How Tigers’ White won starting QB job
At Memphis Media Day, Tigers coach Mike Norvell said he was excited to see the quarterback competition between Brady White and David Moore.
He also gave a telling comment on how the starter would be decided.
“It’s not necessarily in my hands. It’s in these quarterbacks that are going to come out and compete every single day,” Norvell said on Aug. 2
Nearly three weeks later, his words proved prophetic. The decision was made Tuesday not by his evaluation, but by Moore not showing up at practice and leaving the team. White was named the starting quarterback after practice
It was a decision some expected when White arrived in January as a graduate transfer from Arizona State, but it was not guaranteed. As recently as Monday, Norvell said no one quarterback had taken control of the competition.
With White as the starter, Norvell said he was confident in not just his intelligence, but how comfortable he was executing the offense.
“He’s picked up this system as good as anybody I’ve been around in a short period of time,” Norvell said.
Norvell and offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham said the quarterbacks were graded on everything from footwork and decision-making to leadership and on-field performance.
"The guys who grade out the best at the last practice get the better reps at the next practice," Dillingham said in March. "What that does is push people to get better every day."
Of the 15 practices prior to Tuesday, White opened with the first team in 11on-11 drills all but three times. Moore often opened with the first team during 7on-7 drills. Yet throughout the preseason, both shared first-team reps during each practice.
At times, White looked the better of the two and showed more consistency on making short to intermediate throws. Moore struggled with accuracy but when he played with the first team, he showed flashes of his strong arm and running ability.
Yet, leading up to Memphis' first scrimmage on Aug. 11, neither was consistent in showing the full command of the offense that Norvell desired.
First scrimmage
White started with the first team in the four practices prior to the Tigers' first scrimmage. Moore said on Aug. 6 that White “had done better than he had being more comfortable in team settings.”
But the competition shifted during the scrimmage. White started, but Moore looked sharper, leading three scoring drives, all with the first unit. White led two scoring drives but struggled with his accuracy and threw a late interception.
Norvell said he saw teachable moments in the scrimmage, but the following Monday, he also found ways to praise both quarterbacks.
“They both performed well and both won different areas with what we were looking to do,” Norvell said on Aug. 13.
Moore opened practice with the first unit on Aug. 13 and 14 and led the Tigers on scoring drives. He and White continued to split first-team reps both days, and when White started the next two practices, he also led scoring drives on his first series.
Second scrimmage
The Tigers' second scrimmage, held in Jackson, saw White look the better of the two. He led two scoring drives and a third was nullified by a penalty.
Moore shook off an early interception to lead a scoring drive with the first team and twice led it into field goal range, but both attempts were no good, including a blocked kick.
Both shared equal time with the first team. Norvell said he got clues on where the competition was headed.
On Monday, he said he was still evaluating and before Tuesday morning, neither he nor Dillingham had told White or Moore they had been named a starter.
“When I’m ready to name a starting quarterback, I will,” Norvell said Monday.
And 24 hours later, he did just that when Moore left the team. The news came almost two years to the day that Norvell named Riley Ferguson as his first Memphis starting quarterback.
Now White inherits one of the nation’s most prolific offenses less than two weeks before the opener.