank of America Stadium. Gross was excited about Utah getting a chance to shine on the bright stage of FOX Sports 1 and taking on the challenge of a big-time program like Michigan. But what was abundantly clear from the start was that Gross was not about that khaki life.

First it was The HarBros, now it’s #NoMoreKhakis. The trends keep coming.

SOLVING QB CONTROVERSIES WITH DAVE WANNSTEDT

There’s a tried and true philosophy when it comes to football:

“If you have two starting quarterbacks, you don’t have one.” — some old crotchety football coach back in the day

This is the conundrum that football coaches across the country are dealing with, especially in college. With an influx of new talent and a resetting of priorities on a seasonal basis, a head coach’s prime order of business sometimes can be just figuring out who’s going to take the snaps at the beginning of the season.

Michigan and Utah provide such an example next week, as both are still unsettled at the QB position and each team has options under the snap that are vastly different from an experience and skill-set standpoint.

Earlier in the week, former Pitt Panthers and Miami Dolphins head coach Dave Wannstedt joined us on the FOX Sports 1 tour bus, where he discussed how he views Michigan’s situation and how it compares to Jim Harbaugh’s QB conundrum back in San Francisco.  

Jake Rudock is an Iowa transfer graduate student who could now be a starter for a team that has long been a Hawkeyes rival. Harbaugh’s interests are always focused in ball security over everything else, and that makes Rudock an appealing choice. But Shane Morris is another interesting story. A Michigan kid with a great arm — he looks like he could be the future in Ann Arbor. The worry with Morris is, can he make the decisions?

Utah’s in a similar pickle. The Utes have the Oklahoma transfer in Kendal Thompson, a terrific athlete. But Travis Wilson has shown that he’s a capable leader and winner. Remember back during the Utah-USC game when Wilson led them all the way down the field and scored with literally one second to go? Is Thompson ready to take on that type of pressure? Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham must roll the dice to figure out whether poise as opposed to talent is the answer in Salt Lake City.

THE SCHEDULE

Our next stop is Atlanta! Be on the lookout for the HarBus as we roll through America. Use the hashtag #FS1OpeningDrive and follow us on Twitter at @edthesportsfan, @yardbarker and @FoxSports1 for more updates on the tour, as we prepare for Michigan vs. Utah, Sept. 3 on FOX Sports 1.

The original post — The Opening Drive: Utah Alum Jordan Gross Is Fed Up With The HarBros, Says No More Khakis! — first appeared on The Sports Fan Journal. 

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