QB spot to be two-man job
With only one snap between three men, the quarterback position on the USU football team is a question mark in every sense of the word.
Junior Jase McCormick—who completed 25-of-40 passes in 2007—quit the team just as fall camp began. That left Sean Setzer, a senior from Portland, Ore., as the man with that one snap. It was a 2-yard pass completion on Senior Day last season—a game the visiting Boise State Broncos won, 52-0.
Setzer’s performance in fall camp earned him the starting job for Game 1 at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas Aug. 30. But, as head coach Brent Guy emphasized, the starter for Game 1 is only the starter for Game 1.
“Everybody wants to know who the starting quarterback is, but all that means is that he is the starting quarterback for the first game,” Guy said. “The first game is critical to any football season, but it’s not the end-all. I don’t want to put everything on one game.”
Setzer’s throws were crisp and his decisions sound in USU’s final scrimmage as he completed 8-of-17 passes for 98 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown pass to redshirt freshman Stanley Morrison.
With his running performance in the Aug. 16 scrimmage, sophomore quarterback Diondre Borel of Oakley, Calif., will also get into the game. Borel was 4-for-9 passing and collected 80 yards rushing on eight attempts.
“Diondre is making great strides and Sean knows that Diondre is a person we trust to put into the ball game,” Guy said. “We anticipate Diondre Borel will be in the game a significant amount of time.”
True freshman Exavier Johnson, a native of Van Nuys, Calif., was also in the mix. He was 3-for-6 passing in the final scrimmage, but his throws were wobbly and he fumbled two consecutive snaps. He also scrambled five times for 11 yards.
“I know I’m not going to get that much playing time because I’m an incoming freshman with veterans ahead of me,” Johnson said. “But I’m just going to keep working hard until I get up there and keep building off that.”
Though Setzer has the starting position, he said the battle among his quarterbacking colleagues isn’t about the individual.
“Really, I don’t allow myself to think to much about competition,” he said. “Even when Jase was here, I always figured if I studied hard and did my best on the field that things would work out for me. I don’t really concern myself with how people do. I just prepare like I’m the starter every day.”
Setzer was in the mix to be starter before the ’07 season began, but was plagued by a shoulder injury. He said he worked hard in the offseason to get back to form.
“I really dedicated myself,” he said. “I’ve been in the film room watching film, doing extra things with the teammates.”
Borel was inserted as a wide receiver last year to allow him to get playing time and utilize his speed. He had one catch for eight yards and five rushes for 10 yards.
—samuel.hislop@aggiemail.usu.edu