Just more than a week away from the football season opener against Central Florida, coach Tom O’Brien still doesn’t know who the starting quarterback is going to be — or at least he isn’t giving away any secrets.
Discuss this year’s starting quarterback on our message board.
The first-year coach for the Wolfpack said he plans to name a starter the Monday leading up to the game against the Golden Knights.
“I’m not going to name him until [Aug. 27],” O’Brien said after a practice last week. “But we’ll have an idea after the next couple of scrimmages.”
The competition is down to redshirt junior Daniel Evans, redshirt sophomore Harrison Beck and redshirt freshman Justin Burke with freshman Russell Wilson out of the picture, according to O’Brien.
Statistically, Evans looks to be the frontrunner. For the two fall scrimmages for which the team released stats, Evans is 13-of-22 for 127 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Evans took over the starting job last season after then-junior Marcus Stone struggled at the position. Evans then led the team to consecutive wins — first against Boston College and then Florida State. During his first two starts, Evans went a combined 28-of-53 for 369 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.
However, after the initial wins, Evans struggled to find a groove. State lost its final seven games, while Evans threw nine interceptions and only one touchdown during that span.
But the experience from last season is one thing that Evans said he brings to the table.
“You can do well in practice, and you can do it front of the coaches. But there is no guarantee that when you go out there in front of 70,000 people,” Evans said. “Experience at every position, but especially the quarterback position, is something that you really can’t put a price on.”
One aspect the quarterbacks continue to focus on is learning the offense and minimizing mistakes, according to Beck.
“The best thing somebody can bring to the table is when coach [Dana] Bible gives us information, it’s who can process it the fastest and translate it to playing on the field,” Beck said. “Not turning the football over and just being a complete player, leader — someone they can count on.”
Beck, a transfer from Nebraska, said the starter will have to be ready to “do it their way” if he wants the job. During the scrimmages with stats released, Beck went 7-for-20 for 154 yards, a touchdown and four interceptions.
While Beck didn’t explain the strengths of the other quarterbacks, Evans said it’s Beck who has the best deep ball.
“Harrison has the strongest arm probably — he can really get the ball down the field,” Evans said.
With Burke, Evans said there is a better understanding of the game and the offense. Burke went 12-for-24 for 92 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions in the scrimmages.
“Justin, he’s probably a little smarter, just book-wise smart. He’s intelligent. He understands the game real well — he understands the offense. He’s not going to have a lot of mental breakdowns because he knows what he’s doing,” Evans said. “I think I have a hybrid of both. I don’t know if I could define my game, myself.”
This isn’t the first quarterback competition Evans has seen during his time with the Pack. He watched Jay Davis and Marcus Stone battle for the position after Philip Rivers left for the NFL. The previous battle has provided insight for Evans in regards to “what to expect with how it was going to work with practice.”
With no announcement yet, O’Brien said the decision will come down to many factors — with leadership and decision-making topping the list.
“You have to take a look and make sure you assess all their talents and all their abilities, their leadership, decision-making process, all that before we make the choice.”
Sports Editor Clark Leonard contributed to this story.
