The word from the top: Nick Stevens will be starting QB

Yesterday the coaches met as a group, studied film and made their decision. Not a huge surprise. Head coach Mike Bobo has been leaning towards redshirt sophomore Nick Stevens since the beginning of camp but it was wise to not count out Coleman Key too early. He is a talented young quarterback.

What really tipped the scales was consistency. In today’s post practice interview Bobo layed it out. “I thought over the 26 practices that Nick was the most consistent guy,” Bobo explained. “Coleman has had his moments and over the last five days Coleman has been really good.”

When asked who has shown the better leadership qualities Coach responded, “ Well, both the guys are young and they are still trying to figure out how to play the game itself. The leadership part will come as they keep gaining experience, obviously making plays and playing in games gives the guys confidence.”

Coach Bobo was honest about the workload he has dumped on Stevens saying, “He has done a nice job but these guys have their heads spinning right now with what we are trying to do offensively. They are probably in phase one out of ten phases of where they eventually need to be.” Coach reassured that there is still a week of practice left and Stevens will have plenty of time to hone in on what this team is trying to do and that will build confidence.

Being the number one QB on the team, Stevens will now be getting 75-85% of the reps in practice and will be given the opportunity to deepen his understanding of the game plan. So far, he has been throwing very well in practice and he seems to have a solid understanding of what is required of him. It will be exciting to see this young quarterback develop and lead this year’s Rams team into battle.

No doubt there will be mistakes, but if Stevens can forget the last play and move forward, there should be no problem earning wins.