8 questions about new Maryland QB Daxx Garman with an Oklahoma State fan

Maryland announced the addition of transfer quarterback Daxx Garman last week, adding the former Oklahoma State starter to the mix. Garman will likely compete with Caleb Rowe for the Terps' starting job, and we've seen how the stats compare, but what else can we learn about him? Cowboys Ride For Free's Thomas Fleming was kind enough to join us for a Q&A on Maryland's newest quarterback.

Pete Volk: How did Daxx Garman end up at Oklahoma State?

Thomas Fleming: Daxx ended up at OSU after transferring from Arizona. When he was recruited by UA, they ran a pro-style offense, which fit him well. Once he got there, the offensive philosophy changed under new head coach Rich Rodriguez, who prefers an uptempo, spread approach where the quarterback is considered a primary ballcarrier. Daxx transferred to OSU in 2012 and sat out a year following his freshman season at Arizona.

PV: How much time did Oklahoma State fans spend freaking out over the name "Daxx Garman?"

TF: Well, obviously, Daxx Garman is one of the best names in all of college football. When he was announced the starter following J.W. Walsh's injury, his name alone definitely picked up some hype.

PV: For those that didn't watch much of OSU in 2014, can you walk us through the rotating door at QB and how Garman won and lost the job?

TF: The starting quarterback at the beginning of the season was J.W. Walsh. Walsh got injured early in the season, and Garman was (at the time) the only option, as the two other backups were redshirting. Garman did well for a bit, but as teams started to figure him out, his effectiveness went on a steep decline. Finally, two games before the end of the season, head coach Mike Gundy replaced Garman with freshman Mason Rudolph, taking off his initial redshirt. Rudolph played really well for the next three games, leaving Garman on the bench.

PV: How would you rate his performance as the Cowboys' starting QB? How did the fans like him?

TF: Following the Texas Tech game, people considered him the new savior QB, but as the season progressed, his popularity decreased. Garman did an admirable job with what he had. The Cowboys' line was the worst it has ever been in recent years, and when I say worst, I mean truly, truly bad. It's not completely their fault, as they were young, but goodness did they give up a lot of sacks. Garman had his ups and downs, but there was many-a-time when he didn't have more than 4 seconds to get the ball off. That, paired with some of his decisiveness issues, led to both him and the offense as a whole getting some heat from the fans. If I had to give him a grade for the whole season, I would give him either a B- or a B.     

PV: What kind of quarterback is he? How is his arm, and how are his legs?

TF: He loves - let me emphasize this again - LOVES - the deep ball. If two receivers are equally open, he is going with the deeper one 95% of the time. He is the epitome of a gunslinger, but occasionally, this comes back to haunt him. He isn't the best at hitting short or intermediate routes, and often ignores them in his progressions. Also, he often predetermines where the ball is going too often. In an offense like OSU's, their use of packaged plays means that there are a lot of things going on at any given time; in order to flourish in a packaged system philosophy, the quarterback must go through progressions properly without any agenda. Maryland uses packaged plays quite a bit as well, as I've noticed when I watch them, so he's going to need to work on that.

Garman is not a runner. At all. They ran a couple of option plays with him, like invert, zone read, etc, but that is not his strong suit. He needs to work on moving the pocket, because there were multiple times when a defensive lineman was rushing right at him and it seemed like Garman would try and bulldoze over him instead of evading him. But despite all of these criticisms, one thing that he possesses is toughness. This guy is one tough SoB. He was getting hit an estimated average of 5-6 times a game, yet he played on - through an ACL scare, through cuts and bruises and through multiple concussions, he played on. That's one guaranteed thing that Maryland will be getting here - a very tough football player.

PV: Finish this sentence: "If Daxx Garman wins Maryland's starting QB job, the Terps' offense will _____"?

TF: Be a work in progress (as he is a work in progress).    

PV: Is there anything else we should know about him?

TF: He's got some sick tattoos and has what my CRFF writers describe as "great field swag". He also has great hair.     
PV: DAXX GARMAN. I have no eighth question.

TF: If Cowboy fans miss one thing about him it's his name. Truly one of the greats.

Thanks again to Thomas Fleming for joining us for this Q&A. For more on Oklahoma State, head to Cowboys Ride for Free.