UC finds a QB
By Jack Bogaczyk
Charleston Daily Mail Sports Editor
When you're running the shotgun triple option offense, the last thing a coach wants at quarterback is a crapshoot.
However, that's what Tony DeMeo had when spring practice began. Ripley's Cory Isner, at least a part-time starter for the University of Charleston for three seasons, had graduated.
Grasping DeMeo's shoot-and-run offense is one thing. Running it is another. Entering preseason practice this month, there had been whispers that quicksilver true freshman Jay Julian may even get the job.
Then, DeRante Hunter stood taller than his 5 feet 7 and won the job, and DeMeo found a capable backup in former South Charleston High QB Shaad Coleman. Both are redshirt freshmen.
As the Golden Eagles open DeMeo's third season on the sidelines Saturday at 1 p.m. at home against Tusculum (Tenn.), Julian is a promising No. 3 on the depth chart, and the decision on the Ohioan may be whether or not to use a redshirt.
"DeRante and Shaad stepped up," UCF offensive coordinator Ralph Isernia said. "We're comfortable with both guys and both have improved a lot. DeRante just grasped things a little bit better."
The 178-pound Hunter is the better thrower. Coleman (5-11, 195) is the better runner. Hunter, however, showed more elusiveness with his feet and his arm created the difference.
"DeRante played for a (Class 3A) state finalist team (Sarasota Booker) in Florida," Isernia said. "He played with a lot of talent down there, a lot of good athletes. He's a good thrower and as a runner, he plays with a feel for when the pressure is there."
Hunter may be making his debut Saturday, but he's past the introduction stage with DeMeo's offense. He also had the smarts to pick up the schemes. He had a 1,090 on his SAT and a 3.1 grade average.
"It's very difficult to learn at first," Hunter said. "Once you get the concepts down and understand what the options are, you just read the keys and play. A lot of it is recognizing what defense the other team is in. It's reading and instincts.
"When I came in last year, I figured I'd be redshirted. That was fine with me. It gave me time to learn. Then, with Cory leaving, I figured it would come down to who was best, so I worked hard at it.
"A lot of what we do is similar to what we played in high school. The difference is that I was under center there. The shotgun was different for me. I had some trouble catching snaps in the shotgun at first, so I started going out and taking about 20 snaps before practice."
Isernia said the shotgun triple option "is anything but a conventional offense to most high school quarterbacks. There's an option component and a passing component. So, you try to recruit what you'd call ‘system guys.' With our offense, we're not going to have a 6-4 dropback type."
Hunter said his 5-7 height "is an advantage and a disadvantage. I may not be tall, but I might be quicker to get away. Some games I might pass for a lot of yards and others run for a lot of yards. Some games I may just run the offense. That's the job."
In DeMeo's first UC season (2005), the Golden Eagles went 8-3. Last year, Hunter's first on campus, UC fell to 5-6 and lost three of its last four.
"It was very disappointing," Hunter said. "What we need different is mainly one thing ... heart. When we'd get down a lot of guys just figured we were going to lose, so we did. You can't play the game that way. I never have."
Eagle eyes Thanks to a free ticket giveaway promotion underway at 28 area Wendy's restaurants, UC expects to break its own West Virginia Conference attendance record Saturday. The mark of 7,599 was set at UC Stadium last September for the Eagles' win over rival West Virginia State a free ticket day courtesy of Fas-Chek supermarkets. Wendy's has enough tickets to fill the stadium's 18,500 capacity ... Tusculum visits with 17 starters returning from 2006, when the Pioneers finished 6-5. however, Coach Frankie Debusk's team is only picked to finish fifth in the seven-team South Atlantic Conference ... DeBusk led Furman to the 1988 Division I-AA title as the starting quarterback. A 13-9 quarterfinal win over Marshall was included in the Paladins' run ... Expect the Pioneers to throw the ball around Laidley Field. New Tusculum offensive coordinator Marc Kolb moved from Missouri-Rolla, which led NCAA Division II in passing offense (351 yards per game) and was eighth in total offense (416 ypg) last season ... UC's projected starting lineup includes three Kanawha Valley high school products, all on offense wide receiver Scott Ransom (Hurricane), running back Josh Culbertson (Nitro) and slotback Rusty Taylor (Riverside).
