The latest quarterback derby of the Jeff Scott era likely will be the shortest.
During a recent radio interview that originally aired on WDAE, Scott said the plan is for competition to be staged during the first half of fall camp, allowing the starter to then log significant first-team reps heading into the Sept. 3 opener against Brigham Young at Raymond James Stadium.
“It’s not my intention to really have a quarterback battle that’s going to linger on into the season,” said Scott, whose team begins practice on Aug. 3.
That approach differs significantly from the past two years, when Scott — who has used five starting quarterbacks in his 21-game tenure — made it clear his intention was to identify a clear-cut starter by the first American Athletic Conference game.
This go-round, sophomore left-hander Timmy McClain, who started nine games last season (2,126 total yards, five passing TDs, seven INTs), will be challenged by 6-foot-3 Baylor transfer Gerry Bohanon, who made 12 starts (throwing for 2,200 yards) for the Big 12 champions in 2021.
Sophomore Katravis Marsh (two career starts), redshirt freshman Jordan Smith and freshman Byrum Brown are the other scholarship quarterbacks.
“We’re very excited about Timmy McClain. Timmy’s got a great future ahead of him,” Scott said.
“I think for me, the biggest thing was, we wanted to add some experience to that room, because that room overall is very young; there’s a lot of first- and second-year players. And Gerry’s a guy that took over last year at Baylor, a team that was coming off a two-win season, and Gerry was able to lead them on to a Big 12 championship.”
Contact Joey Knight at jknight@tampabay.com. Follow @TBTimes_Bulls
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