Coach Rich Rodriguez has extended former Duke basketball player Greg Paulus a chance to compete for the starting quarterback job at Michigan this fall. This is a great opportunity for Paulus, however from the Wolverines point of view, this is a headscratcher.

Greg Paulus was the starting point guard for the Duke Blue Devils until the mid point of his senior year when he was replaced by Nolan Smith and Jon Scheyer. Now he is receiving strong consideration for a spot on the football field. And while this may seem strange on the surface, Paulus was the number one rated quarterback and Gatorade player of the year his senior year of high school at Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse. Though his basketball career is now apparently dead, he still has a great opportunity and a new lease on life when it comes to tossing the pigskins.

Interest in Paulus initially surfaced when news broke that the Green Bay Packers were taking a look at him as a prospect for the upcoming NFL draft. From the Packers standpoint, it doesn’t hurt to look at the kid as a potential sleeper. However, this little look has peaked interest elsewhere, particularly in Ann Arbor.

But the question stands, what can he achieve as a Michigan quarterback? Paulus has nothing to lose. Michigan, however, has everything to lose. The move is high risk and low reward. And makes little sense.

Paulus hasn’t thrown a football competitively in four years. And while he certainly has kept in shape on the basketball court, throwing a football and taking a hit is completely different.

Yet Rodriguez is offering him a spot to compete in what seems like a move of desperation. Much like Kentucky in basketball, Michigan is no nonsense when it comes to football. Losing is not an option. After a poor performance a year ago, Rodriguez must turn the program around and do do quickly. Otherwise, he might be looking at the classifieds. This explains why he might be willing to give up one of those treasured scholarships to give Paulus a chance.

It seems logical enough. But Greg Paulus, even if ready to play, doesn’t seem fit for the job. Rich Rodriguez’s offense is built on a spread offense with a running QB. At West Virginia, Rodriguez had Pat White to run the show for him. Paulus isn’t exactly as shifty as White. Even his old high school coach, Joe Casamento, admits this might not be the perfect fit.

“I’m not sure the Michigan offense suits him,” Casamento said. “We ran a spread, but a spread to pass. He might take some pounding in that offense. I understand Greg is keeping his options open, but I still believe basketball is his passion. When he chose basketball, he told me that one day he’d like to be a basketball coach.”

If that wasn’t damning enough, even the Duke football coach doesn’t want him playing the position.

“He’s a quarterback at heart, but there was no way he was going to be able to compete and play quarterback for us,” said Duke coach David Cutcliffe. He has offered Paulus a chance to compete for a job at slot receiver.

And lets not forget, Michigan is already grooming a QB prospect for the future. Tate Forcier, the true freshman, had an incredibly impressive spring and has emerged as number one on the depth spot. What is the Paulus move going to single to him? Hey kid, you were good, but we’d rather go with an unproven player who hasn’t picked up a football in a couple years?

This entire situation has become entirely unusual. For Greg Paulus, he has a great opportunity to restart a career. But for the team who takes them, they are looking at a huge risk without much possibility for reward.