Three very capable quarterbacks, all with experience, with no clear frontrunner makes for an interesting quarterback situation for TU.
With Kirk Francis and Cardell Williams returning, and Cooper Legas coming in from the portal, it could be any of those three who stand out and take over at QB for Tulsa football in 2024.
"Kirk will go out as the first quarterback," said TU head coach Kevin Wilson. "The other two guys are playing pretty damn good, so I think I'm gonna play them and see how it goes."
Even though Francis did well at the end of the season, he knows there are many things that could happen. He is prepared.
Francis (6-1, 188) defied all odds last season to come in as a walk-on from Tulsa Metro Christian to become the starter at the end of his true freshman season. And even though he played well, he only played in the last four games, starting the last two, and he got to keep his redshirt season and still remains a freshman.
After that, Francis won't be phased by much. He's prepared for different scenarios.
"It's the same mentality as last year coming in as a walk-on. Essentially, nothing is promised," Francis said. "Coach Wilson has said that at every position, really. We're coming off a 4-8 season. No spot is promised. You have to keep working. Act like you're that walk-on coming in on the first day. You have to act like no job is yours.
"You just have to keep competing, and as we've seen, things can change throughout the course of the season. So, you have to keep your head down all season and really have to keep working."
Francis finished the season second in passing yards with 967 and in TD passes with 6. He averaged 241.8 yards passing per game and threw 3 interceptions. He completed long and short passes, averaging 14.2 yards per completion and 8 yards per pass attempt, with a 56.2 completion percentage. He rushed for 3 yards after sacks were included in the stats.
Importantly, Francis won his last game with a comeback victory at East Carolina, completing 23 of 37 passes for 297 yards and 2 touchdowns. His 345 yards passing at Tulane were the second most yards for a freshman in TU history, behind T.J. Rubley's 386 yards at OSU in 1987.
Williams (6-2, 191, Soph., Houston, Tx.) started off last season on fire, completing his first 13 passes after coming off the bench in the season opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff for an injured Braylon Braxton, who was struggling mightily before getting injured. Williams finished the game an incredible 13 of 14 for 233 yards and a 3 scores for a ridiculously high 303.4 QB rating in Tulsa's 42-7 victory.
But in the next game, Williams injured his thumb on his right hand (throwing hand) early at Washington. He came back the next week against OU at was he says was about 50 percent, but he played well off the bench.
"I had a real bad jam on my thumb on my throwing hand in the Washington game. It was still healing, but it was good enough for me to play with," Williams said.
Healthy after the OU game for several games afterward, his performance was then inconsistent, with some highs and lows.
Williams registered 3 wins in Tulsa's 4-8 season before injuring his right shoulder in game 9, and he missed the rest of the season.
With his shoulder not improving after the season, his grade-two AC joint injury was operated on, and Williams now feels back to 100 percent. He is looking forward to improving on last year.
"I'm not that satisfied with how I played last year. I feel like I have a lot of improvement to do," Williams said. "I need to take care of the ball. That's where I need the most improvement. Not get as many turnovers."
Putting on extra weight has been an emphasis for Williams who is somewhat thin, but runs very well, and has a very strong arm. He is slowly gaining weight, and he feels his mobility, which is a strong part of his game, is as good as ever.
"My strongest area is at extending plays," he said.
Williams finished last season leading the team in the following categories: 1,149 yards passing, 10 touchdown passes, and 7 interceptions, and a 59.9 completion percentage. He also rushed for 202 yards at 3.5 yards per carry (50 yard longest carry), which was fourth on the team in rushing yards. He led the team with 5 rushing touchdowns. Williams averaged 14.5 yards per completion, and 8.7 yards per attempt.
Legas (6-1, 215, Orem, Utah) is a graduate transfer from Utah State who has been a successful college quarterback. He had a 5-4 record at Utah State last season before injuring his AC joint in week 11 against Idaho State. He missed the final two games of the season.
Legas led his team with 1,815 passing yards (201.7 yards per game) with 19 TD passes and 8 interceptions. Legas averaged 13.2 yards per completion, and 8.5 yards per attempt, while completing 64.8 percent of his passes. He also rushed for 122 yards (1.8 ypc), which was fourth best for the Aggies.
It has already been an eventful summer for Legas, having come to Tulsa at the beginning of summer break after transferring to TU.
"I didn't expect to transfer after spring ball, so when I went into the portal, all I wanted when I went into the portal was to go somewhere where I would have a chance to compete," Legas said.
Transferring became necessary for Legas when it became apparent that his coaches were enamored with Iowa transfer Spencer Petras, who had a 20-11 record as a starter at Iowa.
"They really like Spencer Petras, and it is his last year as well -- it's my last year of eligibility, and I wanted to go somewhere where I had a shot to play," Legas said. "And it didn't sound like it was going that way at Utah State.
"There aren't a ton of places who don't know who their quarterback is, even after spring ball. It was cool to find this place, and they were really open. They said, we have some good guys, but they were open for someone to come in and compete. And so, I really liked how that sounded, and thought the team looked good, and thought we could do a lot of good stuff, so I chose here."
For his career, Legas, a sixth-year senior who didn't play his first two seasons, has started 15 of the 21 games he played. He has passed for 3,485 yards, with a 62.6 completion percentage, with 32 TD passes and 19 interceptions. He has a career average of 12.3 yards per completion, and 7.7 yards per attempt, and has rushed for 411 yards (2.2 ypc) and 2 scores.
It's been a fun time so far for Legas in Tulsa, especially since a certain someone joined him.
"I've enjoyed it a lot. I got married last month. June 14. My wife moved out here with me, which was really cool," Legas said. "At first I was out here by myself, then got married. It's a lot better with her here. There's fun stuff to do."
Legas and cornerback Keuan Parker are the only two married men on the football team at TU. It must be in the number. Both wearing number 5.
"It's an adjustment, but I love it," Legas said of his marriage to the former Harley Daniel, who runs the 400 hurdles in track in college at Utah. "She's really awesome. It's been fun having her here, especially during camp when you go home and see someone you love. It's a lot better.”
Having known each other for almost two years, the plan for the couple is for her to take a semester off, then both go back to Utah in the spring semester, where she will run track, and he will go back to train for pro day.
All three TU quarterbacks say they are enjoying the competition. And all know it is a season long competition. Whoever gets named the starting quarterback for game one doesn't necessarily finish that way. A lot can happen during the season. Tulsa started four different QB's in 2023.
"Competition is going great," Williams said. "Everybody is competing, doing a great job. Everybody is focusing on being the best them, and everything else will handle itself."
Francis remains undeterred by the competition as well.
"We have a lot of talent in the quarterback room this year," Francis said. "Obviously, Cooper's been a great addition. He's a sixth-year guy, he has a lot of experience. He's really been like a big brother to me, showing me how to take care of my body better. How to prepare for practice better. He's really helped me out a lot.
"Cardell's back and looks really good in fall camp right now. He's a really athletic guy. He can make a lot of things happen on the edge. He's a really dangerous weapon. He brings a lot to the table. So, it's been a really good competition. We all have our strengths and weaknesses."
No matter who is the QB this season, the Golden Hurricane has three good options.
