Furman football has strong feeling about quarterback position in 2022 as practice begins
ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- When Clay Hendrix returned to Furman as football coach in 2017, he inherited a program with a senior quarterback who had made multiple starts in each of the previous three years in P.J. Blazejowski.
Going into every season since, there have been questions surrounding the position. Injuries, transfers and COVID-forced schedule changes have denied the Paladins the same kind of experience and consistency.
It appears the tide is turning as the Paladins prepare for the start of practice Wednesday 29 days ahead of the season opener against North Greenville. Two-year captain Hamp Sisson ended his football career to concentrate on medical school, allowing sophomore Jace Wilson to build on a 2021 season in which Furman went 4-2 in his starts.
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The position has also received a boost with the addition of grad transfer Tyler Huff, a two-year starter at Presbyterian College before a coaching change prior to the 2021 fall season. Huff’s former coach at PC, Tommy Spangler, joined Hendrix’s staff this offseason as cornerbacks coach and special teams coordinator.
“We feel a lot better about the position as a whole than we have the past couple of seasons,” Hendrix said at the Southern Conference’s annual football media day Thursday. “I thought we were progressing in a good situation, but COVID and the transfer rules all came up and we just had to kind of hit the reset button. … I think today in this game, you probably need two (quarterbacks) to get through the season.”
Hendrix has another new assistant in charge of the quarterbacks: Offensive coordinator Justin Roper replaces George Quarles, who took the head coaching position at ETSU. Roper formerly was the offensive coordinator at Holy Cross, which went 10-3 last season and averaged 32.3 points, 204 yards rushing, and 202 yards passing per game.
“Just watching our quarterbacks interact with him, I think that’s been a good change. You lose some good people, but I think we hired some really good people,” Hendrix said. “... I think you’ll see a lot of things you’ve seen out of Furman, but you’ll see a lot of differences, too. I think we’re going to try to spread the field a little bit more.”
After spending the spring of 2021 playing a SoCon season that was postponed in 2020 due to COVID, Hendrix was happy to have a normal spring practice this year. He believes a typical offseason, including spring practice, will only make Wilson better.
Wilson completed 63 of 122 passes last season for 1,020 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions. He also rushed for 101 yards and two scores. Huff, who has two years of eligibility remaining, completed 17 of 21 passes for 224 yards with four touchdowns in four games last season with the Blue Hose.
“I thought Jace played pretty solidly down the stretch last season and he’s made great progress in the offseason, like you think he’d naturally do,” Hendrix said. “I really like Tyler Huff. He’s been around this summer but hasn’t practiced with us. He’s a proven commodity in a tough environment where he was. He’s got great leadership skills and is certainly talented.
“And we also have Carson James as a freshman coming in there. I’m really looking forward to seeing how it all works out. Competition only makes you better and I think we’ve finally got some competition there.”
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Furman football has strong feeling about quarterback position in 2022
