Another QB, Another Arrest

Quarterback Philip Nelson was not a huge recruit. ESPN lists him as having been a two star QB in the class of 2012 while Scout and Rivals both awarded him three stars. He did, however, win the 2011 Minnesota Mr. Football Award and was probably a pretty big deal in his hometown of Mankato. And when he went to the home state Minnesota Gophers he cemented his status as a big fish in a somewhat small pond by eventually becoming a starter in his first year. Although he never became a star nationally he was competing for a starting job from the get go and in two years as a Gopher he threw for 2,179 in 18 games with a 17-14 TD-INT ratio. A good athlete, Nelson has also rushed for 548 yards with 6 TDs. A coaching change led him to seek a transfer and he landed at Rutgers where he expected to compete for the starting job when first eligible in 2015 at what is now another Big Ten program. But that all changed this past weekend when during an altercation as the bars in Mankato were shutting down--and yes another awful thing happened in the middle of the night after those involved had been drinking--Nelson delivered a coup de grace kick to the head of a downed victim, former Mankato State linebacker Isaac Kolstad. It may take awhile for the truth from that night to become unveiled and Kolstad seems to have been an original aggressor, but there really is no defense for kicking a downed man and Nelson's future is uncertain. Kolstad, more importantly, is fighting for his life and has suffered some amount of brain damage. Nelson's involvement in this attack is yet another incident of a college quarterback behaving badly. But unlike guys like Newton, Manziel and Winston, Nelson is not talented enough to expect protection and a lot of second chances. Sure, other positions have plenty of screw-ups but the QBs have to know that they are the story whenever something like this happens and now Nelson's future is uncertain. And, of course, he has to be involved with a Rutgers athletic department that must feel snake bit. Unless Nelson has a history of this behavior, at least this is one Rutgers black eye that does not seem self-inflicted.