With the Grambling State offense struggling to score through the first four games of the regular season, head coach Broderick Fobbs announced that 3-star freshman recruit Noah Bodden will start at quarterback.
“We’re definitely not thinking about it … we’re playing him,” Fobbs told the assembled media Monday during the SWAC coaches virtual call. “We feel he gives us the best option to win. We didn’t feel he was ready Week 1, and then I didn’t want to put him in there in Week 2 or Week 3 versus the teams that we were playing.”
Bodden played briefly in Grambling’s 24-10 loss to Prairie View in the State Fair Classic in place of Elijah Walker and Gene Wilson who combined for 135 yards passing, one interception on 34 attempts.
“It begins and ends with our quarterback position. We haven’t played well at that position the last three or four years,” Fobbs said. “We feel that we have a kid that has the opportunity to be a really good quarterback for us. You know that’s one position that you just can’t hide.”
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Through four outings Grambling quarterbacks have thrown just a single touchdown on 3.4 yards per toss for a unit that has averaged 5.2 points per game.
Bodden, the No. 1 rated high school quarterback in New York state, committed to Grambling State last September.
The 6-4, 216-pound pro-style quarterback of Christ the King (Middle Village) High School, was considered a 3-star prospect by 247 Sports and top 50 among other quarterbacks by Max Preps.
Bodden carried offers from Arizona State, Baylor, Oregon, Tennessee, Purdue, and Alcorn State.
His first test will be against current Black College Football national champion Alabama A&M on Saturday.
“He played well, but he’s still got a lot to learn,” said Fobbs of Bodden’s performance in limited action against Prairie View. “And we’ve got to get him caught up to speed as quickly as possible because we’re playing a really good team. The defending champions of our league.”
Fobbs was candid that Bodden was still pretty raw in his development and experience, but felt the quarterback would be best positioned to pull Grambling out of its offensive funk after trying three others on the depth chart.
“I wanted to make sure that we worked him in slowly, but also that we build a plan around him that would allow him to be successful,” Fobbs said. “We’re going to let him go, we’re going to let him roll and support him as much as we possibly can and give him the tools he needs in order to have a chance to win the game.”
