SMU transfer deepens QB roster
Peavey was backup last year
BOCA RATON The Florida Atlantic quarterback competition just got a bit more interesting.
On Tuesday, the school announced former SMU quarterback Rafe Peavey had transferred to FAU. A graduate student, he was immediately eligible and practiced for the first time Tuesday.
“He’s someone that has played before at Arkansas and SMU, a good player out of high school,” Owls coach Lane Kiffin said. “To add someone this late, we obviously researched a very smart kid that can pick things up. We’re always trying to strengthen our team and strengthen our position group.”
Kiffin said the move was made because he felt uncomfortable about having just two experienced quarterbacks on the roster. Junior De’Andre Johnson and freshman Chris Robison are competing for the starting spot, but Kiffin did not rule out Peavey factoring into the mix.
Peavey, who was a fourstar recruit coming out of high school, played one season at Arkansas in 2015 before transferring to SMU. Last year, he completed 4 of 4 passes for 72 yards and a touchdown as a backup.
Kiffin said he added another quarterback to help offset the loss of Jason Driskel, who started most of last season before deciding to quit football after the bowl victory against Akron.
Peavey even wore the same No. 16 jersey as Driskel. Kiffin said he has long been evaluating
Peavey.
“Just familiar a little bit from watching in high school and watching as of late,” Kiffin said. “Not just film that he played in, but also some practice film and some things. Very talented kid that he was heavily recruited. He has a big arm. It’s kind of interesting he ended up (wearing) No. 16. He really looks like Jason out there, similar type of build and frame.That’s a very good acquisition for us, kind of like free agency.”
Kiffin said the addition had nothing to do with the progress of Johnson or Robison. Their development has been slowed because of injuries to several receivers during fall camp. Willie Wright, DeAndre McNeal and Pico Harrison are among those battling minor injuries.
It may lead to Kiffin waiting until later in camp before naming a starter.
“I think we’re so early with install and with things going around,” Kiffin said. “It’s not going to happen in three or four days because it’s just too much stuff going around and too many rotations.”
Kiffin said he will take things slow with Peavey because he is so far behind on the playbook. That didn’t stop him from taking reps with starting and backup units.
“We’ve isolated his meetings instead of just throwing him in on day four [of practice],” Kiffin said. “We had to have separate meetings with him where we started with day one. His script is a little bit different because he just got here. You can’t expect him to know everything after a few hours. We threw him into the competition . ... ”