QB Stability Key

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No question about it Quarterback stability makes Auburn and Florida the teams to beat

Auburn, with Brandon Cox under center, is the pick to win the SEC West.

In the East, the pundits are predicting Chris Leak and the Florida Gators will prevail. The message is clear: A settled situation at quarterback is a big key to a successful season.

July 29, 2006

BIRMINGHAM -- LSU head coach Les Miles went to Iraq this summer as part of a USO tour. He landed in Kuwait, flew into Baghdad and saw the courage and the carnage first hand. He shook hands with thousands, offered his comfort and thanks.

"Late that night, I saw a soldier at 11:30 p.m.," he said. "It was the last guy I saw." The kid happened to be from Louisiana. He was in peril, in a strange place, thousands of miles from home. So in his search for meaning, he had one, small question for the coach. "Who's starting at quarterback?"

And there you have it, sports fans! Your all-purpose, good-for-any-occasion question for SEC football, 2006.

You can use it in Georgia.

Who's starting at quarterback?

You can use it at Arkansas.

Who's starting at quarterback?

You can use it at Vandy, at Kentucky and even Ole Miss.

Although, the question is a little different at Ole Miss.

Where the heck is the starting quarterback?

Um, at junior college.

"He'll get here when he gets here," is Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron's standard line.

Which is certainly true, if not completely reassuring.

The SEC Media Days wrapped up Friday with the traditional release of the media picks. The 104 who voted chose Florida to win the East and Auburn to win the West.

This could be because they analyzed the talent, considered the schedules and factored in the most recent information on injuries.

Or it could be because those are the only two teams without a question mark taking the snaps.

Auburn has Brandon Cox.

Florida has Chris Leak.

Unless, of course, hotshot freshman Tim Tebow bumps Leak out of the job.

Which says it all, really. The player chosen as first-team SEC quarterback isn't entirely safe.

This, in the conference that gave us Archie Manning and Danny Wuerffel, that gave us Fran Tarkenton and Charlie Conerly and Bert Jones.

"This year, there's probably more questions than answers," said Georgia coach Mark Richt, and he's a guy who should know.

Georgia has four players competing for its starting quarterback job. Vanderbilt, LSU and Arkansas each have three.

How does a coach even begin to sort through this mess?

"We'll play them one at a time," Miles said.

Now there's a strategy.

Of course, Ole Miss might not even have one quarterback if Brent Schaeffer doesn't make it to school pretty soon. Right now, he's scheduled to fly to Memphis the night before Ole Miss players report. He was also scheduled to report back in June.

As for Tennessee, Erik Ainge was last seen tossing the ball to LSU defenders like a wedding bouquet.

Mississippi State quarterback Michael Henig broke his toe this summer going up stairs.

Alabama's quarterback has three names, which is nice. But John Parker Wilson won't be mistaken for Joe Willie Namath anytime soon. 

That leaves us with South Carolina, with Blake Mitchell firmly entrenched as the starter, at least until he throws a bad pass. "If he goes bad, we'll change him," said coach Steve Spurrier, and what else would you expect from the man?

The good news is that help is on the way, that this year's questions should have their answers soon. Mitch Mustain (Arkansas), Chris Smelley (South Carolina), Matthew Stafford (Georgia), Neil Caudle (Auburn) and Greg McElroy (Alabama) may be the best class of freshman quarterbacks the conference has ever seen.

"They're talented," said Richt, "it just takes time."

So for now there's uncertainty, which brings us back to Miles.

After visiting the troops, he had a long, sleepless flight back home. He arrived at 3 a.m. and quietly slipped into the bedroom to see his wife.

"I wanted to wake her up," he said. "You know, I'm 'pssst,' I kind of skooch over by her and nudge her a bit."

She groaned, rolled over, then gradually realized who was back.

"So tell me," she said, through the haze of sleep, "who you going to play at quarterback

?"