Boise State’s 2012 recruiting class is signed, sealed and delivered. Kickoff against Michigan State is 206 days away. It is never too early to see what kind of impact, if any, the newest Broncos will have on the upcoming season.
The focus for much of spring practice will be on a position the Broncos haven’t worried about in the month of April since 2008. Kellen Moore graduated and has left a gaping hole in the Boise State roster at the most critical position on the field. There are four candidates to replace him and all bring some interesting characteristics to the competition.
The quarterbacks will have a new coach this season as former offensive coordinator Brent Pease took the same job at the University of Florida last month. Pease was also the quarterbacks coach but when Robert Prince was promoted to the offensive coordinator spot, Coach Chris Petersen chose to leave Prince in charge of the wide receivers and hire a new quarterbacks coach. Enter Jonathan Smith.
Smith comes to Boise from the University of Montana where he was the offensive coordinator for the past two seasons. Previous to that experience, the Oregon State graduate was the quarterbacks coach at the University of Idaho. He guided former Vandal quarterback, and current Chicago Bear, Nathan Enderle to the fifth-highest passing efficiency mark in the nation in 2009.
The undersized Smith was a standout as a four-year starter at Oregon State where he originally joined the team as a walk-on. He was 24-14 as a starter in his career and holds school records for passing yardage, total offense and touchdown passes. He led the Beavers to the 2001 Fiesta Bowl title with a 41-9 win over Notre Dame and brings significant underdog experience to a program that has worn that label well.
The four candidates to replace Moore include two that have never played a snap of college football. The Broncos have not had a quarterback competition since Moore beat out senior-to-be Bush Hamdan, as well as Michael Coughlin and Nick Lomax, in 2008.
Junior Joe Southwick, with three years in the system, is the front runner to replace Moore. He has the most in-game experience of the group with 15 appearances over the past two seasons. Southwick has yet to take a snap under any kind of pressure but has performed well when given the opportunity. His best output thus far came during the regular season finale in 2011 against New Mexico where he completed 8-11 passes for 72 yards although he did fire his first interception against the Lobos and had another wiped away by a penalty. He has two career touchdown passes including a 78-yard completion to Chris Potter in the second game of his career. He added another against Tulsa in 2011.
Southwick has more than just seniority on his side. While Moore was a prototypical pocket passer, all four quarterbacks in the competition to replace the legend have dual-threat qualities. All can run as well as pass and Southwick might have the best blend of those talents of the four candidates. He does not have the speed of some of his competitors but being a running quarterback in college means knowing when to go and when to simply keep a play alive and let the receivers find openings.
The smart money is on Southwick grabbing the job in the spring while the others battle for the backup spot into the fall. Southwick has had three seasons to learn from one of the best college quarterbacks of all time. He has completed 40-54 passes over two seasons. It is a small sample-size but gives a good glimpse of his decision-making and ability to throw the ball.
Sophomore Grant Hedrick is the quarterback with the second-most experience on the squad, although his has been dramatically different from Southwick’s. Hedrick played in six games during his redshirt freshman season in 2011 but threw only three passes, completing two. He was brought in mostly in specialty formations that saw him take snaps in an option or wildcat formation.
Hedrick ran eight times for 60 yards and a touchdown, missing three games after injuring a knee against UNLV in midseason. His most extensive experience came in the 57-7 rout over Fresno State in which he ran three times and scored on a 23-yard dash.
Hedrick’s athletic ability might be the best of the four competitors but he will need to use this spring to prove that he can lead the team through the air as well. He had few opportunities to throw the ball this fall and if he doesn’t win the job he has an opportunity to continue to make his presence felt in the same types of specialty packages that he ran in 2011.
Although it came at a much lower level, Hedrick’s last extensive playing time came in his senior season of high school in 2009 in which he threw for over 2,500 yards with 34 touchdowns and just one interception while completing 65% of his passes. His passing numbers were even better as a junior as he topped 3,100 yards and recorded 41 touchdowns. He has the tools but has not yet had the opportunity.
Redshirt freshman Jimmy Laughrea is the x-factor in the competition. He hasn’t had the hype of incoming freshman Nick Patti, nor the experience of Southwick or Hedrick, yet he has some other characteristics that could allow him to win the job. First of all, Laughrea is the biggest of the candidates. Size may not be the determining factor in this race but it’s possible that the coaches could prefer a quarterback that can physically stand up behind an offensive line that is replacing three starters.
With no game experience to draw on, most Bronco fans will look for any signs they can in the spring scrimmages to see what type of quarterback Laughrea has become in his first season on campus. His scouting reports touted a quick release and gun-slinger mentality which should draw some comparisons to his predecessor. Despite that, he has above-average athleticism and will run when necessary.
Laughrea is an intriguing prospect that is falling under the radar at Boise State, much like he did in the 2011 recruiting season, because of some bigger names. Yet nobody should be surprised if he ultimately comes away from this competition with the job as he is possibly the most physically gifted of the group in terms of his running and throwing ability.
The fans choice, and potential dark horse candidate, is incoming freshman Nick Patti. The Orlando, FL product graduated high school in December in order to enroll at Boise State last month. While he won’t have the benefit of at least one year in the system that the other three quarterbacks will have, there is a lot about Patti that excites the coaches and Bronco Nation.
Patti was the state of Florida 8A Player of the Year and despite all of his accolades, he was lightly recruited. He attended the Elite 11 quarterback camp last summer as one of the top 24 high school seniors in the nation. That came on the heels of winning MVP honors at two regional Elite 11 camps as well as quarterback MVP at multiple Nike-sponsored events in Florida last year.
Patti has impressive speed and is a true dual-threat athlete at quarterback. Yet he also has a sense of the moment and decision-making ability is one of his greatest attributes. He is roughly the same size as Kellen Moore, perhaps a fraction shorter, but his mobility is off the charts compared to his predecessor.
As spectacular as his physical attributes are, the quality that could ultimately vault Patti to the front of the line is his leadership and attention to detail. At the Elite 11 camp, motivational speaker Yogi Roth described Patti as “walking around here like he owns the place.” In the event that there was a mistake to correct, committed by himself or a teammate, Patti was completely focused on the instructions delivered by the camp counselors.
An educated guess into the depth chart heading into the Michigan State game would have Southwick as the starter, Hedrick as the backup, and Laughrea as the third-string quarterback. Patti will have every opportunity to win the job in spring and fall but expect him to redshirt if he does not win the starting job outright. He will not use a year of eligibility running specialty packages or serving as the primary backup.
The coaches are prepared to go with whichever of the four candidates gives the team the best chance to win. Southwick is the seasoned veteran of the group and expects to win the job. He may, be default, have the best chance based on the sheer number of repetitions each player will get in the spring. New offensive coordinator Prince is on record as stating that if the team had a game tomorrow, Southwick would be the starter. That should give him the advantage heading into offseason workouts.
The pitfall of having a wide-open competition is that none of the four quarterbacks will get an overwhelming number of snaps to prove their worth as the starter. As Petersen said this week, having four quarterbacks is both a blessing and a curse. They’ll have to maximize the time they get under center.
There may not be a clear-cut starter coming out of spring camp but Petersen is likely to name a starter early enough in fall camp for the team to rally behind their quarterback and begin the game plan for the Spartans. Expect a spirited battle for the difficult job of replacing Moore.
Comments