After almost three weeks of fall camp, Pat Narduzzi still isn't ready to decide who will start under center next Saturday against Kent State. Truthfully, I don't think he wants to.
Narduzzi seems to be enjoying the competition between Nate Yarnell and Alabama transfer Eli Holstein that much. When asked Tuesday if he had decided on a starting quarterback, Narduzzi said the Panthers have not one, but two "good quarterbacks."
"That's a good thing, I'm glad we have more than one," Narduzzi said. "We have two quarterbacks that I think are really good. Those are hard decisions and we'll just take it day by day. I mean you get into game planning, who's picking up game plans and all that, I feel like we have two really good quarterbacks that we can win with right now."
Since the spring, Yarnell has been the frontrunner. He was named the starter heading into spring practices and he was again named the starter heading into fall practices. However, Narduzzi has said repeatedly that there is an open competition for the position between Yarnell and Holstein. He knows, as any Division I college football coach would, that holding a competition for the starting spot will push both players to play at their highest level, which will also raise the play of the team as a whole.
I think what this decision will come down to is what each quarterback brings to the offense. Both quarterbacks can do the basics. They can command the offense, have the respect of their teammates, can operate the huddle and can sling the ball around the field efficiently. But, they also bring different skill sets to the table.
Yarnell has looked like the purer passer so far. Standing at 6-6, 215 pounds, he has the frame. He hits his receivers with efficiency and has a nice zip on the ball. He also can make all the passes and has built up a rapport with the receivers since coming in at the back end of last season.
One thing that has stood out to me the most though is his arm strength. In the open parts of practice, which are normally passing drills with no defensive coverage, Yarnell consistently hits his receivers in stride on deep routes down the field and to corners of the end zone.
While Yarnell has an advantage with his arm strength, Holstein is the more mobile quarterback. In a quick strike, fast-paced offense that's going to get the running backs involved, Holstein's ability to run may give defenses another thing to worry about when preparing for Kade Bell's offense. Being mobile also doesn't take anything away from Holstein's passing ability, he can still move the ball around the field.
I mean, this is a guy who threw for 5,720 yards and 54 touchdowns in his high school career at Zachary High School in Zachary, La. He wasn't a Lamar Jackson or a Michael Vick, but he did run for 1,029 yards and 23 touchdowns in two years. He told me he considered himself to be 'more of a Josh Allen kind of guy."
Holstein also wasn't able to showcase that ability during the spring because he was dealing with a hamstring injury that didn't allow him to push off and accelerate when he wanted to take off. Bell made sure to mention that fact when discussing the two quarterbacks on the first day of fall camp and Holstein also told me that he was back to feeling 100%.
So, the two quarterbacks have been on equal footing throughout the fall and have been able to showcase their strengths within the offense. But this is where I want to revisit Narduzzi's quote from Tuesday and highlight: "I mean you get into game planning, who's picking up game plans and all that."
This stood out to me because of the different skill sets that Yarnell and Holstein have. If they played the same way, I think this would've already been decided. However, Narduzzi is in a position where he has two "good quarterbacks" who can beat defenses in different ways. That, specifically, provides opponents with more things to prepare for.
Just to get a different perspective, I recently asked linebacker Kyle Louis about going against Yarnell and Holstein every day in practice and this is what he had to say: "They both just play so different, so it's hard to adjust. Nate is going to hit you with the pump fake because they like to quick snap. Then Eli likes to take his time with his reads on the RPO play action. Nate will sometimes be quicker with it. They are just very different with the pace of it."
I hesitate to say that Narduzzi and Bell will elect to go with some type of two-quarterback system. But, I do believe that the skill sets that Yarnell and Holstein have are drawing out the process and are causing Narduzzi and Bell to further evaluate what the offense could look like with either quarterback under center.
