Qb’s Starting Plans Still Right On Course
For now, Brady Batten’s claim to fame is having teed it up with Tiger Woods, who rallied over the weekend to win a third consecutive U.S. Amateur golf championship.
By Saturday, Batten hopes he is better known as the starting quarterback for the University of Arizona.
The junior has been battling redshirt freshman Keith Smith for the starting honor, and Wildcats coach Dick Tomey is expected to go with Batten for Saturday’s opener against Texas-El Paso.
Before Batten committed fully to football, he was an accomplished golfer, competing in many of the junior events frequented by Woods. The two were once paired in the same group.
“That was when he was this tall,” Batten told the Arizona Daily Star, holding his hand low. “He would dink it down the fairway about 150 yards and somehow make par every hole.
“Now, he’s up here,” Batten added, hand held high, “and he hits the ball 390 yards.”
Even Tomey is impressed.
“I must admit,” Tomey said, “there was football on TV, and I ended up watching Tiger Woods and Steve Scott. That was one of the most incredible sports dramas I’ve ever seen.”
Who’s got next game?
Stanford football coach Tyrone Willingham likens the competition between quarterbacks Tim Carey and Chad Hutchinson to a game of pick-up basketball.
“If you win, your team stays on the court,” Willingham said. “If you lose, you watch. You can choose your friends on the team or you can choose people who help you win.
“It all depends upon how long you want to play. I like to play a long time.”
With a Sept. 7 opener against Utah approaching, Carey and Hutchinson are battling to succeed Mark Butterfield, who led Stanford to a 7-4-1 record last season.
Thinking big
Early road games against Tennessee and Michigan have forced new UCLA coach Bob Toledo to rein in expectations for his inexperienced team.
“I’m not going to make a lot of promises and guarantees,” Toledo said, “but I will guarantee we probably will lead the nation in average attendance away after the first month of the season.”
Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium was recently renovated to hold 102,485. Michigan hasn’t drawn fewer than 100,000 for a home game in years.
UW pups move up
Washington coach Jim Lambright moved four true freshmen to the second team this week, meaning they won’t redshirt this season.
The impressive freshmen are: defensive end Jeremiah Pharms, cornerback Toure Butler, offensive guard Dominic Daste and defensive tackle Jabari Issa. , DataTimes