WKU Football: Quarterback Week — How Long Is The Leash on Drew Eckels?
Welcome to the second week of football preview coverage here on The Towel Rack. Last week, we had Bold Prediction Week and this week, we…
Welcome to the second week of football preview coverage here on The Towel Rack. Last week, we had Bold Prediction Week and this week, we are going under center for Quarterback Week.
We all know Drew Eckels is getting the start on August 31 in Wisconsin. We also all assume he, most likely, will be the starter moving forward after the fact.
Over the last week, a lot of the discussion surrounding the WKU quarterback “battle,” if you will, has been a lot of “well what about…”
What about Kevaris Thomas?
What about Steve Duncan?
What about a surprise candidate that doesn’t have anywhere near the publicity surrounding them.
Well, a lot of that depends on a couple of things; the competition in practice, which Sanford hasn’t spoken a ton about, but I guess it’s always possible someone like Duncan or Thomas could surpass him in practice to ear in-game playing time.
But, that hasn’t happened in the last near decade for the Tops, so the only other way Eckels loses his QB1 status is if he you-know-what’s the bed.
And, I’m not here to tell you that he will. I am going into the Wisconsin game, and every game this year, with an open mind that anything can happen. I’m happy to let Eckels show me what he can do, and we’ll take it from there.
But, what if he shows what he can do, and it doesn’t go well? At what point does the competition open for Duncan or Thomas to take Eckels spot?
Most likely, this doesn’t happen until the midway point of the season; you can’t put too much stock in performances against Wisconsin and Maine (a game in which I’m expecting to see at least three QB’s play in anyway) and you might not be able to take a ton of stock against what happens against Louisville, the Ball State game in week four will be the first true “this is what we know,” contest for the Chrome Domes of the season.
Marshall, Charlotte, ODU and FIU follow before the home stretch of the season. So, essentially, that five-game stretch — from Ball State to FIU — will be make-or-break from Eckels.
So, to get to the question posed in the title; how long is the leash on Eckels?
And I think, this year, that’s a question that doesn’t have a set answer. If the Tops show promise in their games against Wisconsin and Louisville, but fail to produce against Ball State, the Herd and Charlotte, he might be playing for his job come ODU.
If the Tops struggle in weeks one and three, but blow out four of their next five opponents, obviously the leash becomes longer.
Unlike any other year we’ve seen recently, the stakes for the current season are, how one might say, low, and Eckels can afford a couple of bumps unlike Doughty or White.
But, if he struggles to perform in that critical five-game stretch, especially if we don’t see production in the home contests (whether or not Marshall is as good as they were last year, or better, the Tops should be able to hang with them on their own turf), that leash is going to become shorter and shorter until…
Look, all I’m saying is if the Tops are really struggling this year, they end with: MT, FAU, UTEP and La Tech, and freshman can now play in four games and still redshirt.