Miami spring game sets the tone for quarterback battle to come

There are a little under five months to go before Miami University football kicks off its season at Acrisure Stadium against the University of Pittsburgh. However, questions still loom about the future of the team.

As the RedHawks took to Ben Roethlisberger Field for their annual spring game, the quarterback leading the team for the first week of the season remains the most high-profile, unanswered question.

Redshirt sophomore Thomas Gotkowski started three games for Miami last season. Perceived as the obvious choice to fans, Gotkowski does not stand on solid footing as the starter based on the offseason moves.

Freshman David McComb redshirted one season at the University of Kansas before transferring to Miami. The 6-foot-4-inch Oklahoma native finished high school with a three-star rating and has immediately been thrown into the competition.

Senior Caleb Heavner transferred to Miami from Fort Hays State University. With the Tigers, Heavner recorded 3,398 yards and 24 touchdowns in 24 career games. His performance in spring practices has asserted himself as a threat for the starting position.

During the spring game, all three quarterbacks alternated drives as the signal caller for the RedHawks.

Gotkowski turned out a solid performance at the helm. The Indiana native showed his athleticism with option-style play calls, but he sat too long in the pocket on a few plays. Gotkowski made the highlight of the game, hitting the high-flying redshirt junior Keith Reynolds in the back corner of the endzone.

McComb looked capable leading the RedHawk offense, driving the team down the field for points on multiple drives. Although he fumbled the snap on one occasion, the redshirt freshman impressed fans with his speed. Though he lacks the starting experience that the other two quarterbacks do, McComb will certainly give the others a good fight for the starting role.

With a deep quarterback competition, the wide receiver position could be easy to overlook by fans. Miami has over a dozen pass catchers competing for snaps. The spring game highlighted the depth at the position as coaches rotated almost every receiver each snap.

In the post game press conference, head coach Chuck Martin mentioned he was pleased with the performance of Reynolds, as well as redshirt junior Lynel Billups-Williams and redshirt sophomore Braylon Isom. Those three took the most reps of any receiver, but 5-foot-5-inch freshman speed threat Scoop Smith also impressed coaches and fans with his toughness in the red zone. Even with a much smaller frame, Smith is unafraid to fight for the extra yard against much larger defenders.

“All three quarterbacks have thrown complete balls to a lot of different receivers [that] have made plays,” Martin said. “We have so many new guys… It’s been really good this spring.”

Regardless of who is under center or catching passes, Coach Martin is confident that the offensive line protecting the quarterback will take great strides this season.

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“We have some returners,” Martin said. “We did some good things [last year], but there’s a lot of growth [to do]. We got a lot of alignment. We’ve had tremendous growth [this spring].”

The few sacks the offensive line did allow were a result of quarterback miscommunication. On the rare occasion, the quarterbacks would step up into a clump of blockers, allowing for the play to be blown dead as the defenders tagged the passer. As the quarterbacks develop rapport with the lineman, these miscues should be largely reduced.

On the defensive side of the ball, the RedHawks looked solid. The Keith Reynolds touchdown was one of the rare chunk plays the defense allowed. While they did not record an interception, the defense swarmed to the fumble and still found a way to shorten drives without offensive miscues.

Though last season’s dominant linebacker group of Jackson Kuwatch and Silas Walters have left Oxford to play in the NFL, the RedHawks have several options Martin hopes could replace the dynamic duo.

“We’re loaded at linebacker right now,” Martin said. “Obviously with Malcolm McCain and Brock Uihlein coming back, already playing high end football for us, and we’ve added some kids in the portal, and then we have some young kids coming up that haven’t played.”

He hopes this new linebacker group will step up and continue to lead the defense the way the Carolina Panthers seventh-round pick and the Baltimore Ravens signee did last season.

Head coach Martin has built a deep roster that was on full display for the spring game. There is reason for excitement once again in Oxford, as Miami looks to return to and win the Mid-American Conference championship for the fourth year in a row.

meneghcj@miamioh.edu

@themeneghetti