THANKS TO MIKE Fouts' impressive performance last Saturday against New Mexico, the Utes have finally settled on a starting quarterback. The uncertainty is over. The decision has been made. The Grand Poobah has been selected.
They think.If this year's waffling back and forth between quarterbacks seems familiar, that's because it is. Like Scarlett O'Hara, the Utes have always reserved the right to change their minds.
Actually, Utah has a long history of switching quarterbacks once the season begins. Sometimes it's been injuries, other times it's simply been a search to find the guy who could win. Whatever the case, changing quarterbacks isn't new. Sean McNabb, a Utah assistant coach for 19 years, has seen previously unknown quarterbacks come out of nowhere to become stars and potential stars relegated to historical footnotes.
"I wouldn't preclude anything happening," says McNabb. "That football is a funny-shaped ball."
Over the years, the Utes had far more starting quarterbacks than they've had seasons. In 1979, McNabb's third year with the Utes, they had three - count 'em - starting quarterback contenders. There was Ricky Hardin, a junior college transfer with a great arm; Harlan Karnofsky, who possessed an impressive working knowledge of the offense; and Floyd Hodge, a superior ball-carrier and option quarterback.
They began the year with Hodge, which worked well enough until he went down with an injury. "Then we had no quarterback who could execute the offense," says McNabb.
In 1981 the Tyce Ferguson-Kenny Vierra debate arose. Ferguson was the experienced senior and Vierra a shifty freshman from Judge Memorial High. They began with Ferguson, but he was injured, allowing Vierra to step in for the Northwestern game. Vierra led the Utes to an unexpected 42-0 victory. Still, it wasn't impressive enough for Vierra to keep the starting job, and Ferguson reclaimed the position when his injury healed.
The following year Vierra started, but after being injured was replaced by Scott Cate. Cate sustained an injury himself, and Vierra was back in the driver's seat at the end of the season.
The quarterbacking situation settled temporarily in 1983-84 when Mark Stevens put a headlock on the position. He wasn't sharing his job with anyone.
In 1985 the first-game quarterback was Bryan Bero, who was built like a fullback. That's because he was one; he just didn't know it. Even though Bero led the Utes to a 20-17 win over Boise State to open the season, the next week the coaches switched to Larry Egger - a laid-back, California surfer-dude and beach volleyball star - who was the Utes' starter for the next two years. Egger ended up passing for more career yardage than any Ute quarterback to that point, while Bero, who could bench-press 360 pounds, found his calling as a fullback.
In 1987 Utah tabbed senior Chris Mendonca, a soft-spoken, bull-riding cowboy from the San Joaquin Valley. But the coaches were already looking ahead to the career of freshman Scott Mitchell, who played nearly as many minutes as Mendonca, coming off the bench. Mendonca was the starter but Mitchell the star.
The next two years, there was no debate. Mitchell played them all, except for the BYU game in 1989, when he was injured. He set all the existing school passing marks.
In 1990 the Utes went back to playing musical quarterbacks. The Utes went to fall camp with Frank Dolce, Jason Woods and Mike Richmond competing for the starting spot. Eventually, Dolce ended up redshirting, while the Utes vacillated between the other two, beginning the year with Woods and ending with Richmond.
Dolce was the quarterback all of '91 and part of '92 until he was injured. Mike McCoy, a brainy but little-used commodity, stepped in, only to lose a game to lowly UTEP. Despite complaints among fans that McCoy was a disaster, he ended up the second-leading all-time passer in Ute history.
Which brings us up to date in 1995, with the Utes switching again. In the spring Fouts was the leader, but Brandon Jones came out of fall camp No. 1. Now Fouts is the starter. "You've got to go with your best guy," says McNabb.
But as history shows, you can be the best guy one week and a backup the next. Just because you're the quarterback doesn't necessarily mean you're going to keep your job.