Akey, Vandals still undecided at QB
I spoke with Robb Akey after Wednesday's practice, and he was hoping to make a decision on who will start at quarterback for the Vandals -- Brian Reader or Taylor Davis -- by tonight or tomorrow.
Read on for more.
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Akey and his staff will watch film of the practice this evening. Both QBs shared snaps with the first team offense during different drills -- almost as if they were co-starters. Which was intentional.
"We tried to (put them in) similar situations, as many opportunities similarly as you can," Akey said. "You’re evaluating decision-making and throws and things like that."
Asked if he's hoping to keep San Jose State -- the Vandals' opponent on Saturday -- in the dark on who will be under center, Akey said, "No, honestly, the way things went on Saturday, there was a lot of similarity with both of them So therefore let’s see how they’re going to respond coming to this week and let’s get them an opportunity to compete, like you do at a lot of positions. See how it goes that way. I’m not really concerned at this point in time who they think is going to play quarterback for us. What I’m concerned about is our football team playing better."
Whether it's Reader, who started every game before last week, or the younger Davis, they'll be throwing to a depleted receiving corps. Armauni Johnson broke his arm in the loss to Hawaii last week and will most likely miss the rest of the season. Justin Veltung's turf toe flared up during the second half last week, too. He sat on the sideline on Wednesday in warmups.
Another receiver who has missed significant time, Marcel Posey, could be back this week. He suffered a concussion in a loss at the Kibbie Dome to Louisiana Tech but has been progressing well, Akey said. "He is possible. The improvements have all come like they need to. But the clearance may not come till the very end of the week."
NOTES -- With an injury to Troy Vital, the Vandals are down to three tailbacks -- Princeton McCarty, Ryan Bass and Kama Bailey. Akey said he's pleased with how McCarty has asserted himself the last two games. As for Bass, who battled an internal injury and has missed the most of the last five games, "The great thing for him now is that he’s feeling better," Akey said. "He went through that spell, and hopefully it will stay in a positive fashion. But that was aggravating for him too. Now that he’s got the ability to play, yeah, he’s going to want the ball more." Akey added: "Is he happy here? Yeah. Is he wanting the ball more? Absolutely. I can guarantee you all those guys want the ball more." ... UI punter Bobby Cowan was named to the watch list for the Ray Guy Award, which is handed out to the nation's best punter. Cowan is fourth in the FBS in average per kick (47.45 yards). ... Idaho's game at BYU on Nov. 12 will start at 6:15 p.m. Pacific and will be televised on ESPN2.