On the seventh day, God took a welcome respite from work. On the seventh day of spring practice, Lobo head football coach Mike Locksley worked his quarterbacks through a day of “live” action.
Goodbye, black jerseys. Hello, hulking, headhunting linemen.
For the first time this spring, the Lobo quarterbacks shed their black jerseys — signifying they can’t be hit — during Saturday’s scrimmage at University Stadium.
“We want to see how they react in live situations,” Locksley said.
The answer was lively.
B.R. Holbrook completed 17-of-22 passes for 199 yards and a touchdown. A glimpse of Holbrook’s elusiveness was on tap when he evaded defensive end Jaymar Latchison in the back of the end zone, scrambling to the right and unfurling a 67-yard strike to wide receiver Ty Kirk, seconds before being hammered by Latchison.
“He got hit underneath the chin, stood in there and delivered the ball,” Locksley said. “Typically, that might be a play. When you have the black jersey on, you don’t get to finish the play. It was good to see him stand in there, take a shot and deliver the ball.”
Looking less erratic, Brad Gruner went 10-of-19 for 78 yards, but was picked off in the red zone. He had a pair of running touchdowns as well, perhaps a turning leaf for Gruner heading into the 2010 campaign.
“I just try to forget about last year. It wasn’t an easy season,” Gruner said.
That just might qualify as the understatement of the year.
Despite Donovan Porterie and Holbrook’s struggles — to put it nicely — Gruner remained log-jammed on the depth chart, never so much as playing one series as quarterback. In fact, running back Demond Dennis had more pass attempts — one, which he didn’t complete — than did Gruner last season.
Gruner couldn’t peg an exact reason for not being afforded the opportunity to take any snaps under center in a game.
“I don’t know. I don’t think I really performed last year good enough to get on the field,” Gruner said. “It would have been nice. I think everybody thinks they deserve a series.”
Still, he remains decisively optimistic about potentially breaking into the starting quarterback conversation this year, even though Locksley lured two quarterback recruits to UNM in Darian “Stump” Godfrey and Tarean Austin — the latter being Texas’ high school Player of the Year.
“I don’t see why I wouldn’t have a chance,” Gruner said. “You can be good in other places, but when you step on this field it’s a whole different game.”
And a different year, which is why Locksley said he opted to have the quarterbacks shed the protective jersey.
“When we have a quarterback that we know is our guy, typically we want to keep upright, keep ’em safe,” Locksley said.
While admitting that Holbrook and Gruner have a leg up on the incoming freshmen quarterbacks, Locksley said his system isn’t too difficult to grasp. And it’s possible, if they prove they’re ready, Godfrey or Austin could start immediately as freshmen.
In fact, at Locksley’s previous coaching stops it wasn’t impossible for a freshman to start. At Florida, Chris Leak started as a freshman, as did Juice Williams — one of Locksley’s recruits while at Illinois.
“I’ve always said the two guys we recruited are going to have an opportunity to compete for the position,” Locksley said. “As I’ve stated many times, this offense has played two true freshman quarterbacks. That’s the beauty of the system.”
That said, Holbrook understands there’s plenty of time for him and Gruner to make names for themselves and earn the starting spot.
“It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” he said.
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Even so, Gruner is prepared in the event that he’s not named the starter come opening day. He said either way he’ll be there for his teammates as moral support.
“All of us quarterbacks are a family,” Gruner said. “You’re not going to not like someone because they’re playing over you.”
