Lake Suggests He Might Use 3 Quarterbacks if None Stand Out
Jimmy Lake hopes to know who is starting quarterback is by next weekend.
There are no rules here, the University of Washington coach points out.
He could have one, two or even three guys play at times.
A three-headed QB monster, really?
"If we go into the game and we still like three of them, then maybe all three are going to play," Lake said. "If we like two guys, then two guys are going to play. If there's a clear leader, then that guy will be the starter."
Three guys?
Come on Jimmy, that's never going to happen.
Lake might say that to keep all of his guys enthused and interested, but even two quarterbacks rotating in and out during the regular season tend to keep an offense from building cohesion.
Think Warren Moon and Chris Rowland.
It's hard to say whether having so many QB candidates still in the mix is a good or a bad thing. Are they all really good or really average?
While no media or fans are permitted to view practice, it appears that the Huskies might be leaning toward being a run-oriented team, at least early on to enable the quarterback sweepstakes winner to get comfortable.
The UW potentially will field the biggest offensive line it has ever had.
Some of the backs are carrying a lot of weight.
Coaches even have told their wide receivers to be more physical.
From the number of program-selected video highlights and still photos coming out of practice, it appears Sacramento State transfer Kevin Thomson and redshirt freshman Dylan Morris, two definitive scramblers, might be slightly ahead in the competition. If nothing else, they getting the most media time.
Yet defensive-line coach Ikaika Malloe, after all, said it was the runners who gave his guys the most trouble in the last scrimmage.
Noticeably absent from these photogenic moments has been sophomore Jacob Sirmon, at least until this video below was posted on Twitter on Thursday morning. He's the lumbering but strong-armed 6-foot-5, 240-pound pocket passer, who might not be a perfect fit fort the new pro-style offense being installed by John Donovan, the first-year offensive coordinator. Or he could be the leader in some minds.
That leaves Ethan Garbers, another taller thrower, whose only obvious drawback is that he's a true freshman. Those guys, Jake Browning excluded, generally don't have enough time to get up to speed and become the immediate starter.
Lake has gone to great lengths to welcome and shield the QB competition so far. These guys have two scrimmages out of four remaining to state their cases. The coaches will use what they see up close and on their laptops. There's still no deadline for their decision.
"There's not going to be a timetable," Lake said, "where we say we're going to make a decision by this date no matter what."
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