USA TODAY International Edition
QB races heat up
Among schools with little clarity at key position are five who could be in national title chase,
Nothing creates more uncertainty for an offense in college football than having an unresolved quarterback battle heading into the season.
With an experienced starter, the coaching staff and players know what they have at the most important position on the field.
Without the quarterback question resolved, factions can develop on a roster, and the players competing for the job often have one eye downfield and the other looking over their shoulder knowing a mistake could relegate them to the bench.
Several teams enter this season with the question of who will be taking the first and majority of snaps from center unresolved. Five legitimate national contenders don’t have an answer to their quarterback situation with less than two weeks before the start of the season.
ALABAMA
Three of coach Nick Saban’s four titles with the Crimson Tide have come with first- year starting quarterbacks, so there’s not a tremendous amount of panic in Tuscaloosa even though he acknowledges the position is a work in progress.
It appears to be a three- man race between junior Cooper Bateman and freshmen Blake Barnett and Jalen Hurts. Bateman is the only one with playing experience. He made a start last season, a home loss to Mississippi. Hurts could be a wild card with his ability to run and throw. But would Saban trust his title defense to a true freshman? Whoever emerges won’t have to be great to win games. Just let the offensive line and defense do their things, get the ball to the vast array of playmakers and avoid mistakes.
STANFORD
Kevin Hogan and his 46 starts are off to the NFL. His departure cre- ates a huge void in the Cardinal offense after winning a schoolrecord 36 games, including two Rose Bowls. Coach David Shaw appears to be in no hurry to decide on Hogan’s replacement.
Redshirt sophomore Keller Chryst has been projected as the next standout Stanford quarterback. He won the backup job from junior Ryan Burns last season but saw limited action. The race between the two remains open, with Shaw highlighting the need for his quarterback to be prepared mentally as much as physically, especially with All-America running back Christian McCaffrey to carry the load.
MICHIGAN
Last year’s decision to bring in graduate transfer Jake Rudock worked well for Jim Harbaugh. He could pick another transfer.
John O’Korn played two seasons at Houston before sitting out last year. He started 16 games and threw for more than 4,000 yards with 34 touchdowns for the Cougars. His chief competition is junior Wilton Speight, who relieved Rudock against Minnesota last season and led the Wolverines to a winning touchdown in the fourth quarter.
That was the lone bright spot in an otherwise ordinary performance as a backup. That moment, however, could tip the scales for Harbaugh, as Speight is more of the traditional pocket quarterback his offense has used.
TCU
Trevone Boykin carried the Horned Frogs for two seasons. It will have to be more of team effort on offense this year.
Texas A& M transfer Kenny Hill was thought to be the heir apparent based on his play as a freshman with the Aggies when he replaced Johnny Manziel in 2014. Foster Sawyer saw time against Kansas and Oklahoma last season and put up enough of a fight this spring to force coach Gary Patterson to extend the battle into the fall. With an opener against South Dakota State, there is not a tremendous amount of pressure to have a hard decision before the first weekend.
GEORGIA
Going with a heralded true freshman quarterback worked out pretty well for UCLA and Josh Rosen last season. The Bulldogs could follow the same path with Jacob Eason. Committed to the program since 2014, Eason decided to stick with Georgia even after the departure of coach Mark Richt. His possible ascendency to the job was helped by the uneven play of Greyson Lambert and Brice Ramsey last season.
None of the contenders has separated himself since the spring, putting new coach Kirby Smart in the position of choosing experience and what you know or preparing for the future now with Eason.