Charleston Daily Mail Sports Editor
When you're running the shotgun triple option offense, the last thing a coach wants at quarterback is a crapshoot.
However, that's what Tony DeMeo had when spring practice began. Ripley's Cory Isner, at least a part-time starter for the University of Charleston for three seasons, had graduated.
Grasping DeMeo's shoot-and-run offense is one thing. Running it is another. Entering preseason practice this month, there had been whispers that quicksilver true freshman Jay Julian may even get the job.
Then, DeRante Hunter stood taller than his 5 feet 7 and won the job, and DeMeo found a capable backup in former South Charleston High QB Shaad Coleman. Both are redshirt freshmen.
As the Golden Eagles open DeMeo's third season on the sidelines Saturday at 1 p.m. at home against Tusculum (Tenn.), Julian is a promising No. 3 on the depth chart, and the decision on the Ohioan may be whether or not to use a redshirt.
"DeRante and Shaad stepped up," UCF offensive coordinator Ralph Isernia said. "We're comfortable with both guys and both have improved a lot. DeRante just grasped things a little bit better."
The 178-pound Hunter is the better thrower. Coleman (5-11, 195) is the better runner. Hunter, however, showed more elusiveness with his feet and his arm created the difference.
"DeRante played for a (Class 3A) state finalist team (Sarasota Booker) in Florida," Isernia said. "He played with a lot of talent down there, a lot of good athletes. He's a good thrower and as a runner, he plays with a feel for when the pressure is there."
Hunter may be making his debut Saturday, but he's past the introduction stage with DeMeo's offense. He also had the smarts to pick up the schemes. He had a 1,090 on his SAT and a 3.1 grade average.
"It's very difficult to learn at first," Hunter said. "Once you get the concepts down and understand what the options are, you just read the keys and play. A lot of it is recognizing what defense the other team is in. It's reading and instincts.
"When I came in last year, I figured I'd be redshirted. That was fine with me. It gave me time to learn. Then, with Cory leaving, I figured it would come down to who was best, so I worked hard at it.
"A lot of what we do is similar to what we played in high school. The difference is that I was under center there. The shotgun was different for me. I had some trouble catching snaps in the shotgun at first, so I started going out and taking about 20 snaps before practice."
Isernia said the shotgun triple option "is anything but a conventional offense to most high school quarterbacks. There's an option component and a passing component. So, you try to recruit what you'd call ‘system guys.' With our offense, we're not going to have a 6-4 dropback type."
Hunter said his 5-7 height "is an advantage and a disadvantage. I may not be tall, but I might be quicker to get away. Some games I might pass for a lot of yards and others run for a lot of yards. Some games I may just run the offense. That's the job."
In DeMeo's first UC season (2005), the Golden Eagles went 8-3. Last year, Hunter's first on campus, UC fell to 5-6 and lost three of its last four.
"It was very disappointing," Hunter said. "What we need different is mainly one thing ... heart. When we'd get down a lot of guys just figured we were going to lose, so we did. You can't play the game that way. I never have."
Eagle eyes Thanks to a free ticket giveaway promotion underway at 28 area Wendy's restaurants, UC expects to break its own West Virginia Conference attendance record Saturday. The mark of 7,599 was set at UC Stadium last September for the Eagles' win over rival West Virginia State a free ticket day courtesy of Fas-Chek supermarkets. Wendy's has enough tickets to fill the stadium's 18,500 capacity ... Tusculum visits with 17 starters returning from 2006, when the Pioneers finished 6-5. however, Coach Frankie Debusk's team is only picked to finish fifth in the seven-team South Atlantic Conference ... DeBusk led Furman to the 1988 Division I-AA title as the starting quarterback. A 13-9 quarterfinal win over Marshall was included in the Paladins' run ... Expect the Pioneers to throw the ball around Laidley Field. New Tusculum offensive coordinator Marc Kolb moved from Missouri-Rolla, which led NCAA Division II in passing offense (351 yards per game) and was eighth in total offense (416 ypg) last season ... UC's projected starting lineup includes three Kanawha Valley high school products, all on offense wide receiver Scott Ransom (Hurricane), running back Josh Culbertson (Nitro) and slotback Rusty Taylor (Riverside).