MARCH 11, 2010 ISSUE
Hunting for Edwards’ Replacement as ASU Quarterback
Gone is No. 14. The hunt for his replacement has begun.
When the ASU Mountaineers opened spring practice two weeks ago, two quarterbacks emerged as the likely candidate to fill the large shoes that Armanti Edwards has left behind.
Junior DeAndre Presley and freshman Jamal Jackson are vying for the spot left by Edwards.
The two-time Walter Payton Award winner has graduated and seems to be destined for a career in the NFL.
Edwards spent four years as the Mountaineers starting quarterback, earning the spot in the third game of his freshman season and only relinquishing it when he was injured during a couple of games.
Presley and Jackson know the challenge will be daunting.
“As long as you play [here], any quarterback is going to always be compared to Armanti. That’s just how it is,” said Presley, who mostly played wide receiver last year.
“Trying to live up to Armanti’s expectations aren’t going to make me better,” Jackson said. “I just have to work on my game and do what I need to do.”
Presley, who played in nine games in 2008 as Edwards’ backup, has an edge in experience over Jackson, who red-shirted last season and was the scout team quarterback during practice.
As a backup, Presley put up some good numbers. He has two career starts, including a win against Western Carolina in which he won the Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week award. In that game, in 2008, he tallied 314 yards of offense and accounted for four scores.
“I think that has helped in terms of game experience and gives me experience to come out here and know what I’m doing and certain game situations,” Presley said.
While Jackson doesn’t have the game experience, he did have to encounter the Mountaineers’ first team defensive unit each day in practice.
That certainly helped him adjust to the college game after a career at North Atlanta High School.
“I believe our defense is one of the best in the nation, so it helped coming out of high school to grasp the speed of the game,” Jackson said.
In the first two weeks of spring practice (the team has eight more practices when members return from spring break) coach Jerry Moore has been impressed with the duo.
He is waiting for one to become the team leader.
“The one thing I’d like to see from all three of them is they get to where they have command of things,” Moore said. “I don’t think they have that feeling yet that this is their ball team. They’re three guys competing for it and everyone realizes that for four years this was Armanti’s ball team to run.”
“At the quarterback position you have to take command,” Jackson said. “It’s something you have to do to make your offense follow you, to make you look like a leader.”
While their arm strength is there, the two quarterbacks are still missing targets in drills. Sometimes a pass is over or under thrown and sometimes it’s not made at the right time.
“The thing that’s disappointing about them is their uncertainty of where to throw the ball on the routes,” Moore said. “That’s a negative thing, but that’s something that can be corrected quickly.”
Presley, who started the season opener last year when Edwards was injured, was moved to receiver last year. Tavaris Cadet was Edwards’ backup, but Cadet is now a full-time wide receiver. Presley caught three passes for 88 yards last year, including a 43-yarder against Western Carolina.
“It helped with my character a lot, moving to receiver when I wanted to play quarterback,” Presley said. “Coming in and not being able to play as much as you’d like to, it really makes you humble yourself.”
One of these players will try to show that the Mountaineers are a great team, even without Edwards at the helm.
“You can’t help but miss Armanti,” Moore said. “He was a great athlete. He was a guy who could make things happen that other guys can’t. We got a little bit spoiled with that. These guys are your basic quarterbacks—they’ve got good arms and they can run, but they still have a lot to prove in moving a football team [down the field].”
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