Differing strategies to naming No. 1 QB
The three Pac-12 head coaches trying to replace quarterbacks who were selected in April’s NFL draft are using starkly contrasting tactics heading into this weekend’s opening slate.
USC’s Clay Helton already has named his starter, UCLA’s Chip Kelly has trimmed his list of candidates to three, and Washington State’s Mike Leach is making a joke of the whole thing.
“We’ve got four quarterbacks, and one of them will play. It’d be a thrill a minute to discuss which one it’s going to be, so I think everyone should show up to the game and make sure they can watch,” Leach said sarcastically on Tuesday’s Pac-12 conference call. “It’s one of those things that is going to be unveiled, but not until game time.”
Washington State, which is trying to replace Tennessee sixth-rounder Luke Falk, likely will be quarterbacked by East Carolina transfer Gardner Minshew. Leach also listed juniors Anthony Gordon and Trey Tinsley and freshman Cammon Cooper as possible first-stringers for Saturday’s game at Wyoming.
UCLA opens Saturday against Cincinnati in search of someone to replace No. 10 overall pick Josh Rosen, who was tabbed by the Cardinals. The six-man competition was cut in half this week, when Kelly said sophomore Devon Modster, Michigan graduate transfer Wilton Speight and freshman Dorian Thompson-Robinson had separated themselves from the group.
“All three guys are playing at a really high level in camp, so we’re just being fair to everybody in terms of competition. I don’t think it’s a difficult decision, at all,” Kelly said. “… I think all quarterback competitions, or competitions at any other position, have to happen organically. If a coach steps in and says: ‘Hey, we’re going to take this kid,’ and it’s not the right kid, then, the players might not believe in him. “It has to be won on the field.” That’s what true USC freshman JT Daniels did to beat out sophomore Matt Fink and redshirt freshman Jack Sears and earn the chance to fill the shoes of the Jets’ No. 3 overall choice, Sam Darnold.
“I think it was a really healthy competition that progressed all three quarterbacks,” Helton said. “The thing that JT did was, when the ball was put down in our scrimmage situations and live game-play situations, the ball moved. It looked easy for him. There didn’t seem to be any confusion. He understood exactly where the ball needed to go, threw it accurately and protected the football.” Handling hype: Stanford running back Bryce Love and Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate are considered among the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy, and both already are dealing with accompanying hype.
Tate, who was on Sports Illustrated’s college football preview edition cover, didn’t tell anyone about the photo shoot — even his parents.
“That lets you know where his head is at right now,” Arizona head coach Kevin Sumlin said. “He’s focused on getting better and winning games. … We’ve got some experience in that area that can help him.”
Sumlin went through similar experiences with Drew Brees at Purdue, Sam Bradford at Oklahoma and Johnny Manziel at Texas A&M.
Love is already in high demand at Stanford.
“He’s going to be the most requested athlete for interviews in the nation, so he can’t say yes to everything,” head coach David Shaw said of Love. “Whatever he does or doesn’t do is going to face more scrutiny than pretty much any other player in America.” Staying neutral: No. 6 Washington will play No. 9 Auburn on Saturday in Atlanta, which has Huskies head coach Chris Petersen sick of hearing that it’s going to be played at a neutral site.
“It’s basically going to be a home game on a different field for them,” Petersen said. “If the fans have to at least get on a plane to go to the game, that, to me, would be a neutral site.” Rusty Simmons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rsimmons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Rusty_SFChron