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Competition wide open for UC’s No. 2 quarterback job
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ctipton Offline
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Post: #1
Competition wide open for UC’s No. 2 quarterback job
Competition wide open for UC’s No. 2 quarterback job
4:42 pm, May 10, 2011 by bkoch

The decision by backup quarterback Chazz Anderson to leave the UC and transfer to a Division II school leaves the Bearcats without an experienced backup quarterback, but it also provides the coaching staff with the chance to groom the successor to incumbent starter Zach Collaros.

“You want to make sure you’re developing for the future,” said UC coach Butch Jones.

Without Anderson in the program to spell Collaros, the Bearcats will have a novice running their spread offense if the first-team all-Big East quarterback gets hurt.

Of the three players vying for the backup job – Brendon Kay, Munchie Legaux and Jordan Luallen – only Kay has any experience running UC’s offense. And he doesn’t have much.

Kay, a 6-foot-4, 233-pound junior, played in six games last year, completing three passes in six attempts for 20 yards. He was 2-for-2 for 27 yards in 2009.

Perhaps the most intriguing of the group is the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Luallen, a sophomore who was a Scout.com 4-star recruit out of Center Grove High School in Greenwood, Indiana, where he led his team to a state championship in 2008.

Luallen hasn’t thrown a pass in a game since he was in high school in 2008. He was redshirted as a true freshman at Georgia Tech before transferring to UC. Last year, he ran the scout team as he sat out his transfer year.

“Jordan is extremely intelligent and has tremendous intangibles and leadership skills,” Jones said. “He has very, very good running skills. In our philosophy here with the quarterback we want a thrower first, a runner second.

“The system he was in at Georgia Tech was run-oriented, where this is a true pro style, so he’s getting caught up on the fundamentals of the drop-back throw game. But he’s very gifted, very instinctual.”

Kay has been bothered by a bad knee. He underwent surgery in 2009 and was held out of much of spring practice this year because of the knee.

“Brendon possesses great knowledge of the offense,” Jones said. “He understands what we’re trying to accomplish. The big thing this summer for him is getting healthy where he’s able to compete on a day-to-day basis. He has every opportunity to be the backup quarterback.”

Munchie Legaux, a 6-foot-5, 197-pound sophomore, might have had his development set back last year when he was moved to wide receiver, where he caught one pass for 18 yards. Now he’s trying to make up for the time he lost when he could have been learning how to manage an offense on the college level.

“He has a lot of raw ability,” Jones said.

At this juncture, Jones said, none of the three has an edge over the other two, which should make for an interesting training camp in August.

“It’s pretty much dead even,” the UC coach said.

Jones said he’s “90 percent sure” that Anderson will end up transferring to Ohio Dominican to continue his football career.

“Chazz wants to go in the seminary,” Jones said. “That’s why Ohio Dominican is very attractive to him because they have a seminary program. He wants to go into the ministry.”

http://news.cincinnati.com/ucblog
 
05-10-2011 04:53 PM
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Racinejake Offline
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Post: #2
RE: Competition wide open for UC’s No. 2 quarterback job
Whoever the backup is needs to get plenty of quality reps. When we're blowing a team out (or heaven forbid getting blown out) our backup needs to be in the game running meaningful plays. I don't want to see Collaros in the game and I definitely don't want to see Luallen/Munchie/Kay handing off to George Winn on 25 consecutive plays. Remember that this is the guy who will be leading us against Ohio State and @ Fed Ex Field against Virginia Tech in 2012.
 
05-10-2011 04:58 PM
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cinbinsportsfan Offline
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RE: Competition wide open for UC’s No. 2 quarterback job
Why do I feel like Brendan has been 'trying to get healthy' for years now? I mean, when was his knee injury? 2 years ago? I feel like he should be at/near 100% by now. Anyone who knows about knee injuries, would you mind chiming in on this?
 
05-11-2011 07:45 AM
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socTHEgreat Offline
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RE: Competition wide open for UC’s No. 2 quarterback job
Not sure if this has been posted yet today but our good friend Brian Bennett did a final spring wrap up.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast/post/_/i...pring-wrap


2010 overall record: 4-8
2010 conference record: 2-5, seventh in Big East

Returning starters:

Offense: 5. Defense: 11. Punter/kicker: 1.

