Who’s QB2?

The ESPN team of Tom Hart and Jordan Rodgers indicated on the broadcast that freshman Connor Noland had been taking more of the second-team quarterback reps behind Ty Storey in practice last week when sophomore Cole Kelley replaced the injured Storey for the first time in the second quarter.

“Yeah, I’m not sure where they got that, but they’ve been splitting reps,” offensive coordinator Joe Craddock said, referencing Kelley and Noland, who has not played since the Week 3 loss to North Texas. “Connor has really understood the offense a little bit more than he has since we started. He’s learning and getting more comfortable, and I think that may be why he’s been doing a little bit better during practice.”

Coach Chad Morris said of the second-team reps, “How we do it is we mix it up. Obviously they’ve both been taking a lot of No. 2 reps, and we switch it in and out. You’ve watched us the way we practice and the way we do our second rack of plays. We’ll let one guy get one series and one guy get the next series.

“[Noland] hasn’t been taking the majority of them. I mean, he’s been taking a lot of them, but he hasn’t been taking the majority of them.”

Storey took a few hard shots, including a helmetto-helmet targeting penalty from defensive back Vernon Dasher, in Saturday’s loss to Ole Miss. Storey came out in the fourth quarter after being upended at the end of a 10yard run by Zedrick Woods and taking a hard fall to the turf.

The redshirt junior from Charleston got up, then slumped back to the turf. He later tried to get back into the game but had his helmet taken away from him, a clear indication he was in concussion protocol.

Morris said freshman quarterbacks Noland, John Stephen Jones and redshirt Daulton Hyatt could all be in the mix with Kelley if Storey is unable to start Saturday.