Two experienced quarterbacks return to Corvallis for their senior years. Both have winning records in their careers and each has won a bowl game with the Beavers.
Sounds like a spring QB dual for the ages right? Wrong. Unfortunately a surefire competition for the starting job never had the chance to develop.
Redshirt senior Lyle Moevao underwent surgery to repair damage to his shoulder in February and has been shut down from practicing until mid to late July. Moevao was the starter for most of last season, but he was noticeably affected after suffering the shoulder injury on November 1st against Arizona State.
With Moevao sidelined for the spring, fellow senior Sean Canfield has claimed control of the No.1 spot at QB.
Sean Canfield winds up to throw
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Washington State head coach Paul Wulff is looking for a leader. Wulff, a former offensive lineman for the Cougars, is entering year two with his alma mater and is fully aware that a repeat of last year’s uninspiring season will not go over well on the Palouse.
For the Cougs to right the ship, a quarterback must emerge in 2009. This proud program has had success in recent years at the position with the likes of Alex Brink and Jason Gesser not too far removed from their productive playing days. There are two main candidates for this year’s job, and both started in games last season.
Redshirt sophomore Marshall Lobbestael started three games in 2008 and played in a total of five before suffering season-ending damage to his ACL and MCL during the Oregon State game. His numbers from last year’s limited action, while not spectacular, were solid. He finished 53-103 for 571 yards, with four touchdowns and four interceptions. His passer rating was a respectable 103.08 and he was sacked 12 times.
Marshall Lobbestael looks to throw on the run
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The 2009 Arizona Wildcats will look far different on offense than they did one year ago. Gone is Willie Tuitama, the school record holder for career attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns. Tuitama was extremely efficient, completing 65% of his passes as part of a balanced attack for the Cats. Offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes will now run his inventive multi-spread offense with one of two new QB’s that are both firmly in the running.
The slight favorite for the job as of spring is true sophomore Matt Scott. A 6-3 190 pound product out of high-school football power Corona Centineal (CA), Scott is a threat to opposing defenses in multiple ways. His current edge on the starting job can likely be attributed to his speed and quickness. Scott is a very elusive runner, and has the awareness to know when it’s the right time to take off.
Matt Scott shows off his quick feet
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What’s more exciting Huskies fans, the addition of future headliner Nick Montana or the return of hometown hero Jake Locker? Either way, the University of Washington is doing a great job of turning the page on an embarrassing winless season last year. The Sarkisian era is underway in Seattle, and a brand new offensive attitude is coming to U-Dub.
Former head coach Tyrone Willingham may have struggled in the win-loss column, but he didn’t exactly leave the cupboards empty. After all, junior QB Jake Locker is back after missing most of 2008 with season ending surgery. When healthy, the best way to describe Locker is Tim Tebow-West. There truly aren’t enough superlatives to describe what he does for an offense.
In a conference full of unknowns at QB, Locker’s place atop the depth chart is as safe as any in the country. A native of Ferndale, Washington, he made recent news in another sport; the Los Angeles Angels selected the two-sport athlete in round 10 of the MLB draft.
Jake Locker tucks it away and uses his legs
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Cardinal fans are buzzing after a very good off-season on The Farm. Although 2008 ended with three losses, there is a lot to like about the direction that head coach Jim Harbaugh is taking this program.
At the center of the excitement stands redshirt freshman Andrew Luck. Luck was the prize recruit of the 2008 recruiting class, and thus far, he has lived up to the billing.
The 6-4 225 pound Luck enjoyed a superb spring and left camp as the favorite to win the starting job for Stanford over incumbent, Tavita Pritchard. He closed out spring practice with one the best performances of any QB in the conference this off-season, going 18-of-25 for 352 yards and five touchdowns in the Cardinal and White game.
Those kind of numbers, even in a spring game, are very impressive considering the fact that Stanford had the 103rd ranked passing attack in America one season ago.
Luck’s size and arm strength have coaches drooling over the possibilities for the passing game in 2009. If you factor in power running back Toby Gerhart’s ability to keep the defense honest, it could be a potent offense for Stanford this fall.
Andrew Luck takes the snap
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Believe it or not Sun Devil faithful, Rudy Carpenter is not back for another year as the ASU signal caller. After Carpenter’s roller-coaster run of four years, Arizona State will be breaking in a new quarterback.
