Tulsa Football - Summer Position Analysis: Quarterbacks
It will be shocking if Tulsa isn’t greatly improved at quarterback in 2019. It would be equally surprising if heralded transfer Zach Smith isn’t the Golden Hurricane quarterback.
If what virtually all TU fans want and expect comes true, Smith will not only be taking the snaps for Tulsa, but the offense will again be a force in Philip Montgomery’s fifth year as the TU head coach.
To be certain, it all will start with Smith. If he is good enough to win the job over incumbent starter Seth Boomer, then Tulsa will be a better team in 2019. If Boomer beats Smith out or plays due to an injury, Boomer will be more qualified than he was, especially most of last season, due to the experience he got starting eight games in 2018.
Of course, Montgomery isn’t going to name a starter. He’s too smart to do that. It’s good to keep competition going.
Unlike in socialist/communist countries, where no competition translates into terrible results, it is important to make your leaders earn their job.
For those who witnessed the spring game, Smith went a long way to earning the job, ending two of his three possessions with bombs of at least 60 yards to emerging star receiver Keylon Stokes.
“We need that element back in the offense. That was great to see,” Montgomery said about completing deep passes during an exclusive interview with Inside Tulsa Sports. “We haven’t had that the last couple of years like we needed. But that’s a combination of not only the quarterbacks, but those receivers. Being on the same page, and then making those plays.
“When you get those opportunities, you’ve got to make them count, because those are difference makers.”
What TU has sorely lacked the last two seasons is passing production, although Boomer did play better near the end of the season. The lack of touchdown passes, down from 33 behind Dane Evans in 2016 to just 19 touchdowns combined in 2017 and 2018, is appalling.
No team is going to be successful in today’s college or pro football with those types of numbers. That is how you go from 10 wins in 2016 to a combined five wins the last two seasons. Tulsa did show improvement from six to 13 touchdowns last year. But still, that, plus passing for 1,000 to 2,000 yards less than it did in each of the previous two seasons, isn’t going to cut it.
The thought of the 6-foot-3, 228-pound Smith launching long passes all over the field for the next two years provides optimism to the TU community where there has been very little for two long seasons. With thoughts of another 463-yard performance with 33 of 50 completions, four touchdowns and no interceptions by Smith, like he did against OU while at Baylor in 2017, dancing around the heads of the TU faithful, there is good reason for optimism.
Smith’s 14 touchdown passes in his first five games at Baylor were more than Tulsa completed all of last season. Overall, Smith has passed for 2,997 yards with 21 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in two seasons at Baylor while starting 10 of the 19 games in which he played.
“Zach has an arm. He can make every throw and any throw you want to make,” said Montgomery. “He’s got to be a little bit more consistent with the deep ball. He’s got such a powerful arm at times he's putting a little too much on it. He’s got to continue to work on his mobility and his pocket presence, but he’ll stand in there and deliver dimes for you.”
Montgomery believes that Smith's year of redshirting will help him, especially since he had to endure playing on a horrible 1-11 Baylor team in 2017 after the Bears had gone 7-6 while Smith was a freshman.
“For Zach, the year off allowed us to get him right, physically,” Montgomery said. “He came in here a little bit beat up. We allowed that time to get him healthy, get him back strong.
“Physically, he looks as good as he’s looked since I’ve known him, and I’ve known him a long time. I thought this spring he needed to get back out there and get in the flow of it. I think he knocked some rust off.”
Montgomery knows that Smith is still a work in progress, although he believes Smith will get there.
“I think for him it’s getting more accustomed to what we are doing and getting in a good rhythm with those receivers he has around him,” Montgomery said. “Just working though our read progressions and where he needs to be putting things. Those are things we have to continue to work on.
“For him, you’ve got to know when to pull the reigns back a little bit. He can make every throw. Sometimes we’re putting it in a really small window that we don’t really have to be. Knowing when it is time to do that is really a big deal for him.”
