Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Wolves review QB plan
Arkansas State University might stick with one quarterback this week against University of Central Arkansas.
Key word: might. Through three games this season, the Red Wolves have played both junior Logan Bonner and sophomore Layne
Hatcher, with Bonner starting and Hatcher rotating in after one or two series. But after falling to Coastal Carolina 52-23 last weekend, ASU offensive coordinator Keith Heckendorf said anything could happen this weekend with the quarterback rotation.
“When you lose, everything is on the table,” Heckendorf said. “You go back and you evaluate everything,
you look at every little thing you do. So yeah, that’s one thing we’ll look at this week. How we adjust it going forward.
“Again, we’re going to take the same approach: What gives our team the best chance to win? How do we put this team in the best position to be successful? And the same thought is how do we put those two individuals in the best position to be successful?”
Up until the Coastal Carolina game, the two- quarterback system had worked well, with both guys contributing in the win over Kansas State and making few mistakes against Memphis. And even against the Chanticleers, Bonner and Hatcher were near the bottom of a long list of reasons for losing.
Hatcher threw his only interception of the season and went 12 of 23 with 184 yards and 1 touchdown. Bonner may have had his best game of the season, going 16 of 21 for 165 yards and 2 touchdowns. Heckendorf said Bonner “probably had his best decision-making day that he’s had in three games, maybe in the two years I’ve been here with him.”
Coach Blake Anderson, who said Saturday that neither quarterback played great, echoed that same sentiment Monday.
“They both played OK. I don’t think either one of them played their best game,” Anderson said. “I think part of that is the gaps between, and we honestly didn’t play very well up front. They gave us a lot of struggle last year up front, and they did again this year.”
Neither Bonner nor Hatcher had many opportunities against Coastal Carolina, with the offense possessing the ball for only 18: 39 — Bonner had it for 8:23, Hatcher 10:16. Due to Coastal Carolina’s time-consuming offense, Arkansas State rotated the two every other possession in fear that there could be a long lay off if they instead did every two possessions.
“I thought it was fine,” Heckendorf said of the rotation. “We went into the game with a one-to-one rotation, knowing that at times the gaps may be longer than a traditional game so that neither one of those guys would be sitting near as long. And I thought they handled it well.
“They weren’t perfect. There’s things that both guys would have liked to have done better. But in terms of the rotation itself, I thought they both handled it well.”
Bonner has a higher completion percentage, more passing yards and touchdowns. He also has more interceptions and has played more than Hatcher. Bonner is 47 of 72 for 502 yards, 5 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Hatcher is 31 of 51 for 411 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception.
Both have places they can improve and neither has offered much separation, leading Heckendorf to make a decision on a week-to-week basis. But moving forward, it’s expected that ASU will eventually choose one or the other. It’s more of a matter of when, not if.
“We’ll look at that every week based on the team that we’re playing, how they play, how those two practice and prepare, and we’ll make a decision before game day,” Heckendorf said. “I can’t tell you today. I don’t know at this point, but I’m pleased with both of the guys.”
As for the offense as a whole, Heckendorf knows it has to improve after totaling only 385 yards against Coastal Carolina, and it needs to start Saturday in Jonesboro against the University of Central Arkansas.
That’s independent of who starts at quarterback or whether there’s a rotation.
“By golly, we woke up today, the sun was out, it’s a new week, it’s a new opportunity. We’ve got to be ready to play,” Heckendorf said. “There’s no pointing the finger anywhere. We’re pointing it right at us. We’ve got to get better. We’ve got to play better. And we’ve got to take advantage of our opportunities.”