SAN DIEGO — When the Aztecs opened summer drills, the depth chart had the word "or" between some of the players' names at certain positions, a friendly way of the coach letting everybody know a decision hasn't been made yet. That means competition this summer will be fast and furious.
"That's the beauty of training camp, where we're going to have 24 practices to get these guys prepared, plus the evening walkthroughs and the morning walkthroughs, and all the time that we get to spend on the intricacies and the details of all those different variations you know that you just don't get to in the spring because of the time that you're allowed," Head Coach Sean Lewis said.
I asked Lewis what's the key element to picking a quarterback.
"It ultimately comes down to, with that position, who can make those around them better. Right? Like, they have to be a facilitator, and so much gets caught up into who they are as the individual, but ultimately, the greatest quarterbacks of all time. It doesn't matter necessarily, who's around them. They elevate the play of those that are around them, regardless of circumstance. So again, getting a chance to put them in an advantageous spot, you know that maybe fares the offense, because it's a sudden change, and there's plus territory. Okay, how do you respond to that? And whether you're with the first team 'O', the second team 'O' all the way to third string, 'O.' Do you find a way to get the ball in the end zone?"
Lewis says he doesn't have a time line to name the starting player at each position. But he does have a guideline.
"Roughly, the sooner the better. So that the team knows who they're going to rally around. But I'm not going to put a hard and fast date and say, hey, it has to happen by this point in time. Again, not only just make a first impression decision about that right, or a quick judgment about the first time they do something, but give each guy enough reps with the right people around them to make sure that it's fair, that it's balanced. So it's that old, you know, be quick, but don't hurry and have that sense of urgency to get it right."
The Aztecs kick off the season Aug. 31 against Texas A and M commerce. It'll be the first look at the new offense under the new coach, with a lot of new starters at Snapdragon stadium.
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