It’s not often you see quarterbacks on the punt team.

It’s even more unique when that quarterback was firmly entrenched in the battle for a vacant backup job but that’s what has been unfolding with redshirt freshman Trey Lowe.

The weirdness of the situation isn’t lost on his teammates.

“We always mess with him because he’s a quarterback but he does a good job at it,” said senior wide receiver and special teams standout George Campbell.

But there’s a good reason for it and it certainly isn’t the first time that head coach Neal Brown has gone down this route in his career atop a program.

During his time at Troy, the coaching staff utilized the current Trojans starter at the position Kaleb Barker on the punt team and there’s a reason it was in the plans both then and now.

“We’ve had some difficulties with the rush and one way to stymie that is give them fake looks,” he said.

The Mountaineers had difficulty protecting the punter against Oklahoma resulting in a blocked kick for a touchdown, so the coaches looked at ways to creatively hinder that pressure. That meant getting Lowe, an athletic signal caller, on the team in order to present some different looks.

It worked too, as the threat of a player that can both pass or run in fake situations forced the Bears to slow down and rush one less player at the punter instead opting to drop them back into defense.

“I think you have to with a quarterback back there that has an opportunity to not only run the ball on fakes but he also can pass it,” Brown said.

Lowe isn’t being asked to reinvent the wheel with his time on the unit, instead simply handle his responsibilities by running and covering. Of course, the option for a potential fake is always there with a quarterback on the field but it’s just another thing to force a defense to prepare for moving forward.

That is absolutely the plan moving forward as the coaches want to continue to work Lowe there even as he battles for time on the field at quarterback.

Now, obviously those plans could change depending on how that unfolds but for now it’s about trying to find ways to get an advantage.

This unconventional method certainly fits that bill.

“He’s a big kid, he can run. He’s strong and we’re not asking him to do anything overly difficult on that team but he can run and cover,” he said.

And if that role continues, perhaps even more in the future.

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