SEATTLE – The semi-retired writer had seen enough. The 40-plus-year veteran of watching, evaluating and writing about college football couldn’t resist one rolling-eyed salvo at the current state of affairs of quarterbacking at the state’s two largest institutions of higher learning.
“Five Division I quarterbacks in Washington,” he said, “and not one will make you forget Steve Birnbaum.”
While it may be premature to make comparisons of the five signal-callers who saw action the last two weeks in Washington and Washington State uniforms to the obscure Birnbaum, who played the brunt of his career on a Cougar team that recorded exactly one conference victory between 1998 and 1999, his point is well taken.
In programs whose quarterback tradition proudly lists such flashy names as Drew Bledsoe, Sonny Sixkiller, Timm Rosenbach, Marques Tuiasosopo, Jason Gesser, Steve Pelleur, Jack Thompson, Chris Chandler, Ryan Leaf, Don Heinrich, Mark Rypien, Brock Huard, Cody Pickett, Damon Huard, Billy Joe Hobert, Mark Brunell, Cary Conklin and Warren Moon, neither team has a complete grasp on who will start their respective games on Saturday.
Because in their last outings, most turned up Birnbaums.
Washington State coach Bill Doba was anything but decisive when asked whether Josh Swogger held onto his starting job after falling victim to his own receivers’ slippery hands. Swogger’s confidence appeared to melt in a 6-for-27 passing day in the Cougars’ 20-12 loss to Colorado Saturday.
Will Doba stick with Swogger against Idaho or will he opt for one Alex Brink, a redshirt freshman who was 12-for-23 for 251 yards in Swogger’s relief? In his first collegiate game, Brink showed considerable star potential, although he did throw an interception that Buffaloes linebacker Joe Sanders turned into a 51-yard touchdown.
Doba’s dilemma: Do you quit on Swogger this early in favor of developing a kid who apparently has “it,” an intangible quality all stars have, but whose learning curve is near vertical?
Washington’s problem is similarly puzzling, but considering the Huskies open the Pacific-10 Conference season Saturday at home against UCLA, much more pressing.
Head coach Keith Gilbertson has said he probably will stick with junior starter Casey Paus against the Bruins, but left room for more than a little wiggle.
In his starting debut Sept. 5 against Fresno State, Paus threw three interceptions, all of which the Bulldogs turned into touchdowns, either directly or indirectly.
Paus’ other numbers weren’t disastrous for a first game – 18-for-39 for 183 yards. His mistakes were relatively few, but catastrophic, which opened public debate that only a quarterback controversy can produce.
Perhaps Paus’ job is relatively safe because his backup, sophomore Isaiah Stanback, was equally appalling against Fresno State.
Stanback, who played wide receiver last season, completed just one in five passes, including an interception that went for a touchdown. A fumbled exchange between Stanback and fullback James Sims resulted in another Bulldog touchdown.
Then there’s redshirt freshman Carl Bonnell, who played sparingly against Fresno State and did some good things. His potential as both a runner and a passer appears unlimited, but his inexperience took him out of the race for the starting job in fall camp.
Bonnell’s possible effect on the UW program appears equal to that of Brink in that of WSU. Stick him into the lineup now and close your eyes. He’s likely to make both astonishing plays and baffling mistakes, often back to back.
So what is a head coach to do?
This is why they make the big bucks. Once they make the decision on Saturday’s starter, they can only stand there and watch from the sidelines. If the decision blows up on them, they can look forward to Hurricane Ivan criticism from alums and media.
Because the problem is that, in choosing between young quarterbacks in the embryonic stages of their development, the difference between Bledsoe and Birnbaum isn’t always immediately apparent.
John Sleeper is The Herald’s college writer.
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