When Florida A&M officially begins fall practice next week, six quarterbacks on the depth chart will be competing for the starting job.
Whoever wins that battle will take the first snaps against North Carolina on Aug. 27.
As of now, head coach Willie Simmons has yet to name a starter or give any insight on which signal-caller might have the inside track on the job.
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“Obviously when you have a quarterback battle that’s where everyone’s attention is — who is going to take that first snap against the University of North Carolina,” said Simmons. “I don’t have the answer to that question today.”
Simmons and first-year offensive coordinator Joseph Henry will be deciding between incumbent senior starter from a year ago Resean McKay, Junior Muratovic, Cameron Sapp, Jeremy Moussa, Jacory Jordan, and Trey Fisher, the son of Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher.
McKay, because of his experience and respect among teammates and coaches, would seemingly be the frontrunner for the job after throwing for 2,457 yards and 22 touchdowns with five interceptions in 12 games. However, Muratovic and Sapp played in 10 combined games last season and tallying 203 total passing yards and 1 TD between them.
But Moussa, a Vanderbilt transfer, played significantly well in the Rattlers’ spring game in April, which led Simmons to call the quarterback position open.
“We still have 25 practices to figure that out,” he said. “But it’s going to be about consistency. It’s about the guy that gives us the best chance to go out and be successful. (It’s) about the guy our team will rally around.”
Simmons intimated that the quarterback competition may not come down to which one starter emerges, but possibly the two or three that could be deployed throughout the season.
“They are a close-knit bunch. They push each other and they work extremely hard,” said Simmons about the quarterback room. And that’s what you want to see from whoever takes that snap against North Carolina.”
