College Football: All the buzz during Media Day is about QB play

By Tyler Mayforth Daily Record Sports

Lake Charles, La. — Texas State head coach Brad Wright looked at wits’ end after the morning session of the 2010 Southland Conference Football Media Day.

Wright, as well as eight other SLC head coaches and 18 players (including Bobcats linebacker Marcus Clark and wide receiver Da’Marcus Griggs) met a small gathering of media members during the 2010 SLC Football Media Day.

For the better of four hours, the SLC coaches answered the same question, albeit worded differently and from new interrogators.

With the exception of Stephen F. Austin head coach J.C. Harper, Wright and seven other head coaches could have played volleyball around the room with the biggest inquiry.

“More than anything, there are a bunch of us in the same boat as far as looking for a quarterback,” Wright said while rocking back in his chair. “I’ve been asked about 20 times what our quarterback situation is and during lulls, I hear pretty much every other coach answering it too, but in their own words.”

Harper didn’t need to entertain the question since the Lumberjacks (a near-unanimous pick to repeat as SLC champions) are the only team in the conference with veteran leadership under center. SFA opens 2010 with preseason All-SLC first-team quarterback and Walter Payton Award Watch List member Jeremy Moses calling the shots.

“You really don’t understand how nice it is to have a guy like that until we’re in a year like this,” Harper said of Moses. “Every other team might be looking for a quarterback, but we have a great one in Nacogdoches.”

So while Harper and the Lumberjacks relax during two-a-day workouts, seven other coaches and teams will race to finalize their quarterback depth charts.

Three teams, including Texas State (picked third and fourth in the polls), need to replace a four-year letterman.

McNeese State, co-champions in 2009 with SFA, lost Derrick Fourroux to graduation. The Cowboys, who were picked to finish second in 2010, will most likely start Tulsa transfer Jacob Bower.

“We don’t have much experience at quarterback,” McNeese head coach Matt Viator said, “so we brought in a guy to bring some stability to the position.”

Southeastern Louisiana hopes to replace Brian Babin with an equally-talented signal caller from its ranks. The Lions, tabbed to finish third, need a quarterback with a strong arm to get the ball to their skilled wide receivers (led by preseason first-team honoree Simmie Yarborough).

“We’ve got several solid guys back there, but it’s really unproven right now,” Southeastern head coach Mike Lucas said. “If Tyler Beatty comes in and uses all of the tools at his disposal, we’ve surrounded him with enough good guys at the skill positions to carry us.”

Nicholls State has plenty of skilled athletes on offense, but most were recruited by former head coach Jay Thomas. The Colonels (tabbed No. 7/8) relieved Thomas of his duties after a disappointing three-win season in 2009 and hired Charlie Stubbs.

Stubbs, who last coached at Central Missouri, brought his own offense to Thibodaux and trashed Thomas’ Triple Option. Nicholls quarterback LaQuintin Caston will no longer be asked to win a game with his feet, but arm.

Caston completed 45 passes in 2009 for 779 yards.

“It’s going to be tough for a lot of guys in our program to adapt, including me,” Stubbs said. “Our quarterbacks aren’t accustomed to throwing the ball and we need to get back to teaching the basics — as bad as this sounds — like catching the football and lining up in passing formations.”

If Stubbs wants to find out how tough a first season in the SLC is with a new system, he should cast his gaze 240 miles north to Northwestern State.

Last season, Bradley Dale Peveto took over the Demons and coached them to an 0-11 record. Instead of putting the blame on himself, his coaching staff or players, Peveto held NSU’s inability to finish accountable.

“We lost four of our last five games by an average of six points,” Peveto said. “To me, that says we weren’t hungry enough near the end of games to close out an opponent.”

Peveto will look to a second-year defense and a pair of unproven quarterbacks (sophomore Paul Harris and senior Tyler Wolfe) to get the Demons (picked No. 6/8) back on track.

Like NSU, Lamar didn’t win a game in 2009. Nor did the Cardinals lose.

Lamar enters its first season of competitive football since 1989 and won’t be eligible to join the SLC until 2012.

With a 21-year wait, it’s understandable the fans are hungry for gridiron. Ultimately, it’s going to come down to head coach Ray Woodard and quarterback Andre Bevil to lead the Cardinals.

“It doesn’t matter what corner or what store you go into around Beaumont, they’re all asking the same thing, ‘Are you ready to play some ball for us?’” Bevil said. “Sure, it’s a lot of pressure, but I’m ready for it as the quarterback.”

If Lamar wants to know what it’s like to be left out of the hunt of the conference championship, the Cardinals just need to ask Central Arkansas.

The Bears, who were picked to finish fifth in 2010, enter their first season as a full member of Division I. UCA spent four seasons in purgatory after its move from Division II.

“The only different thing about this season for us than before is that we can finally win a championship and we don’t have to give it back,” Bears defensive end Markell Carter said. “We’re ready to call it our own this year, but we know it’s going to be tough.”

UCA doesn’t need to worry too much about Carter and his teammates on defense as they usually rank among the conference’s best. The Bears’ offense, though, needs to break in a new quarterback with Arkansas transfer Nathan Dick.

Unlike UCA, Sam Houston State (No. 6/7) might enter 2010 without an FBS transfer quarterback on its roster unless Tyrik Rollinson, a possible transfer from Auburn, appears on campus before two-a-days.

“We’re looking at it as if Bryan (Randolph) is our starter,” Bearkats first-year head coach Willie Fritz said. “I and the coaching staff are ready to put the ball in his hands and let him guide this offense.”

And finally, there are the Bobcats.

Texas State has four quarterbacks who will compete for the starting gig come fall (Tim Hawkins, Bryan Hill, Tyler Ardnt and Andrew McCloud) and Wright made it clear he won’t name a starter until the season opener.

“We have a month to find out who is going to lead us on the field at Houston and then four games to decide who is the best man to take us through conference,” Wright said.

Griggs hopes Hawkins, Hill, Arndt or McCloud separate themselves a little bit sooner.

“Just by hearing what’s going on in this room, it seems that a lot of teams are having the same problem as us with picking a quarterback,” Griggs said. “I just want to have it settled early because if another team starts gelling early, they could leave the rest of the conference behind.”

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