A top-10 team in the nation has two quarterbacks who fit their system like a glove and have produced an unblemished record heading into October.
Sure, that is the case at Ohio State, but it is actually Urban Meyer’s old stomping grounds where the country is receiving an example of how to work with a pair of strong quarterbacks.
The old college football adage — if you have two quarterbacks, you don’t really have one — can be true in some situations. However, Utah is showing that the presence of two talented quarterbacks is a great luxury if handled correctly.
When senior starting quarterback Travis Wilson went down with a shoulder injury against Utah State, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham knew that he could turn to Oklahoma transfer Kendal Thompson. Similar to Wilson, Thompson is a dual-threat quarterback, who brings nearly the same skill set to the table.
This is also not Whittingham’s first rodeo. After struggling and getting banged up last year, Wilson saw some time on the bench in favor of Thompson. Playing well enough to take the job, Thompson completed 61.5 percent of his passes in seven games with two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. He also rushed 56 times for 192 yards. Most importantly, the team was 5-2 in games he started. However, Thompson’s season ended with a knee injury and Wilson took over again.
This season, Wilson has taken fewer risks and it has shown in the numbers. With this, Whittingham has made it perfectly clear that Wilson is his man. Though Thompson has played well in relief of the injured quarterback, the job returned to Wilson without question when he was healthy for the Oregon game. This, of course, resulted in a strong performance and a blowout win in Eugene.
With experience and toughness, Wilson has shown that he is the leader of this team. He has managed to overcome a career-threatening brain injury that ended his sophomore campaign.
Over his career, Wilson has completed 60 percent of his passes for over 5,800 yards and a 45-28 TD-INT ratio. These numbers are skewed by that sophomore campaign, when the completion rate was 56 percent and he tossed 16 interceptions. This season, he has been better than ever, with 68 percent completions and only one interception. He has already rushed for 202 yards in three games, with three scores on the ground.
In three games this season, Thompson has thrown only eight incomplete passes, with a touchdown and an interception, while rushing for two more. In this time, he has shown that Utah has two quality quarterbacks, who are both capable of competing and winning in the Pac-12.
If two quarterbacks on the same roster do different things, and provide a change of pace, it is possible to work both players into a game and alternate some drives. However, in the cases of Ohio State and Utah, both signal callers bring similar tools to the field. This makes it imperative to choose one or the other.
While he has started both quarterbacks at different times, Whittingham knows he needs to give a longer leash to the preferred starter in order to avoid having him looking over his shoulder. He chose Wilson as the starter to begin the season, and would not allow him to lose the job based on an injury. In the big win over Oregon, the quarterback rewarded his coach.
Thus far, Whittingham has handled the two-quarterback situation to perfection, and has both players ready if another injury occurs. However, for the time being, Wilson is undoubtedly his man… and the results have flowed from that confidence.
