AFA QB Herbort makes his departure official
Air Force junior quarterback Eric Herbort has decided to leave the team, coach Troy Calhoun said Wednesday evening.
Calhoun said Herbort, an electrical engineering major, wants to concentrate on academics so he can secure a graduate school scholarship directly out of the academy. But the coach acknowledged Herbort was "disappointed" with his increasingly diminished role on the field.
Herbort began the preseason listed as the Falcons' starting quarterback but was passed on the depth chart by senior Shea Smith. Calhoun had said both quarterbacks would play in last Saturday's opener against Southern Utah, but Herbort played only one snap in the first half - he ran for 11 yards - and then watched as freshman Tim Jefferson played the Falcons' final possession of the game in relief of Smith.
Then on Monday, Jefferson was listed with Herbort as a co-backup to Smith, and at practice the freshman got nearly all the snaps with the Falcons' second-team offense. Herbort did not practice Tuesday or Wednesday.
"He was disappointed this weekend," said Calhoun, whose team opens Mountain West Conference play on Saturday at Wyoming. "And on Monday, with Tim getting more snaps. But I think more than anything else is academically he's completed four semesters and he's a 3.84 (cumulative grade-point average). And if he goes in the fifth and sixth semesters and gets only a 3.5, now it pulls him down to 3.7 and it changes how competitive he'll be for a post-graduate scholarship right out of the academy."
With Herbort gone, Jefferson steps into a much more significant role. Now oficially the backup to Smith, he is one injury away from assuming the starting role. But the freshman from Atlanta said he's prepared for that responsibility.
"I'm ready," said Jefferson, who said early in the preseason he felt he could contribute as a freshman. "I feel confident I can step in there, and if anything does happen to Shea - God forbid - that I can roll with the offense, get the (starters) going, put some points on the board."
Quarterbacks coach/cooffensive coordinator Blane Morgan concurred, saying he is "very confident (Jefferson) can come in and do some great things if he has to come into the game."
The 6-foot, 200-pound Jefferson, who started at quarterback for the academy's prep school team last season, is among the most highly regarded freshmen on the Air Force roster. Calhoun said his top attributes are "his poise and ball-handling."
"You can just see with him, the ball's not on the ground very much, which really for a freshman, for as much as we motion, as much as we ball handle. ... it tells you he's got a little bit of awareness in regards to the offense," Calhoun said.
Jefferson said he is "learning the offense better" and that "things are slowing down" on the field for him. He said he still is getting used to all the reads he has to make in the passing game, but he threw the ball well in drills on Wednesday.
"He zinged some throws in there, which probably is one of the first few times he's done that on a regular basis at practice," Calhoun said. "Prior to this he's had days where he hit and other days where he was missing some too."
Jefferson said Herbort's departure was "a real shock," and Smith said he didn't know Herbort was considering leaving.
"You'd like to hope the best for him and his future," Morgan said. "He's an awesome kid, so I've got nothing bad to say about him."
Etc.
With Herbort having left the team, sophomore quarterback Ben Cochran practiced with the varsity on Wednesday. Freshman Asher Clark spends the first 30 minutes of practice with the Falcons' quarterbacks, then plays tailback when Air Force does its team work. ... Calhoun said senior nose guard Jared Marvin (knee) is questionable for Saturday's game at Wyoming. ... Senior Z receiver Ty Paffett did some receiving drills on Wednesday. Calhoun said Tuesday that Paffett is still not close to returning.
NEXT
Air Force at Wyoming, 1:30 p.m., Saturday, 740 AM
