UT faces tale of two QBs as season opener approaches
Sports // Longhorns
Mike Finger Aug. 14, 2015
AUSTIN - Suppose you have two quarterbacks.
Suppose you're preparing for a season opener in which failure looms as a possibility, regardless of who takes the first snap. And suppose you recognize that the quarterback you bring off the bench might be even more important than the quarterback you start.
Presumably, Texas coach Charlie Strong and offensive play-caller Shawn Watson have contemplated all of this.
Suppose one of your two quarterbacks was placed in an impossible situation last year, and it shredded his confidence. Suppose that player impressed you with his resiliency during the offseason, to the point where he started to develop into a team leader, and suppose you didn't want to thwart that progress by making him question his role.
Presumably, that's what Strong and Watson think when they consider Tyrone Swoopes.
Suppose the other quarterback never has played a college down, but oozes bravado. Suppose he won back-to-back state championships in high school, and he's convinced he has what it takes to win in college.
And even if he works with the second-team offense during every session of every preseason practice, it's not going to shake that belief.
Presumably, Strong and Watson suspect that about Jerrod Heard.
While we're at it, let's suppose a few things about skill sets. Suppose the first quarterback is blessed with a rocket arm, but isn't much for improvisation. Suppose he can make many throws the second quarterback can't, but for the first quarterback to be a success, he needs to develop timing and repetition.
And suppose the second quarterback is at his best when plays break down. Suppose his best attribute is an ability to break the containment of a defense, to make impulse decisions in the open field, and to take advantage of the opportunities that don't necessarily present themselves in practice.
Presumably, that's what Longhorns defensive coordinator Vance Bedford meant Friday when he called Swoopes and Heard "very different quarterbacks."
Now suppose you give 99 percent of the preseason first-team time to the first quarterback, as the Longhorns have done with Swoopes, a junior, who figures to benefit more from it than Heard. And suppose that quarterback thrives, and suppose he shows so much dedication and so much improvement that his position coach is moved to near tears, as Watson was Friday.
Suppose he shocks everyone and beats Notre Dame, and the Longhorns emerge with a signature victory and two quarterbacks who believe in themselves.
For UT, that is the best possible scenario.
Now suppose the Longhorns go against that line of thinking, and they bench Swoopes, crushing him, and they thrust Heard into an unbearably daunting environment for his first college start, and Notre Dame blows them out anyway.
For UT, that is the worst possible scenario.
But suppose the most likely outcome is neither of the above. Suppose you remember that 80 percent of the Big 12 used at least two starting quarterbacks last year, so you're probably going to need both of yours, too.
So suppose you let Swoopes begin the season as the starter, just like everyone expects. Suppose you fully expect Heard to be ready to provide a spark, whether it's in the second quarter at Notre Dame or to open the game against Oklahoma.
Suppose this has been your plan all along.
You'd never say it out loud, would you?
Mike Finger
Mike Finger has worked for the Express-News since 1999, writing about the Texas Longhorns, the Big 12, the NBA and the NFL before becoming a sports columnist. He's covered 13 Spurs postseasons, six Final Fours and more than a dozen college bowl games.
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