MIXED SIGNAL CALLERS
Title favorites reveal little as they prepare to balance multiple quarterbacks
It’s a problem only the elite could have. Like having too much cash to fit in your wallet or having to pick between sports cars to drive.
One too many quality quarterbacks doesn’t seem like a quandary, but as the regular seasons nears, it’s an issue national championship favorites Alabama, Clemson and Georgia are dealing with, unresolved quarterback competitions that could determine their respective seasons.
“I think it’s fascinating,” ESPN leading analyst Kirk Herbstreit said on a conference call. “They’re all a little bit different, but they’re going to have to be handled very wisely by three very, very capable head coaches, that’s for sure.”
The quarterbacks who led those three teams to the College Football Playoff — Jalen Hurts for Alabama, Jake Fromm for Georgia and Kelly Bryant for Clemson — are back, yet none of them is guaranteed to start from beginning to end. All are battling talented youngsters — top-rated freshmen Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields for Clemson and Georgia, respectively, and sophomore Tua Tagovailoa, who was the hero of Alabama’s national championship game in relief of Hurts — who could either replace them or at least be used in a supplemental role.
“We learned last year that we don’t know what the future holds at quarterback, so we have to have guys ready to play,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart recently told reporters, a reference to Fromm beginning last season behind Jacob Eason, then taking hold of the job once Eason hurt his knee in the opener. Alabama’s Nick Saban and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney have made similar comments, declining to name a starter and seemingly willing to let the competition bleed into the season.
Steve Spurrier knows what these coaches are goi ng t hrough. In four of his seven conferencechampionship seasons, he played two quarterbacks. He even rotated quarterbacks every play in a handful of games during the 1997, 1998 and 1999 seasons at Florida. He sees it as a blessing, not a problem.
“The head coach just has to convince the players, ‘Hey, there is a spot for both of you,’ ” Spurrier, now an analyst on SiriusXM’s ESPNU radio channel, said in a phone interview. “If one guy starts and he’s tearing it up, shoot, he’s going to play the whole game. But if he’s struggling and I got another guy just as good, there’s no problem changing quarterbacks.
“Sometimes, you take your pitcher out if he’s having an off day. Sometimes, I think quarterbacks can have an off day.”
That’s not to say there aren’t potential pitfalls in having one too many quarterbacks, especially if an established leader and winner is demoted for a young player who has yet to command the same respect. Just look at Ohio State in 2015, which entered the season No. 1, was coming off a national championship and had to choose between the veteran J.T. Barrett, who had led the Buckeyes most of the 2014 season, and a backup, Cardale Jones, who guided them to the crown. Jones, the player viewed as having the higher upside, won the job, but by October, Barrett was the starter, and Ohio State failed to reach expectations, missing out on the playoff.
Spurrier admitted he ran into trouble using multiple signal-callers on occasion, too, when individual goals were compromised.
“One of [my quarterback’s] daddies got mad at me. He wanted him to win the Heisman,” he recalled with a laugh, declining to reveal the player or parent.
The i dea of s pl i tt i ng snaps down the middle seems unlikely, even if all three head coaches say they plan to use two quarterbacks at the season’s outset. At some point, it will be clear which players are better suited for their respective teams.
“If any of the three coaches decide to [split up time between their quarterbacks], they’re putting their season in jeopardy,” ESPN analyst Desmond Howard, a former Heisman Trophy winner, said.
It would seem likely Saban will go with either Hurts, who has a 26-2 record as a starter, or Tagovailoa before the heart of the SEC season begins. At Georgia, the athletic ally gifted Fields, the top-ranked dual-threat quarterback prospect in the country, will almost certainly have packages put in to take advantage of his legs while Fromm gets the bulk of the work.
Clemson could be different. While Bryant thrived in his first year under center, producing 24 touch-
down sand completing 65.8 percent of his passes, and got the Tigers back to the playoff, there are questions if he’s capable of winning a championship. He hardly distinguished himself in the national semifinals against Alabama, getting picked off twice and completing just 18-of-36 passes for 124 yards. And the big-armed Lawrence, the consensus top prospect in the country entering col l ege, is considered a future star.
“Truth be told, they won a lot of games [last year] because of their defense and other aspects of their offense. Everything I hear about this quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, he’s the next Deshaun Watson,” Herbstreit said. “He’s big and fast and can throw. I think, in Clemson’s case, if you’re trying to beat Alabama and trying to beat Georgia, maybe yo u need that Trevor Lawrence. Maybe you go to him.”
At the moment, the quarterback position for these three programs favored to reach the playoff remains in limbo, unlikely to be settled for several weeks. Perhaps the bigger question isn’t whether Georgia, Clemson and Alabama can get to the final four, but who will be the quarterback — or quarterbacks? — leading them there.