Starting QB job still up in air at Bentonville
Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008
SARAH NADER Benton County Daily Record Bentonville quarterback J. C. King looks for an open receiver during the NWA 7 on 7 Football Passing League July 7 at Tiger Stadium in Bentonville.
BENTONVILLE - A little competition is a good thing, which is why Bentonville head coach Barry Lunney hasn't been in a rush to name a starting quarterback for the 2008 season.
"The competition is still there," Lunney said," which I think is very healthy."
Senior J. C. King, junior Tyler Sanderlin and sophomore Pearson Gean are each fighting for the position.
King (5-9, 158 ) is likely the favorite to start when Bentonville opens its season at Conway on Sept. 5. King served as the backup to Micah Gregory last season and completed 8 of 12 passes for 45 yards.
But Sanderlin (6-0 ) and Gean (6-1 ) have pushed heavily since spring practice.
"It's not anything necessarily that [King is ] doing wrong," Lunney said. "It's just the others have made a move. There's not as big a gulf as there was at one time."
King has the arm strength to make all the throws necessary for the Tigers, said offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr., a former Arkansas Razorback quarterback.
King also had a good year quarterbacking the Tigers'junior varsity team last season.
"It's really important for him to do well," Lunney Jr. said of King taking the position personally. "He's a gym rat. He's always throwing and catching trying to get better."
Sanderlin has impressed Lunney Jr. with his decision making on the field though he's lacking physically.
Gean, who's also a swimmer, might be the best physically out of the bunch but he lacks varsity experience. Gean quarterbacked Bentonville Gold as a ninth grader last year.
"Pearson is very gifted," Lunney Jr. said. "He's tall, strong, gifted and smart. He just doesn't have much experience. They all have their strengths and they all have their weaknesses. We'll just see which one improves their weaknesses the best and that's who will probably be the quarterback."
Bentonville has shown a new look too with quarterbacks operating at times out of the pistol formation with the quarterback in the shotgun and a running back directly behind him. The Tigers also will use the traditional under-center and shotgun, too.
"We ask a lot of our guys," Lunney Jr. said," and not just us but everybody in our league now asks a lot of their quarterback. They have to make good decisions, both running and throwing it."
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