And they’re down to two
Garden City, Kan (westernkansasnews.com)-They started with five; they’re down to two.
“Truthfully, this is now a two-man battle,” Busters Head Coach Matt Miller said Wednesday in regards to his starting-quarterback race. “It’s going to be Jake Curran and Freak Akeem Jones; they’ve been taking a majority of the reps.”
Asked if either quarterback has a slight advantage over the other through five days of practice:
“Not going to go there right now,” Miller said. “17 days are going to come up quick; still a long time for Akeem. It’s a lot of study time; it’s a lot of practice time. Until I’m ready to make that final decision, I’m not going to make it.”
From an outsider’s perspective, it’s hard to tell who has an advantage. Curran knows Miller’s system inside and out; after all he spent his freshman season holding a clipboard behind conference player-of-the-year Nick Marshall.
Meantime Jones has definitely lived up to his billing: The Freak. His arm strength is unmatched compared to all the quarterbacks, and his athleticism sets him apart. His disadvantage through the first week is simple: reps. He wasn’t there in the spring time-meaning he’s still learning the system while Curran masters it.
From an outsider’s perspective, the slight edge would go to Jones, who’s more of a vocal leader than Curran (Different approach). He’s also been more accurate with the football and has made fewer mistakes down field. That said, he was responsible for two fumbles in Tuesday’s live scrimmage.
Still way too early to tell.
Other news and notes
It appears that Miller has settled on at least three starting offensive lineman, all whom the first-year coach deemed Division-I guys. The anchor is no surprise: Sophomore left tackle Dontavious Blair. At right tackle-Miller expects Ryan Johnson, a transfer from Ellsworth Community to start. Finally-Colby Hamel, who was an all-conference center at Hutch Last season, gets the nod at right guard.
“We have to get our left guard and center taken care of,” Miller said. “But we’ve got talent, and that’s a good problem to have.”
A fourth member of the line could be solidified shortly with sophomore Jason Carreon, a Garden City High School product, who started at left guard last season, receiving a majority of the first-team reps.
“He (Carreon) right now is our center, Miller said. “We’re looking at everybody, but right now he’s got a leg up on everyone.”
Hill doesn’t practice again
Don’t worry, there’s nothing wrong with sophomore RB/WR Tyreek Hill. Well, nothing the regular-season opener can’t cure. Hill did do some running on Wednesday, but the nation’s fastest man is being held out-more for precaution than anything else.
“He’s had some cramping issues,” Miller said. “We just need him healthy.”
Busters resume two-a-day practices on Thursday-first session at 9:15
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