Coach Paul Pasqualoni said Friday that senior D.J. Shoemate has earned the starting job at tailback.
One week into camp, four UConn players remain in the running for the starting quarterback job. That’s what coach Paul Pasqualoni said Friday at media day in Storrs.
No reason to panic. It’s only been a week.
But the Huskies open the season Sept. 1 against Fordham. That’s less than three weeks away now.
“My drop dead date [for a decision] is Thursday, Sept. 1,” Pasqualoni said with a smile. “The game starts at 7 o’clock . . . so somewhere around 5 o’clock. That’s my drop dead date.”
Coach P said he hasn’t ruled out anything. He likes the no-nonsense approach all four have taken. They’ve all done good things, he said. All four have shown improvement. He might go with a two quarterback system. When one guy emerges, the coaches will take UConn’s enormous playbook and whittle it down to size, finding ways to feature the strength of that guy.
But right now there doesn’t appear to be a leader.
Mike Box, Scott McCummings, Johnny McEntee and Mike Nebrich all appeared loose and confident Friday as they posed for photos and conducted interviews on the field of the Shenkman Training Center. It seems to be a friendly competition.
“It’s fun,” said McEntee, UConn’s YouTube sensation who is building his case on the strength of accuracy. “I’m just trying to stay in the running. I don’t think it really is a matter of who Coach likes best. It’s a matter of who will put our team in the position to win.”
If there is a favorite in camp among the other members of the offense, no one is saying. Perhaps UConn’s athletic communications department got that message across during “media training.” Or maybe these guys are just savvy enough to know they shouldn’t assume the role of decision maker.
“Sometimes the quarterbacks rotate and I don’t even notice,” said D.J. Shoemate, who would be the starting tailback if the Huskies played that first game today. “I want to win, so I want to go with the person that’s going to make our offense best.”
Shoemate said he has a gut feeling, but he is leaving it to the coaching staff.
Senior wide receiver Kashif Moore says he tries not to worry about the four-way battle at QB.
“I’m just focusing on my own thing,” he said. That would be running the right routes and catching the ball. Moore did say McCummings has the “strongest arm on the team – no shorter than 75 yards” on his maximum heave.
The four quarterbacks are fortunate to have center Moe Petrus in front of them. The Huskies won’t be utilizing the shotgun as much. Pasqualoni’s offense requires the QB to come up under center the majority of the time.
Petrus is a senior captain who has started 39 consecutive games for the Huskies. He’s a leader. He’s smart and he’s one of the best interior linemen in the country. Petrus is one of the reasons why Pasqualoni can take his time making a decision. The kid is a rock for the Huskies. But he is dealing with four different snap counts and four different cadences.
“It’s not the same as having a starter named and working with him on a full-time basis,” Petrus said.
“But at the same time, we’re getting an equal amount of reps for all the guys. We are developing a certain amount of familiarity and getting comfortable with a number of guys.
“It’s a little challenging right now, but in the long run I think it will help us.”
Petrus did say he prefers a QB who sits in the pocket and doesn’t scramble much. That might have been perceived as an endorsement for McEntee, but Petrus corrected that quickly.
“Whatever is best for the team,” he said.
Whatever – and whenever. We may not know until 5 p.m. on Sept. 1. But only one can start against Fordham.
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