Head coach Dennis Erickson now faces the task of trying to resuscitate an offense that was largely responsible for ASU’s disappointing five win season in 2008. Erickson visited with his good friend Mack Brown (Texas head coach) earlier this year about offensive philosophies and the new Sun Devil QB will likely be running a different offense than Carpenter did last year.
The off-season has been a busy one for Arizona State quarterbacks. The Sun Devils headed into April with five scholarship QB’s, but by the second month of spring, they only had three left.
First, redshirt freshman Jack Elway, son of hall-of-famer John Elway, decided to leave the football team and stay at ASU for his academics instead. Not long after Elway’s decision was made, sophomore Chasen Stangel decided to transfer. Neither player figured to be in the running for playing time, but now the Sun Devils face depth concerns at a position where there isn’t much experience to begin with.
Danny Sullivan drops back
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Here are the facts; in 2009 a guy named Kevin will likely assume the quarterback position in Westwood. The choices are A.) Senior Kevin Craft or B.) Redshirt Freshman Kevin Prince.
Head coach Rick Neuheisel and offensive coordinator Norm Chow have made it quite clear so far that the latter is a better option. Prince ended spring practice atop the depth chart. Clearly, incumbency has not helped the senior starter from last season. In fact, Craft may not even win the backup role.
In April, Richard Brehaut, a 6-2 205 pound true freshman outperformed Craft decisively. Neuheisel recruited both Prince and Brehaut for Norm Chow’s system. It is becoming evident that Neuheisel and Chow were embarrassed by last year’s anemic offense and are ready to start a new era at quarterback for the Bruins.
Kevin Prince aims to fire
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With the departure of long time quarterback Nate Longshore, Cal will now look to turn the page on last season’s awkward two quarterback system that many observers believe affected the chemistry of the Bears offense in 2008. Junior Kevin Riley was part of that two-QB system (along with Longshore), and he went as far as admitting that he did not feel comfortable on the field knowing he could be pulled at any time.
By the numbers, Riley actually played much of last season, starting nine of 11 games, but throughout the season it didn’t ever feel like head coach Jeff Tedford was ready to commit to one guy. Riley finished last year with 1,360 yards passing, throwing 14 TDs and six INTs but had a less than impressive 50.7% completion rate.
Although Riley has faced his fair share of criticism, his talent is undeniable. Most importantly, he has true Pac-10 experience; and looking around the conference, that is a rarity at QB. So far in 2009, all signs point towards Riley being more poised, relaxed and efficient. He has also become a positive presence in the locker room, knowing he no longer has to share the huddle with another experienced QB.
Kevin Riley looks down field
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Oregon is looking to replace more starters than any other team in the Pac-10. This is on top of replacing the legendary Mike Bellotti, who engineered more than a decade and a half of winning in Eugene. On the surface, that is a pretty daunting task, capable of causing great anxiety for Ducks fans as the 2009 season approaches.
However, two major components remain off of the 10-3 2008 Oregon team. Former offensive coordinator and now head coach Chip Kelly is one. The other is dual-threat quarterback Jeremiah Masoli. Between Kelly and Masoli, the identity of Oregon’s highly entertaining, fast-paced spread offense is still intact. Last year, Oregon produced more touchdowns of 50 yards or greater than any other Pac-10 team.
Unlike offensive line and especially wide receiver, the quarterback position will not be an open competition at Oregon. If anyone was going to challenge Masoli for significant time this season, it would have been Justin Roper, who transferred out less than a month ago.
Jeremiah Masoli having fun
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In January, a projection of the 2009 quarterback situation at USC did not seem necessary. After all, Mark Sanchez seemed like he was on his way back fresh off of a great Rose Bowl performance to end his first year as starter.
Although his decision to go pro initially irritated head coach Pete Carroll, it now seems all parties may come out just fine heading into the fall. After a stellar spring, Aaron Corp, a 6-4 redshirt sophomore from Orange Lutheran, has established himself as the starter.
Corp went an astounding 13 spring practices without throwing an interception capped off by a solid spring game. Before the spring, most pundits agreed that it was Corp’s mobility that made him such a tremendous talent. Some close to the program believe that Corp will be able to use his mobility out of the bootleg and play action even better than Sanchez did in last year’s offense.
The only question mark with Corp was how consistent he could be throwing the football. So far, Corp has silenced any critics he might have. His performance was especially impressive considering the stiff competition he faced throughout all of USC’s practices and scrimmages to date. In fact, the competition was so stiff that the battle for starting signal-caller could re-open in the fall thanks in large part to a rising star named Matt Barkley.
Aaron Corp puts together a nice spring
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