Top returners:

QB Zach Collaros, RB Isaiah Pead, WR D.J. Woods, OT Alex Hoffman, DT Derek Wolfe, DE Walter Stewart, LB JK Schaffer

Key losses:

WR Armon Binns, C Jason Kelce


2010 statistical leaders (* returners)

Rushing: Isaiah Pead* (1,029 yards)
Passing: Zach Collaros* (2,902 yards)
Receiving: Armon Binns (1,101 yards)
Tackles: JK Schaffer* (111 tackles)
Sacks: Brandon Mills* (six sacks)
Interceptions: Drew Frey* and Wes Richardson* (2 interceptions)

Spring answers

1. Better up front: The Bearcats' defense was bad last season, with lots of holes all over. One of the problems stemmed from the lack of a consistent pass rush on a thin defensive line. Players like Derek Wolfe and Brandon Mills played far too many snaps along that defensive front. Head coach Butch Jones feels better about the depth this season, with the addition of young players like Camaron Beard and Brad Harrah, plus the continued development of veterans like Dan Giordano and John Hughes. Moving Walter Stewart from linebacker to full-time defensive end should help with speed off the edge, and Wolfe should be one of the best interior tackles in the league. It's not an all-world line, but it should be a lot better.

2. Locked and loaded: Cincinnati led the Big East in scoring a year ago, and even with the loss of the league's top receiver in Armon Binns, the offense has the weapons to be very dangerous again. Quarterback Zach Collaros is a senior who's now fully in charge of the offense, and running back Isaiah Pead is the league's leading returning rusher after producing a 1,000-yard season in 2010. Junior-college transfer Kenbrell Thompkins emerged as a potential No. 1 wideout, and Anthony McClung and O.J. Woodard made strides. Add in explosive slot man D.J. Woods and incoming players Dyjuan Lewis and Jameel Poteat, and the Bearcats should be hard for defenses to handle in 2011.

3. Early start successes: Cincinnati had five recruits from its 2011 class enroll early, and Jones said the team went 5-for-5 in getting good players and future contributors from that group. Look for receiver Shaq Washington and defensive back Malcolm Murray to push for major playing time. If nothing else, the early enrollees help build depth for a team that didn't have much of a bench a year ago.

Fall questions

1. The back seven on 'D': While the defensive front figures to be improved, there still are questions on the rest of the defense. JK Schaffer is a rock at linebacker, but the Bearcats don't have much depth elsewhere at that position. All the defensive backs return from last season, but they did not play well in 2010 and had some struggles this spring. They need to become better tacklers and more aggressive on balls in the air. The defense showed some improvement in the spring but still has a long way to go.

2. Kicker questions: Jake Rogers was as reliable a placekicker as there was in the Big East the past few years. Tony Miliano, Danny Milligan and punter Pat O'Donnell battled to replace him this spring, but none of them clinched the job. Jones has said he'll probably wait until the week before the season opener to name his field-goal specialist.

3. Zach's backup: Collaros is completely entrenched as the starter and as valuable as any Big East player. But who would the Bearcats turn to if something happened to him? Chazz Anderson, who backed up Collaros last season and started the Syracuse game, decided to transfer after spring practice. The options include Georgia Tech transfer Jordan Luallen, oft-injured junior Brendon Kay, sophomore Munchie Legaux and early enrollee Stephen Weatherford. The No. 2 spot will likely remain up for grabs into fall practice

I know I'm 05-deadhorse but it would be nice if we could get this type of stuff on a more consistent basis locally.
 
05-11-2011 08:37 PM
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Ring of Black Offline
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Post: #5
RE: Competition wide open for UC’s No. 2 quarterback job
Thanks for posting that Soc 04-bow

Bennett nailed it pretty well. I'll differ slightly on his "back seven" comment. I do think our LB position will improve dramatically, with Pooler, Jackson, Temple, and Blair coming in, with Tentman returning from injury. If three of those five guys can produce even reasonably, the position suddenly looks much better than last year.

I'm still very worried about the DBs though. I hope a lot of it has to do with the fact that Johnson and Battle didn't participate much this Spring. I sure hope Murray gets strong consideration as a starter at safety.
 
05-12-2011 11:39 AM
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