San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
McCown, Marburger locked in ‘great’ QB competition
As UTSA’s Owen McCown and Eddie Lee Marburger battle for the starting quarterback job this spring, coach Jeff Traylor said he hasn’t found anything that creates separation in a “great competition.”
Both have taken first-team snaps during this month’s practices, both are “about the right stuff ” and both are good enough to lead the Roadrunners to wins this fall, Traylor said.
Aside from the obvious distinction of McCown being lefthanded and Marburger being righthanded, Traylor and the two signalcallers hesitate to highlight any differences between them.
“We’re pretty similar, in a way,” Marburger said with a smile. “We’re both blonde, blue eyes.”
Though McCown’s starting nod in UTSA’s bowl win against Marshall gave him the presumptive edge opening the spring, Traylor was quick to note that “both had their moments,” with Marburger showing well in his first career start against Army last fall.
The spring has brought a level playing field between Marburger and McCown, and both said they are embracing a battle that could drag into the early stages of the 2024 season.
“Competition brings out the best in people,” McCown said. “That’s all there is to it. I know me and him are not competing against each other at all. It’s more with each other, to help this team win.”
The two options followed different paths to the top of UTSA’s depth chart, with Marburger arriving as a freshman from the Rio Grande Valley in 2021 and seeing only reserve duty for two seasons before being thrust into the starting spot during Week 3 last year following an injury to Frank Harris.
McCown joined the program as a transfer last season after making three starts as a true freshman at Colorado. He appeared to claim UTSA’s No. 2 job early last year, replacing Marburger at halftime of UTSA’s Week 4 loss to Tennessee and playing in six more games the rest of the way as Marburger remained on the bench.
“Both quarterbacks look good. It’s going to be a hard battle and a tough decision for coach Traylor to make,” receiver Devin McCuin said. “I like our odds with both of them.”
Teammates this spring have usually praised the two quarterbacks in equal measure, with running back Rocko Griffin saying each has shown confidence and leadership after learning under four-year starter Harris.
Only wideouts McCuin and Willie McCoy pointed to some stylistic distinctions between the two. McCoy described Marburger as a “slingshot kind of guy,” while McCuin painted him as a “loose cannon” who will “chuck it all over the yard.” McCown, on the other hand is “a pocket passer, just picking you apart,” McCuin said.
Traylor was quick to reject the distinction, saying both have shown growth, maturity and a desire to play within the system while being athletic enough to create with their legs.
“I don’t see a gunslinger mentality in Eddie at all. I think he’s just a good quarterback,” Traylor said. “‘Gunslinger’ really doesn’t make me sleep too well at night. I’d rather have a guy who operates the offense and gets my team in the end zone. That’s what I’d prefer.”
McCown showed that ability in UTSA’s Frisco Bowl win against Marshall, rebounding from what he called a “really, really bad start” to finish 22-of-31 passing for 251 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Playing his high school football at Rusk, McCown said he’s built longstanding friendships with UTSA receivers McCuin and Chris Carpenter, who attended nearby Jacksonville. Though McCown was two grades younger than Carpenter and one class ahead of McCuin, the group regularly came together for offseason throwing sessions, building a chemistry that McCown said shows on the field with the Roadrunners.
McCown also has deep ties to Traylor, as his father, 18-year NFL veteran Josh McCown, played at Jacksonville during Traylor’s tenure as an assistant coach from 1994-2000.
“That’s a connection that’s a big one. He’s known me my whole life,” Owen McCown said. “Honestly, they were a close second coming out of high school. I won’t say where I messed up there, but I’m glad to be back here.”
Before McCown’s arrival, Marburger was considered next in line at quarterback for UTSA, even earning chants from Alamodome fans when he entered in the later stages of blowouts in 2021 and 2022.
He said the support “brought me a lot of confidence,” and he worked to learn everything he could from Harris, calling him “the best leader I’ve ever seen.”
Though he said the opportunity to start a Division I game last year was something he “always dreamed about,” he came away from his 239-yard, three-touchdown performance against Army wishing he could’ve done more to prevent UTSA’s first loss.
At no point in his tenure, he said, did he figure the No. 1 job would be his without a fight someday.
“Competition, for sure,” Marburger said. “Without competition, how are you going to get better?”
Traylor said the Roadrunners pursued adding a third contender for the starting quarterback job through the transfer portal in recent months, and that option remains in play through the summer.
The transfer possibility also exists for whichever UTSA quarterback drops on the depth chart, but Marburger quickly rejected the notion that the option had any impact on his approach to the competition. McCown said the amount of quarterback movement around the college landscape is “wild,” acknowledging the benefit of bringing him to the Roadrunners.
“Obviously, we all have options, but I love it here,” McCown said. “I like to compete. I love this team and love the guys.”
Traylor said he doesn’t handle the competition any differently than before players could switch teams without sitting out a year, noting that the grass isn’t always greener and promises of a starting spot elsewhere are never guaranteed.
Even if a new face joins the room in the months ahead, Marburger said the added competition will be a benefit rather than a deterrent.
“I just think it’s different here,” Marburger said. “We’re just such a family here, that we all love one another. We really do. We keep up with one another’s families and stuff like that. I love it here.”