Washington Huskies Football: Nick Montana and the Future QB Situation

Most teams would be happy with Keith Price and Nick Montana as their options at quarterback.

Throw in 2012 recruits Jeff Lindquist and Cyler Miles, however, and the Washington Huskies have some incredible depth at QB for at least the next four years.

Lindquist, who's rated by ESPN as the 18th-best quarterback in the class of 2012, is more in the Andrew Luck mold. He has terrific arm strength and is good out of the pocket. He's not the most athletic recruit but is gifted physically when it comes to simply throwing the ball.

Miles, on the other hand, is more of a dual-threat quarterback. The 20th-rated quarterback in the country possesses terrific speed but will still look to pass first. Miles will instead use his speed to be effective at avoiding pressure and running the play-action.

So where will the Huskies find room for all of this talent?

Sophomore Keith Price enters 2011 as the probable starter. If he runs away with the job, it will be tough to replace him (barring an injury).

If that happens, the Huskies will need to find some creative ways to get Nick Montana on the field.

Call me crazy, but I don't think Montana, the son of all-time great Joe, signed with the UW to sit on the bench until his senior year. Montana, a high-profile recruit, has the skills to be an elite quarterback, and a transfer wouldn't be out of the question.

On the other hand, if Price disappoints and Montana steps in admirably, Price may be second-choice for the rest of his career.

Regardless of who pans out behind center this season, the position will be even more cramped with the additions of Lindquist and Miles in 2012.

Best-case scenario: Price and Montana, two very different types of QBs, will both be productive in the right situations, and both will stay in Seattle.

Then assume both Lindquist and Miles redshirt in 2012.

Still, that takes us to 2013 with four viable options—Price will be a senior, Montana a junior and Lindquist and Miles redshirt freshmen.

A logjam indeed. But as little freshmen, Lindquist and Miles would be fine on the bench. We'd still be OK.

Assume everything goes perfect and Nick Montana stays all four years; then you have to fast-forward to the 2015 season before the two young guns are the top options.

Do these top recruits really want to sit around for three years before being able to just compete for a job—with each other?

For option No. 1, however, let's say they do stay around until then.

Of course, this is another best-case situation, but imagine the same-aged guys forming to create the ultimate dangerous duo. Lindquist would be the long-yardage, pocket passer. Miles would be the short-yardage, play-action QB (think Tim Tebow during his freshman season at Florida).

It's not an ideal fix, but at that point, they will have been around each other for three years and would be developed enough to make it work.

One thing is for sure—it's a duo that would be tough for defenses to plan against.

However, it could always turn out differently.

If everything goes according to plan with Price and Montana (and obviously, that's a big if for the next three years), then it wouldn't be surprising to see Lindquist or Miles transfer. These kids are good and don't want to sit around for too long.

The logical guess for a transfer would be Miles since he is from Colorado. Lindquist is from Mercer Island, which is right across Lake Washington from Montlake. 

Obviously, this is all speculation, but with all of this talent coming to Montlake in the next year, the Huskies will have a unique situation on their hands and will have to come up with a unique solution if they want to avoid transfers.