Buster Camp Day 10: Down to two (Audio)
Garden City, Kan (westernkansasnews.com)-Matt Miller’s biggest challenge is finding which quarterback gives his team the best chance to win. On Tuesday, the second-year coach came closer to making that final decision.
It’s down to Florida-product Danarious Graham and Bryce Gemmel from Atlanta.
“It’s a neck-and-neck battle between those two,” Miller reiterated on Tuesday. “We’re waiting for one of them to step up and take it.”
Both have qualities that Miller likes. They’re both athletic and very decisive. The biggest thing separating the two is arm strength, and no offense to Gemmel, it’s not even close. In fact, when it comes to Graham, not many are.
The main test came during a scripted scrimmage on Tuesday. Each player ran the same amount of plays. Gemmel was 0-for-2, which included two inaccurate throws, while Graham finished 0-for-1 with an overthrow to Snell along the left sidelines. Both quarterbacks did showcase their legs with Graham eluding a sack before eventually succumbing to one later in the series when Chris Franklin rushed off the edge.
In 7-on-7, neither quarterback was spot on. Gemmel was 4-of-8 with a touchdown but had several overthrows and inaccurate passes, including a long throw to Snell along the sideline. His scoring play came on a nice slant to Darryl Tyrell.
Graham misfired on his first four throws before hooking up with Snell on a nice ball. On the play, the freshman impressively went through his progressions before finding the veteran wide out. The sour note was he was just 2-of-9.
So who has the advantage? According to Miller, it’s still up in the air.
“Neither one has grabbed it yet,” he said. “That’s what we’re waiting for.”
Either one of these guys can lead this offense-there’s no question about that. But which one gives Garden City the best chance to win? If I had to answer today again it’s Graham. He’s athletic and has a Nick-Marshall type arm. When it comes down to it, you have to be able to make all the throws and Graham can. There lies the biggest difference.
