Syracuse, N.Y. — Dino Babers preempted his weekly press conference by saying he would not name a starting quarterback Monday.
Doing so, Babers said, would give Liberty an advantage ahead of its Friday night trip to the Carrier Dome.
Babers didn’t have to walk us through what our eyes are telling us about the quarterback position.
Tommy DeVito has started each of the team’s three games. When the result was in question, DeVito has been on the field, save for a few drives in the second quarter of a scoreless game against Rutgers.
Garrett Shrader saw extended work last week against an overmatched opponent, playing most of the game after spelling DeVito, and stepped in to lead a scoring drive when DeVito was briefly sidelined midway through the first quarter.
It’s a quarterback plan that has served SU well in the past, and it’s the likley play the rest of the season.
Babers on Monday used a familiar baseball analogy about having a starter and reliever.
He wants his starter to go the full nine innings.
But if the starter falters, either because of poor pitching or having to go on the disabled list, Babers wants to feel good about the team’s chances of winning.
“And then we’ll see who plays good and who gets to do it the next time,” Babers said.
“I see it more like that. We have two guys who can play more so than one guy is this and another guy is that.”
It’s not unlike the 2018 season, when DeVito came on in relief of Eric Dungey in key spots throughout the year.
DeVito finished off a win against Florida State when Dungey exited with eye irritation.
DeVito later authored a come-from-behind win in the final minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime against North Carolina when Dungey wasn’t playing well.
The next week, Babers opened up the competition, and Dungey won out.
DeVito was still needed later that season when Dungey left the Notre Dame game early because of back spasms.
DeVito, the presumptive starter since the beginning of the year, has completed 61.5 percent of his throws for 388 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, including one that deflected off the hands of Trebor Pena in last week’s 62-24 victory against Albany.
Contact Nate Mink anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-430-8253
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