Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham made a bold statement earlier this month when he said the Utes had "the best quarterback situation in the country."
He didn't say the Utes have the best quarterback in the nation. But Whittingham feels he has three quality quarterbacks who could start for the majority of Division I programs in the country in Brian Johnson, Brett Ratliff and Tommy Grady.
However, only one can be "the man," and last week the Utes decided on Ratliff a few days after it was announced that Johnson would be redshirting this year to give his injured knee more time to heal. Grady will be the backup, with redshirt freshman Kevin Dunn as the third-teamer.
With all the talent in the program, the Utes feel they are sitting pretty at the quarterback position for the next few years.
Johnson will be available in 2007 and 2008. Grady will be a senior in 2007. Dunn, the highly touted QB from Santa Barbara, is a freshman this year after redshirting last year and will be a senior in 2009.
"It's a product of good recruiting," Whittingham said. "You don't want to be short-handed at any position, but the one position you definitely can't be short-handed at is quarterback. It's absolutely critical to have talent and depth at that position."
Whittingham says if everything goes perfectly, a team should have a senior, a junior, a sophomore and a freshman.
That's basically what the Utes have this year with Ratliff (senior), Grady (junior), Johnson (junior, but with two years left) and Dunn (freshman).
But Whittingham is also cautions.
"It doesn't always work out that way," he said. "People transfer or get injured."
Whittingham said quarterback can be the most volatile position on the team, because there is only one spot and there isn't a lot of movement once a starter has been named. So coaches are faced with a balancing act, keeping the right number of quarterbacks in the program.
"When you plan your recruiting, quarterback is at the top of the list," Whittingham said. "You need to have four quarterbacks minimum and five maximum. You don't want a logjam with three or four guys in one class."
Just a year earlier, the Utes found themselves with just one scholarship quarterback. Johnson was the only signal-caller during the spring of 2005. Alex Smith had left a year early and walk-on Danny Southwick was the only other quarterback in the program.
However, the position was bolstered in the fall when Ratliff and Dunn joined the team.
For the last several years, the Utah football team has enjoyed a pretty fluid quarterback situation, even if the quarterbacking wasn't always top-notch.
Darnell Arceneaux took over for Jonathan Crosswhite in 1999 and helped lead the Utes to a 9-3 record along with T.D. Croshaw, who relieved an injured Arceneaux for several games.
Both quarterbacks returned the next year, but it was a tough one as the Utes struggled to a 4-7 record. Lance Rice took over quarterback duties for the final four games in 2000 and was the incumbent starter in 2001. He had competition from Purdue transfer Ryan Breska and freshman Brett Elliott, but won the job and led the Utes to an 8-4 mark and a win over USC in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Rice had the job in 2002 until the Utes went on a losing skid and Brett Elliott took over. When Urban Meyer became coach in 2003, he had three quarterbacks to choose from and selected Elliott. However, when Elliott was injured in Game 2 at Texas A&M, Smith, the unheralded sophomore, took over and led the Utes to nine victories in 10 games.
Smith had a stellar year in 2004, leading the Utes to an undefeated season. Johnson became the guy in 2005 after serving as Smith's understudy the year before. Nobody knew a thing about Ratliff until he was forced into action for Utah's final two games and promptly led the Utes to wins over BYU and Georgia Tech.
With Grady around for another year, Johnson for two more years and Dunn for three, the future looks bright at the Ute QB position.
The Utes have already received a commitment from perhaps the state's top quarterback in Griff Robles of Spanish Fork. However, he is expected to go on an LDS mission, which means he likely won't be available until 2010. The Utes are expected to sign another quarterback for next year along with Robles.
"You always want to stagger your quarterback classes and make sure you have guys coming up through the ranks," Whittingham said.
"As we sit here today, we're in very good shape at quarterback."
Steady success
Ever since Lance Rice took the field as the starting quarterback against UNLV on Nov. 4, 2000, not one Utah quarterback has endured a losing record as a starter:
Name (Years) Starts (W-L) Memorable moment
Brett Ratliff (2005) 2 (2-0) Nov. 19, 2005: Leads U. to upset win over BYU to avoid losing season
Brian Johnson (2005) 10 (5-5) Nov. 5, 2005: Accounts for 5 TDs and 451 total yards in win over Wyoming
Alex Smith (2003-04) 22 (21-1) Jan. 1, 2005: Caps undefeated season with 4 TDs in Fiesta Bowl victory
Brett Elliott (2002-03) 8 (4-4) Sept. 6, 2003: Throws late TD vs. Texas A&M, but injured on following play
Lance Rice (2000-02) 20 (12-8) Oct. 20, 2001: Throws for 234 yards, 3 TDs as U. beats Wyoming to go 5-1
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