Controversy not a part of QB competition

According to his media guide bio, Air Force junior Sean Quintana would like to work in acquisitions or contracting after graduation and then get his MBA.

hearing - er/tight end dissect the Falcons' quarterback-bycommittee approach, it sounds as if he'd make a fine psychologist.

"We're all comfortable with both quarterbacks," he said, referring to senior Shea Smith, who is expected to start today when Air Force opens the season against Southern Utah at Falcon Stadium, and junior Eric Herbort, who also will play. "During practice they're both rotating in so it's not that big of a deal. It's probably more uncomfortable for the fans than it is for us, actually."

In other words - don't project your skeptical feelings about the rather radical quarterback plan on us.

His teammates agree.

"I don't mind it one bit," junior left guard Nick Charles said.

"I think it'll be fine," sophomore cornerback/receiver Reggie Rembert said.

Still, the "who will play quarterback" question has been a common theme in media coverage and fan conversation during the preseason.

That's because quarterback long has been the game's glamour position, and teams often are identified by their quarterbacks. The situation at Air Force is magnified because recently graduated signal-caller Shaun Carney started 44 games during the previous four seasons and became the academy's all-time leader in passing and total yardage.

In addition, there are seemingly inherent problems with using multiple quarterbacks. One is the notion that a team's quarterback is its leader. Others are the rather elementary issues of snap counts and center-quarterback exchanges.

But the Falcons have a simple retort for the leadership question: "Everyone out there is a leader," sophomore tailback Kyle Lumpkin said.

And while Charles said quarterback changes in the past have resulted in "jumping (offside) or you're off the ball too late," he noted that Smith and Herbort have similar cadences. So did junior right guard Peter Lusk and - most importantly - senior center Andrew Pipes, who will snap the ball to Smith and Herbort.

"I've been working with them for two years now, so there's really not much difference between the two," Pipes said. "They put their hands in the same spot. We've done a lot of work on that. So there's pretty much no difference other than it's a different person."

The Falcons have decided to focus on the advantages of using two quarterbacks. Like that Smith and Herbort bring different strengths to the table: Smith plays a relatively mistake-free game and has encyclopedic knowledge of the playbook; Herbort shows the potential for big plays.

Coaches and players also note defenses will have more to prepare for with two quarterbacks playing. And coach Troy Calhoun said sometimes quarterbacks can use breaks in games.

"There are times as a quarterback when it doesn't hurt you a bit to go over there (on the sideline) maybe for a series and observe, kind of settle down and really know what you're seeing and then go back out there," Calhoun said.

Mountain West Conference foes Wyoming and Colorado State ended quarterback competitions in the preseason by naming starters. But Air Force quarterbacks coach/co-offensive coordinator Blane Morgan said doing that prematurely can handcuff a team, especially when the candidates have not played much in real games.

"Ultimately you really don't know how those guys are going to play until they get in the game," said Morgan, who led the Falcons to a 20-3 record in two seasons as starting quarterback.

So the quarterback competition continues in games that count.

"It will be interesting to see kind of how it plays out," Morgan said. "In our minds, we probably don't know the answer to that."

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Contact the Writer: 636-0365 or jake.schaller@gazette.com. Check out our Air Force blog at gazetteafasports.freedomblogging.com