Freshman stands out; qb competition likely over

Garden City, Kan (westernkansasnews.com)-Through two weeks of camp, Jake Curran and Akeem Jones appeared to be in a deadlock for the Busters starting quarterback job. All it took was one series during Friday night’s scrimmage to seemingly end the competition. 

Jones’ gorgeous 22-yard, back-shoulder, touchdown pass to Nile Daniel on the second drive of the game, moved the Miami, Florida product from spectator to likely starter. 

“Coach Miller always tells me if defensive backs are over the receivers to throw to the back shoulder,” the freshman said. “I put it there so the receiver could adjust.”

The throw had everyone in awe, including his head coach. 

“He was special tonight,” Matt Miller said. “He looked like Nick (Marshall) on certain plays.”

One of those was a 50-yard completion to Brandon Snell, a pass that Jones threw off his back foot. 

“There’s no two ways about it-Akeem came out here ready to play,” Miller said. He marched us right down the field; scored a touchdown on our number one defense. 

Jones finished 3-for-5, 83 yards and a touchdown in three series (two with the first-team offense). He also made some nifty moves on the ground. All in all though, Jones felt there’s still room for improvement. 

“I give myself a C average,” he said. “There’s some minor things I need to fix; pitching the ball back better on the option.”

The freshman might think it was an average performance, but for those watching it was anything but. 

As for his counterpart: It was definitely a long night. 

Curran’s first series ended when the sophomore quarterback avoided a sack, rolled right, and heaved a jump ball into the end zone that was intercepted. 

“Personally I felt I could have done a lot better,” Curran said afterwards. “But our defense was great.”

In all honesty, the defense was as vanilla as it gets. In fact, they played a base scheme for the majority of the night.”

“I was disappointed,” Miller said in regards to Curran’s performance. “He missed some open receivers. I thought he bounced back on the second drive, but then he threw that ball to no one in the end zone and it was intercepted.”

Curran looked uncomfortable in the pocket all night, stepping up to avoid pressure when there seemingly wasn’t any. 

The final decision: 

“I would have to say with tonight’s performance-advantage Akeem,” Miller said. “I feel very confident if we go with him.”

Jones should officially be named the starter on Monday; the team is expected to vote on captains this weekend.