QBS ARE ‘LIVE’ THIS SPRING
Aztecs trying to find a starter who earns respect of his team
San Diego State coaches have emphasized this spring the three quarterbacks competing to be the starter are “live” in practices and scrimmages.
The QBs — senior returners Lucas Johnson and Jordon Brookshire and sophomore transfer Jalen Mayden — are not wearing yellow or red jerseys that indicate “do not touch” to defenders.
“The best thing for the team is to see the quarterbacks hit and be hit and stand in there and take the shot,” SDSU offensive coordinator Jeff Hecklinski said. “To me, that’s how a quarterback earns respect. ... So we’re going to hit them.
They’ve got to learn how to handle that and that’s really the only true way to understand who the best quarterback is when it’s live football.”
Added Hecklinski: “We’d probably be a little bit more protective if we had an established quarterback at this moment . ... Now when we get into a game we’re able to run at regular speed and not play catch-up because we’re waiting on our quarterback to catch up to it actually being live.”
SDSU head coach Brady Hoke said the quarterback was not live last spring (which was shut down after just six practices when the pandemic hit) or during fall workouts and that may have hindered the evaluation process.
“It is a factor,” Hoke said. “It becomes skelly (barebones practice without line
men). They have a tendency at times to hold the ball and it’s not realistic.
“The only way you get good at playing football is to play football. It’s good for the quarterback, and it’s good for the evaluation process when we’re looking at three guys right now. How they handle the pressure, where their eyes go. I think we needed to do it.”
SDSU has a pretty good idea of what it has in Johnson and Brookshire.
Johnson looked like he could be everything the Aztecs want in a QB for two quarters at Nevada last season. He passed and ran for touchdowns in the first half against the Wolf Pack as SDSU built a 21-16 halftime lead.
But Johnson was injured in the game — which SDSU lost 26-21 — and never was the same the remainder of the season. It is that injury history — injuries derailed his career at Georgia Tech — that makes Johnson a question mark.
Brookshire got an opportunity after Johnson went down. He showed some promise in starts against Colorado State and BYU, especially with his running ability, but Brookshire’s accuracy throwing the ball has been questioned.
The most intriguing player of the three is the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Mayden, a Mississippi State transfer whose SEC experience is mostly limited to watching from the sidelines.
“We’re still knocking off a lot of rust, really three years of rust,” Hecklinski said. “As we get through this, I think Jalen will be a completely different player when we hit August than he is right now.
“He’s really done a good job of closing the gap and inserting himself right into the middle of this three-man competition.”
Each quarterback got about three dozen snaps, with mixed results, in Friday’s scrimmage.
Mayden, a left-handed thrower, certainly has a presence. He looked the part dropping back with the ball, displayed a strong arm, a
quick release and some effective sidearm throws when under duress.
His first pass was on a line but into double coverage and intercepted by redshirt freshman safety Dezjhon Malone.
Mayden’s best moments came when he hit sophomore wide receiver Brionne Penny in the end zone for a 40-yard touchdown pass and later for a 38-yard completion during some third-down work.
Junior wide receiver Tyrell Shavers, who also transferred from Mississippi State, got into the act late with a nice 20-yard catch along the right sideline.
It would have been the second Mayden-Shavers connection but for a pass interference call against redshirt freshman safety Cassius Savage.
Johnson had a 10-yard pass to senior tight end Daniel Bellinger that fans would certainly welcome as a regular feature in the offense. Johnson also showed the ability to effectively avoid the rush and extend plays.
The one player who seemed to have Johnson’s number was senior safety Trenton Thompson, who sacked the quarterback during a third-down series and intercepted him during fourth-down work near the goal line.
Brookshire’s best moment was ducking and dodging a heavy rush, then completing a 38-yard pass to senior wide receiver Isaiah Richardson.
The quarterback also hooked up with senior wide receiver Elijah Kothe for a 37yard gain and had a pair of first-down completions to junior wide receiver T.J. Sullivan on another series.
“Lucas right now, I think is just a little ahead,” Hoke judged after the scrimmage. “Brookshire’s coming along. I think Jalen is learning a whole new system, a very different system than what they had with (Mississippi State head coach) Mike Leach.”
Added Hoke: “All of them did some really good things. Saw some guys who stepped up in the pocket, had their eyes down the field. A couple of times they were crafty enough to move up in the pocket. A couple of times they ran for their lives and
did a good job with it.”
It is unlikely, although not out of the question, that a starter will be determined coming out of spring ball.
Hecklinski was asked if, all things being equal, would they be inclined to go with a senior because of experience or the sophomore Mayden because he could potentially be the starter for three seasons?
“It depends on how close the competition really is,” Hecklinski said. “Sometimes numbers don’t tell you the whole gamut of everything. Sometimes it comes down to a feel . ...
“In the experiences I’ve had of going through competitions somebody usually separates themselves and makes it clear cut, or something happens that separates them. Like last fall, Lucas got injured and that really dictated the direction we were going at that time (with Carson Baker becoming the starter).
“There’s always kind of an ebb and flow in this process.”