How SEC Schools with Lingering Battles Can Make 2-QB Systems Work
There's an old adage that says if you have two quarterbacks, you don't have any quarterbacks.
The validity of that could be tested this fall in the SEC, where it's starting to appear that several SEC schools are headed toward two-quarterback systems.
At Alabama, it appears that true freshman Jalen Hurts is making a case to win the starting job over junior Cooper Bateman, sophomore David Cornwell and redshirt freshman Blake Barnett. John Talty of AL.com called the Channelview, Texas, native the "sexiest" choice of the contenders, but correctly noted that it'd take a lot for head coach Nick Saban and offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin to pull the trigger and name a true freshman as the Crimson Tide's starting quarterback with USC in Week 1 and Ole Miss in Week 3.
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But it's not a stretch to assume that after a strong spring and fall camp in Tuscaloosa, the 6'2", 209-pounder will play as a true freshman.
"To me, I don’t look at it as whether he’s a freshman or a sophomore or a junior," Saban said, according to Charlie Potter of 247Sports. "I look at it with what kind of maturity does he play with and not what his chronological age is or class is, aight [sic], but how fast does he grasp what he needs to do to play his position? What kind of maturity does he go out there and compete with? What kind of decision-making or judgment?"
Alabama can use this to its advantage, if Kiffin plays his cards right.
Bateman is the only contender for the job who has significant game experience, when he started one game a year ago and served as Jake Coker's backup for the rest of the season. But all three have been in big-game situations with the Crimson Tide and at least know what to expect.
By starting an older quarterback early in the season with Hurts as part of the game plan, it will allow the staff to gauge how much Hurts can handle on big stages, take a little bit of pressure off him and develop another quarterback option if Hurts gets blinded by the bright lights.
Across the state at Auburn, it's safe to assume that at this point of the season, Plan A hasn't worked for head coach Gus Malzahn.
He stated in May that he plans to name a starter early in fall camp, and the latest that he's ever named a starter at Auburn was on Aug. 19, 2011, when he named Barrett Trotter to be Cam Newton's successor.
That plan likely involved dual-threat junior college transfer John Franklin III becoming the primary starting quarterback, because you don't bring in a quarterback from junior college unless the plan is for him to start, and Malzahn himself stated earlier this month that his quarterback will be more of a threat on the ground.
It's safe to assume that either one of the other contenders for the job—senior Jeremy Johnson or sophomore Sean White—has impressed to a point where Malzahn can't make a decision, or, as Jay G. Tate of AuburnSports.com noted on The Cube Show on WUMP in Huntsville, Alabama, Franklin hasn't done enough in the passing game.
Whatever is going on at Auburn, Malzahn can use this to his advantage, too.
When facing teams that struggle to stop the run, struggle with mobile quarterbacks or have become worn down up front due to Auburn's pace, Franklin can be used to exploit those issues and give Auburn's offense a boost. When facing teams that struggle with pass defense or when Malzahn needs a passer to dig the Tigers out of a hole, maybe a passing threat—likely White, according to Brandon Marcello of 247Sports—would be a better option.
The question would then become, "Can the two players handle split responsibilities?"
We already know that Franklin can, since he did just that last season at East Mississippi Community College alongside Wyatt Roberts. If White can do the same, Auburn could—conceivably—make it work.
Over at Georgia, Jacob Eason continues to receive the majority of the first-team snaps, according to Jason Butt of the Macon Telegraph. But with senior Greyson Lambert and junior Brice Ramsey still in the mix, first-year head coach Kirby Smart has a solid insurance policy behind his blue-chip true freshman.
Eason seems destined to be a major factor in the opener against North Carolina, but if the game starts moving too fast or he can't get over a couple of mistakes, Smart can trot out a more experienced option to spell his future superstar.
At South Carolina, first-year head coach Will Muschamp has already stated that he's keeping his quarterback decision under wraps until the Gamecocks take the field next Thursday night at Vanderbilt.
"We are not ready to name a starter before Vanderbilt,” he said, according to Josh Kendall of the State. "Obviously, that’s going to be to our advantage going into the game, a little bit of the unknown that we have."
Perry Orth started eight games after former Gamecock Connor Mitch went out with an injury last season, and despite a 1-7 record as a starter, the senior at least knows the speed of the game and can help the Gamecocks navigate through road trips to Vanderbilt and Mississippi State to open the season.
Then there's true freshman early-enrollee Brandon McIlwain, who made a strong push for the starting job late in spring practice and has kept it up during fall camp. The 6'0", 205-pounder has a big arm, good wheels and is a perfect fit for the tempo-based offense that offensive coordinator Kurt Roper employs.
But he's a true freshman on a team loaded with inexperience and fighting an uphill battle from a talent perspective with a brand-new staff in town.
Can you trust him in back-to-back road games to open the season? That remains to be seen. But it's a near-certainty that he'll play a role.
Muschamp can essentially follow the same path as Saban. He can trot out Orth to open things up, weave McIlwain in and let them settle this on the field with the public looking on.
That old adage that if you have two, you have none, is really only applicable if you have two guys who do essentially the same thing.
Since these three schools have different styles of quarterbacks with different levels of experience, the staffs can certainly make two-quarterback systems work.
The biggest challenge is making sure that all parties buy in.
Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted. All recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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