Thursday, September 09, 1999
Cooper denies OSU has QB controversy
BY SCOTT MacGREGOR
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COLUMBUS — John Cooper is perplexed by that term used to describe what seems like a yearly battle at Ohio State: quarterback controversy.
“The amazing thing about it is Penn State can do it, Arizona can do it, Michigan can do it, and it's OK,” the Ohio State coach said. “We do it, and it's a controversy.”
Cooper overstates the case; the quarterback battle is the focus of media attention everywhere there is one. In fact, this is shaping up as the year of the quarterback controversy in college football. The two-headed QB is popping up all over the Top 25, and even in some places you'd never expect.
At Ohio State, the battle rages between third-year sophomore Austin Moherman — who got the bulk of playing time in the Buckeyes' 23-12 season-opening loss to Miami Aug.29 — and true sophomore Steve Bellisari. Moherman will start Saturday's 8 p.m. kickoff against UCLA at Ohio Stadium, but Cooper also wants to get Bellisari, who played just two series against Miami, some experience.
Second-ranked Penn State, a viable national championship contender, is rotating Kevin Thompson and Rashard Casey — despite the fact that coach Joe Paterno has been a staunch one-quarterback man in his 34 years in Happy Valley. “I may become a convert,” Paterno said.
No. 6 Michigan is trying to decide between steady senior Tom Brady and super-talented sophomore Drew Henson. Brady played the first half in Saturday's win over Notre Dame and Henson the second, with a more poised Brady leading the Wolverines to a fourth-quarter comeback.
“I've always said I'm a one-quarterback guy,” Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said, “but sometimes you change. I'm going to see how it goes. I like them both.”
No.19 Arizona went 12-1 last year with Keith Smith and Ortege Jenkins and has used those two again in its 1-1 start this season. At No.5 Nebraska, it's Bobby Newcombe and Eric Crouch.
And the 13th-ranked Buckeyes' opponent this week, 14th-ranked UCLA (1-0), is playing Drew Bennett and redshirt freshman Cory Paus to find the heir to Cade McNown.
Coming off the bench last week, Paus clearly outplayed Bennett in a season-opening 38-7 win over Boise State, completing 12 of 18 passes for 128 yards and impressing with his poise, leadership, tight spirals and strong arm. Paus seems to be the Bruins' man of the future and reminds some of a young McNown.
But UCLA coach Bob Toledo plans to stick with his rotation, at least for now.
“I'm trying to do this thing for the long haul,” Toledo said. “If I pick one guy now, the other guy doesn't get game experience. And if (the starter) falters or gets hurt, we have to start all over.”
Quarterback duels are nothing new at Ohio State, where most recently Joe Germaine and Stanley Jackson split time in 1996 and '97, when the Buckeyes were a combined 21-4. Jackson led the Bucks in passing in '96 with 1,298 yards, while Germaine did it in '97 with 1,847 yards.
Cooper would like to settle on either Moherman or Bellisari for the Big Ten schedule, which begins Oct.2 against Wisconsin. But he hasn't yet revealed his plans for this week. “I'm not down on (Bellisari),” Cooper said. “We don't have a rotation yet. I don't want to tell you something that may not be.”
Why are so many teams going to two quarterbacks? Cooper has a theory that would make Buckeyes fans proud.
“Because we won doing it,” he said with a slight chuckle, referring to Ohio State's 11-1 record and Rose Bowl win in 1996 behind dual QBs Germaine and Jackson. “If you have two quarterbacks that can win, why not?”
Cooper explained further: “They play two quarterbacks because they think it's the right thing to do to help them win. You're trying to keep the chemistry on your team, you're trying to protect yourself, because it's hard to go through the season with one healthy quarterback, and you'd like to have another one that's played a little bit.
“And sometimes, the competition may be too close to say one guy's better than the other.”
Said Bellisari: “If you've got two quarterbacks that can play, it's tough to defend. No two quarterbacks are the same.”
If teams have been successful with two QBs, why does a two-man team draw so much scrutiny? If Ohio State played two tight ends or two tackles, no one would bat an eye.
“I guess it's the glamour position,” Cooper said. “(The attention) isn't that far off. Ninety to 95 percent of the teams have one quarterback.
“And when (the others) get in the real heat of the battle, maybe most of them will settle on one guy.”
Whether that happens at Ohio State depends on how well Moherman plays.
“I haven't gotten any signals,” Moherman said of this week's rotation. “I can't worry about that. Like I said before the Miami game, (starting quarterback) is still just a title, and if I go out there and stink it up, I'll be out.”
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