Going into spring practices football head coach Tom O'Brien reaffirmed an open quarterback competition between seniors Paul Peterson and Quinton Porter.
On the field in Saturday's Spring Football Game, the competition seemed to be won with a slam dunk. Porter (15-19, 126 yards, one TD) looked like the quarterback who led BC into Blacksburg and to its fourth-straight bowl victory, while Peterson (5-15, 47 yards) was awful and looked like the guy who'd be carrying the clipboard come September. Porter has played well enough this spring to give himself a realistic chance to be the starter.
The fact that O'Brien would hold a competition is no surprise. Remember, this is the same coach that had Derrick Knight coming off the bench for the first two games in 2002. He doesn't hand jobs to anyone, and that's probably a good thing. Knight had to earn his starting job and eventually became BC's all-time leading rusher. If Peterson is forced to get better to remain the Eagles' starting quarterback I don't think anyone at BC would complain, but now there's a real possibility that Peterson won't play next year.
That would be a huge mistake. The spring games and scrimmages are great for developing young players, integrating new starters, and getting a feel for a team that's very different than the one that last saw the field in December. But despite what anyone says, they are not real games.
In real games, Peterson proved he was the better quarterback. As a starter, he went 3-0 and led his offense to 35, 34, and 35 points in games that changed BC's season from an utter failure to a success. Yes, he had Knight, and Knight had a lot, and probably more, to do with the offensive success than Peterson, but Porter had Knight, too. Porter was 5-5 as a starter, losing winnable games against Pittsburgh and Wake Forest with the offense averaging only 26.6 points a game.
What Peterson brings to the field cannot be measured in workouts, practices, or scrimmages. What he offers is best seen in the fourth quarter with the season on the line. Ask Virginia Tech about Peterson. Ask them about the pass he made to Grant Adams to steal that game. That's a play that Porter simply didn't make last year. It's a game that Porter would not have won.
As we distance ourselves from the end of last season it's easy to forget just what Peterson did for the Eagles' offense. It's easy to look at Porter and see that, at 6'5", 224 lbs., he looks a lot more like a quarterback than the 6', 184 lb., Peterson. It's tough to see how someone without the physical tools scouts drool over could outplay someone with all those tools, but pop in a tape from last year and you'll see.
Gregg Williams faced a similar situation as the Buffalo Bills' coach and lost his job as a result. He had Rob Johnson, the young, tall, golden-armed quarterback with the pedigree and the tools. He also had Doug Flutie. Williams didn't want controversy and decided to keep only one of them. Johnson wowed Williams and his staff during practice and workouts and was handed the reins. Williams learned the hard way that looking the part doesn't translate into performing in crunch time as his Bills went 3-13 that year and found themselves searching for a new quarterback in the postseason.
Hopefully, O'Brien won't make the same mistake. Spring performances should be taken into consideration, but last season's performances should be given greater weight. Porter may very well become a good quarterback, and BC fans won't care who's playing as long as the team wins, but Peterson deserves to be judged by his play on the field in real games. He can't be truly appreciated in the spring.
Be the first to comment on this article!