ASU quarterback tandem growing into the job
TODD TRAUBARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
JONESBORO -- Entering its fifth game, Arkansas State is facing practically the same situation it faced when practice started in August.
The Indians are still seeking a victory and haven't settled on a No. 1 quarterback.
ASU, a 41/2-point favorite against Louisiana-Lafayette in its Sun Belt Conference opener at Indian Stadium, is hoping to take care of the victory thing Saturday. As for the quarterback dilemma, the Indians are willing to wait awhile.
Perhaps even all season.
ASU opened summer practice with five candidates for the job, but true freshmen Josh Driscoll, of Fort Smith Southside, and Elliot Jacobs, of El Dorado, have shared time since the season started. None of the other contenders has taken a snap in a game.
"I think that we're committed to playing two true freshmen, and we're going to remain that way," ASU Coach Joe Hollis said.
Jacobs, 6-2, 210, started the first game against Georgia and Driscoll, 6-2, 208, started the second game against Baylor. Jacobs started against Jacksonville State, and Driscoll started last week's game against Ole Miss.
"They tell us we'll both play and we understand that," Jacobs said. "Whoever's in there that has the best chance to put us in a situation that we can score, because that's what we need right now -- touchdowns and wins. And whoever can do that is the person that they're going to put in. That's why they get paid to do this and we just play."
"I think both quarterbacks are going to be real good, and they're both progressing," Louisiana-Lafayette Coach Jerry Baldwin said. "I see Arkansas State having gotten better offensively every week, and we're looking for their best effort his week."
Driscoll was originally billed as the pure passer when he arrived in Jonesboro from Fort Smith, where he ran a spread system similar to ASU's. Jacobs, who admitted to fewer than 10 pass attempts a game while running El Dorado's option, was supposed to be the runner.
But as they have grown in the Indians' one-back offense, the two have developed their other skills. Driscoll is ASU's second leading rusher with 121 yards and a touchdown, and Jacobs has the team's longest pass completion of 69 yards, to Alvin Powell against Jacksonville State.
"They understand what their assets are and what their liabilities are and they're mature enough that they work on their liabilities," Hollis said. "For a human being, that's hard to do. We have a tendency to work on things that we're good at."
Driscoll has eked a bit more playing time than Jacobs, thanks to an injury to Jacobs' right, non-throwing wrist in the Jacksonville State game. He is the team's leading passer, going 35 of 75 for 443 yards and 4 touchdowns with 3 interceptions. He also leads in total offense with 564 yards.
"I feel that I've matured about 70 to 80 percent. I'm not quite there yet," Driscoll said. "At the same time, we don't have all the offense in right now. It's taking me longer than I thought it would, getting the offense down, getting the timing down on receivers."
Jacobs is 14 of 28 for 185 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception, and is the third-leading rusher with 59 yards and a touchdown.
"I still need to work on reading defenses," Jacobs said. "But if I compare myself now to high school, I can almost consider myself a coach. ... That's just a tribute to Coach Hollis and [offensive coordinator Phil] Davis, the way their teachings are, our preparations, our film study."
The quarterbacks don't have a set rotation. Playing time is determined by the situation and by who has the hot hand.
Against Ole Miss, Jacobs played just two series, but he directed a fourth-quarter scoring drive that featured an 18-yard pass to tight end Jerry Pegues to set up first and goal at the 4. The Indians then ran it in to pull within in 28-17 in the fourth quarter.
Jacobs would have played more, Hollis said, but he felt that with the Indians in a catch-up situation, he needed Driscoll's more experienced arm.
"He played two series and the third series we felt like we needed to throw the ball vertically up the field and we felt like we needed to play Josh," Hollis said. "I felt like we needed him. I made that decision."
The players' gradual improvement hasn't been without mistakes. Both have lost fumbles and thrown interceptions that led to points, along with the occasional forced pass and bad decision.
But Hollis said the good has outweighed the bad.
"I've said this before, it's a shame you have to have failure before you usually have success," Hollis said. "They're growing and they've made some freshman mistakes, which we all knew that they would do. But they're talented enough that they overcome that with good plays."
Driscoll said the quarterbacks have grown enough in ASU's system that youth is no longer excuse.
"We used to say, like, three or four weeks ago, it was a freshman mistake," Driscoll said. "But we can't say that now. We're not freshmen anymore. We're into the middle of the season and we can't make the mistakes anymore."
This article was published on October 12, 2001
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