To find a quarterback debut so awe-inspiring as Davis Brin's at TU, you have to go back to names like T.J. Rubley and Paul Smith for comparison.

Brin got thrown into the fire immediately against Tulane last year, and his Hail Mary pass to J.C. Santana at the end of regulation, combined with Zaven Collins' walk-off pick six in the second overtime, made it a legendary game in TU history.

Can Brin repeat his brilliant performance this season and lead an experienced Golden Hurricane to unprecedented heights? Will Brin be talked about half a century from now with the likes of Jerry Rhome and Glenn Dobbs?

That's a lot of expectations for someone who has played a little more than a quarter of meaningful time, but Brin has the look of one of those guys who just has "It", the quality of a special player that doesn't come around often.

Although the 6-foot-2, 208-pound sophomore from Boerne, Texas had seen mop-up duty before the Tulane game in game six of the nine-game season, Brin had never seen any meaningful action at TU, and was a third-stringer behind Zach Smith and Seth Boomer before coming into the game late in the third quarter after Smith and Boomer were both lost for the game due to injuries.

Brin showed why Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery had always been raving about Brin previously whenever his quarterbacks were mentioned. Brin completed 18 of 28 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns in a little more than a quarter, as well as rushing for an 18-yard touchdown.

By comparison, Smith and Boomer had combined to complete 9 of 19 passes for 77 yards in almost three quarters against Tulane, with Tulsa trailing 14-0. Brin played five possessions in the game - the first stopped by a receiver fumble after leading TU into field goal range, then three touchdowns, followed by a field goal in overtime.

It reminds TU old-timers of when T.J. Rubley passed for 386 yards in his debut at OSU in 1987, or when Paul Smith replaced injured James Kilian in a regular season finale at San Jose State in a game in 2003 that got TU into a bowl game for the first time in 12 years.

In his limited time, Brin not only showed he was cool under pressure, but also displayed a great feel for the game, precision passing with a terrific arm, and mobility on his impressive touchdown run.

Montgomery is obviously impressed with Brin, but knows that it is time to refine his already considerable skill set.

"Davis had a great debut there and now it's about bringing that into each and every day," Montgomery said. "He really does a good job of deciphering through coverages and blitzes and gets us into good things. Anticipates throws, he's very accurate with the football.

"He has the ability to get out of the pocket and buy time, and do some things running. So we're excited about what this is going to bring."

Brin has the task of replacing Zach Smith, who led Tulsa to a 6-3 record last season where Tulsa was ranked for a great part of the season, including going 6-0 in regular season conference play.

Smith, mostly a pocket passer with a cannon for an arm, was a recent camp invite for the Buffalo Bills. He did a lot of good things for Tulsa in his two years since transferring from Baylor, and won't be easily replaced.

However, Brin's mobility is one thing that will give opposing defenses something new to worry about.

"Since Davis is a little more mobile than Zach was, how many more running packages do you have for him?," Montgomery said. "I mean it's not like we're turning to run first. He just allows you the ability to sprinkle those things and keep people honest.

"From a tendency standpoint, you can kind of build some things where you're trying to maybe steal some yards with him. What we can do from a run standpoint, trying to keep people honest. But it won't be the mainstay of what we do."

Outside of running, Brin's field awareness is another asset he brings, which has been developed in his three previous years of practice at Tulsa. He briefly played in one game each in 2018 and 2019, and in two games in 2020.

"I thought Davis came into the spring with a really great understanding of what we're trying to do and accomplish offensively, and his knowledge of what we're doing schematically," Montgomery explained. "Obviously, we will change a little bit, because every year you change a little bit with your personnel.

"Our basic scheme will be very similar to what it's been, yet you know he brings different things to the table as well, but he's got a great quick release."

With all of his talented receivers returning, along with an intact offensive line to go with a strong running game bolstered by the return of Shamari Brooks from injury, Tulsa's offense could be in store for its best season under Montgomery.

Besides Brin, Seth Boomer is an experienced quarterback with good mobility who has produced in the past. Boomer's leg injury suffered in the Tulane game, which kept him to limited participation during the spring, should be recovered to allow him to be available in the fall.

"Seth wasn't able to participate in everything - we held him out of the majority of it in the spring," Montgomery said. "He was able to do individual drills and some 7-on-7 dills, though. He didn't really do anything from the team elements standpoint, but he's ahead of schedule, and we're excited about getting him back at 100 percent in the fall."

A 6-3, 209-pound junior from Collinsville, Boomer started the last 8 games of his redshirt freshman season in 2018, and in 2019 led Tulsa to a 34-31 comeback win over heralded UCF. He entered the game late in the first half for an injured Smith and played brilliantly, mixing run and pass to stun the Knights.

If Brin had not played so well against Tulane, Boomer may have been considered the frontrunner in the quarterback competition this fall. Certainly, there will still be competition, but Brin is the clear leader at this point.

"Seth has good experience, has a great understanding of what we do offensively, and so we've been fortunate to get him back," Montgomery said. "He's a mobile quarterback as well, like Davis, so that's an advantage. We've seen some really great things from him, but his arm strength really improved."

Behind Brin and Boomer are two freshmen: Roman Fuller, who redshirted last season, and true freshman Braylon Braxton.

Fuller (6-4, 192, Decatur, Tx.) showed promise in the spring as the second string quarterback, and fans got a glimpse of him while leading the outmatched second string offense against the experienced first team defense in the spring game.

"Roman's got a bright future here," Montgomery said. "He is getting a better grasp of what we're doing. The speed of the game is a little bit ahead of him, yet it's starting to really calm down for him. He's still in the developmental stage, but he's doing really well."

Fuller put up gaudy numbers in high school playing for his father, Mike Fuller. He passed for 9,002 yards and 90 touchdowns with a 66.4 percent completion percentage in his three-year career, including 3,904 yards and 41 TD's in his senior year before enrolling early at TU last January.

Braxton (6-3, 205) is a dual threat quarterback from Independence High School in Frisco, Texas who passed for 3,226 yards and 45 TD's in 2019, while rushing for 849 yards and 11 scores. In eight games last year, Braxton had 1,342 yards and 16 touchdowns passing, while rushing for over 800 yards.

"Braylon is kind of different than all the quarterbacks that we have in there. I mean, he's truly a dual threat guy," Montgomery said. "He wants to throw the football more than he wants to run, and that's great, that's what you're looking for, but he does have the ability to pull it down and go make yards.

"He's a big physical quarterback who has a good arm. We're excited for Braylon to get here and really start to work with him."

Tulsa certainly has a talented quarterback room, with Brin leading the way. Golden Hurricane fans have good reason to be as excited about their signal callers as they have in quite a while.