QB Mornhinweg switches from PSU to Florida

By Adam Silverstein
January 27, 2012

Soon after offensive coordinator Brent Pease was hired by the Florida Gators, he made it clear to the coaching staff that he wanted a quarterback as part of the team’s 2012 recruiting class. He got his wish Friday as three-star QB Skyler Mornhinweg (Philadelphia, PA) announced that he has officially switched his commitment from the Penn State Nittany Lions to the Gators.

Mornhinweg’s decision was first reported by ESPN citing a source close to the situation. Rivals.com confirmed the decision a short while later.

Committed to Penn State since July 19, Mornhinweg (6’3” 215 lbs.) recently began to soften his pledge and wavered in his decision to play in Happy Valley, PA.

He is now Florida’s 21st commitment for the 2012 recruiting cycle and will be the fourth scholarship quarterback on UF’s roster next season along with sophomores Jacoby Brissett, Jeff Driskel and (redshirt) Tyler Murphy.

[EXPAND Click to expand, read the remainder of this post and view a highlight video.]Taking over the Gators’ offense, Pease reached out to the son of friend and Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg, a former teammate of his at Montana. The older Mornhinweg was a four-year starter who set 15 passing records at the school and graduated in 1985, the same year that Pease transferred to the program and sat out a season before starting as a senior in 1986.

The younger Mornhinweg took a trip to Gainesville, FL from Jan. 21-22 and received an official scholarship offer during his visit. However, he was also given a Jan. 25 deadline to decide whether or not he would accept.

The deadline was put in place by Florida because Pease is so dead set on bringing in a signal caller that a backup candidate, Paxton Lynch (Deltona, FL), was in place should Mornhinweg decline the offer. The Gators wound up pulling the deadline as Mornhinweg asked for more time to make his decision.

The Nittany Lions were obviously prepared for the potential defection, gaining a commitment Tuesday from three-star QB Steven Bench (Cairo, GA), a Rice pledge.

Mornhinweg, unranked nationally or positionally by Rivals, is considered a four-star recruit and the No. 19 player at his position by ESPNU.

Photo Credit: Montgomery News[/EXPAND]

18 Comments

  1. Dan S says:

    Hopefully he doesn’t have to play soon but highlights remind me of Grossman as far as build and #8. Welcome!

  2. Mr2Bits says:

    Great last minute pick up as we saw how bad it was last year not having good backups.

  3. npgator says:

    Great last minute committment!

  4. Matt says:

    Looks like a solid pick up. Wonder why Rivals didn’t have him ranked at all? Insight to that would be interesting. Seems to have good touch and can throw on the run and extend the pocket.
    Way to go Boom. And welcome to Gator Nation!!

  5. Daniel M. says:

    Dude can sling it.

  6. Daniel M. says:

    How meany early enrollees do we have? I’m curious how many scholarships remain. There are still a lot of studs on our board.

    25 NCAA max allowed per cycle
    +EE’s (count against 2011 cycle)
    ______
    = total scholarship enrollment for 2012

    -21 already committed
    ____________________
    = remaining scholarships available ( does not consider: flakes, academically ineligible, unused scholarships)

    Somebody help

  7. g8ter27 says:

    Looks like a good pick up, was kinda getting pumped for Paxton at 6″6 but this kid looks pretty good. Adam, so with him we have 4 qbs. I was under the impression that we are VERY interested in a couple of qbs for next year. Next year we will have 2 juniors, 1 sophomore (unless this guy redshirts) and Murphy. Knowing that they won’t want 5 qbs on the roster, do you think our coaches are anticipating a transfer this year?

  8. Nick says:

    Obviously I’m not Adam but I think you would have to assume this guy probably shirts this year(unless there are massive injuries). And if anybody transfers its probably Murphy.

  9. g8ter27 says:

    I sure hope so (he red shirts). feel like if one of the two freshman become the clear starter and a star that we lose the other of them as well.

  10. Joe says:

    I think Tyler Murphy is like Bigfoot, lots of people claim he exists and have seen him but nobody has any actual proof.

  11. aziatic41 says:

    Personally I wanted us to sign Paxton Lynch over this kid. Muschamp and Pease probably viewed Skyler as being more polished as an all-around qb than Lynch though. This is not a great pickup but also not a bad pickup

  12. jay d says:

    honestly, we dont need this kid to be a a stud QB….we need him to fill out our depth chart and bring more competition to the possition during day to day practices….just another body on the field to help push his position group twards perfection on the field!!

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