Battle for the WVU backup QB spot is one that brings intrigue
West Virginia is going to have a new backup quarterback. That much is true.
Who it eventually will be is still without an answer.
But to make things easier the Mountaineer coaches have only two options to choose from and three total quarterbacks at their disposal during the course of spring ball. Granted they will be adding a few more walk-ons in the fall, but for now that’s what they’ve got.
Redshirt junior Chris Chugunov has graduated and will leave the football program after serving as the primary backup the past two seasons meaning that a new face is going to take the post. There is no doubt that senior Will Grier will assume his starting job but the two behind him have interesting stories in redshirt sophomore Jack Allison and true freshman Trey Lowe.
Allison has been with the program for a full season after transferring from Miami and was able to practice with the team last year but had to sit out due to NCAA rules. He caught the attention of the coaching staff at times with the scout team last year, but this will be his biggest opportunity.
“Good, tall. He spins it around pretty good,” head coach Dana Holgorsen said. “He is still young, hadn’t played a lot. He did a good job on the scout team for us last year, gives us another option.”
Allison is a legitimate 6-foot-6 and has the strength to make the necessary throws but is still in the process of taking what he has learned in the film room and applying it to the field. The Florida native was heavily recruited out of high school before electing to leave Miami and settle in Morgantown.
The year of experience he already has under his belt has helped him settle into his role.
“He’s familiar with the offense,” Spavital said.
The second option in Lowe is intriguing, too.
Well, that’s if the West Virginia coaches can keep him on the football field.
The Tennessee native enrolled at West Virginia at the mid-term and is currently playing not only football but outfield for the baseball team as well. A two-sport star in high school, Lowe has continued the practice at the college level and is comfortable juggling the activities.
“If he doesn’t have anything going on, then he can go practice as much as he wants to, that’s fine with me. He’s done it his whole life, he’s been a multi-sport star, he’s a coach’s kid, he’s smart, he has great presence to him, he’s mature,” Holgorsen said of Lowe.
While he is expected to be at football practice when it’s held, Holgorsen did say that if he is expected to play in a baseball game he could hypothetically attend that instead.
But make no mistake about it, he is a player that the coaches are pinning a lot on in the future.
“He’s pretty important to what our future is here, so there is an expectation of him – and he has, he sits in all the meetings and has a great attitude,” Holgorsen said.
The son of a coach, Lowe has an understanding of the game that is advanced beyond his years but while sitting on the sidelines and calling out plays is one thing, executing them under fire is another.
That is the challenge of Spavital this spring to prepare Lowe to execute the offense on the field and handle all of the responsibilities of the quarterback position. And the best way to do that?
“With these young quarterbacks throwing them in the fire and the more reps you can get with them, the better they’ll be,” Spavital said.
He did just that earlier this week and now the challenge is to operate with a 25-second clock and speed up his understanding of what to do to execute the offense.
Spavital believes it will be an interesting competition between the two and some of that will depend on how much Lowe invests himself on the football field, too.
“The more time he puts into football, the better chance he has to be that second guy,” he said.
May the best man win.