Smith can run, but hasn’t done much of that in the past. He had a combined minus 105 yards on 55 carries at Baylor, with the minus yards coming from getting sacked. He gained 63 yards rushing before sacks in 2017.
At least TU doesn’t have all of its eggs in one basket. Boomer showed incredible resiliency last season after being forced to start as a redshirt freshman from Collinsville due to the injury of Luke Skipper. Although he did some good things early, it was a rough time for most of the season.
Still, Boomer showed remarkable improvement. Enough that the QB job is still up for grabs. He finished the season with nine touchdown passes and four interceptions, and averaged 172.2 yards per game, winding up with 1,378 total passing yards. And although he gained only 71 yards rushing on 58 attempts, he did gain 230 yards before the sacks, including a 30-yarder.
“Seth has a mobile ability about him. He has a knack for being able to get out of some things,” Montgomery described.
Clearly, the 6-3, 205-pound Boomer is more agile than Smith, although Smith has a better arm, to go along with more experience.
“I really thought the last couple of games Seth kind of came on and really saw some improvement,” Montgomery said. “I thought he continued to do that as we continued on to spring.
“Seth is getting more comfortable in what we are doing offensively. I think he understands that, more than anything, he just needs more experience and more reps. He got a lot of that this spring.”
For those who saw the spring game, it was apparent that Smith was ahead in the competition, although the two shared reps with the first team offenses, with Boomer being the first quarterback to play.
Boomer was 12 of 21 for 66 yards passing in four possessions in the spring game, with no touchdowns and a pick six interception. The only points off of his possessions was one field goal. By contrast, Smith was four of eight for 138 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.
“Seth is very intelligent, very competitive, he’s critical on himself, but understands that he’s got to keep building that continuity with what I’m doing offensively,” Montgomery said. “I thought he threw the deep ball better this spring. I thought he was more accurate.
“We’re trying to shorten and quicken up his release, and I think Seth has gotten much better at that. Physically, his body is changing. He looks different. He’s starting to mature. He needs weight, and has put on good weight. That’s going to help some of those longer throws that you want to be able to put on a line.”
With any quarterback, decision making is crucial, but is especially essential and tricky for young quarterbacks.
“He’s got to play within himself,” Montgomery said of Boomer. “Don’t try to do too much, but understand when is the right time to push the envelope a little bit in certain situations to make plays and when to check the ball down and get it out of his hands.”
Behind Smith and Boomer is promising redshirt freshman Davis Brin, who did see brief action in mop up duty last season in the UConn victory. Brin just went through his second spring practice, having enrolled early in the spring of 2018 in what would have been his last semester of high school.
“Davis is really, really intelligent,” Montgomery said. “Probably has the quickest release of all of them when it comes to coming off his hand. Physically, he’s got to get stronger, but mentally he’s there.”
Brin has shown promise in both of his spring games while playing with the second team, often overmatched with second teamers against the first team defense.
“Davis needs reps, and for him, he understands the offense, it’s just making the offense slow down so he can manage it at a better tick," Montgomery explained. "There’s times when he gets ahead of himself a little bit, where he needs to relax and let it happen. But he does a good job of anticipating throws, does a good job of working the offense. He’s got some mobility about him.”
The only other quarterback on the roster in sophomore walk-on Brandon Marquardt. The 6-1, 201-pounder from Norman North played his final high school game at H.A. Chapman Stadium in the state championship game against Union, and put up a lot of yards and points in the game. Although not possessing the strongest arm, he is accurate, and looked decent in this year’s spring game.
“I have high hopes for all of our quarterbacks, and they have the same thing,” Montgomery said. “Talking about all of us as quarterbacks in general, we have to play better as a group to do the things we want to accomplish not only offensively, but as a team.
“They’re all so competitive. I think this group is one of the best rooms I’ve ever had from a continuity standpoint as far as knowing we’re competing against each other, but also, wanting us to be the best unit we can be as a whole. I feel really, really confident about this group.”
STAY TUNED TO INSIDE TULSA SPORTS as we continue our breakdown of every position for Tulsa Football, leading up to fall camp in August.