Idaho Makes A Qb Change For Third Time

It’s John Welsh’s turn.

Idaho will enter its fourth football game with another new starting quarterback. Welsh, a redshirt freshman, will start Saturday against Louisiana State, coach Chris Tormey said.

OK, follow the bouncing ball: Ed Dean started the season opener, was ineffective and replaced by Greg Robertson, who started vs. San Jose State but was injured and replaced by Dean, who played well and earned the start against Washington State, only to play poorly and be replaced by Welsh, who was hot and cold and relieved by Dean, who was knocked cold and replaced by Welsh, who finished the game.

Whew! And the season’s only three games old.

“John will start Saturday and we plan on playing them both,” Tormey said. “John does some good things and he deserves the opportunity to show what he can do. He did some good things Saturday, he just needs to make some better decisions.”

Welsh, a dead ringer for Tom Cruise in his “Risky Business” days, seems more fiery than Dean or Robertson. Welsh exudes self confidence - sort of like the pool-shark character Cruise portrayed in “The Color of Money.”

So Welsh will get his chance. And so will Dean, who has been a slow starter, but a fine reliever. And strangely, Robertson, who didn’t take a snap last Saturday due to his injured shoulder, probably tightened his hold on the starting job without playing a down.

Tormey, though, said there’s no assurance Robertson will be No. 1 when he returns, possibly by next week, but probably in two weeks.

The bottom line: All three are decent quarterbacks, but none is head and shoulders above the other. Dean is the most mobile, Welsh is perhaps the most forceful in the huddle, and Robertson is probably the most accurate.

All the rotating, though it can’t be good for continuity, shouldn’t have a major impact on production.

Tormey’s bottom line: “If we’re going to be a one-back offense, we’re going to have to throw the ball better.”

Panhandling

Bumped into a new Lake City High student last week at the Coeur d’Alene Public golf course. Actually, his golf ball nearly bumped into the back of somebody playing in my group. Nick Engstrom, playing one group behind, whacked his drive on No. 5 about 300 yards.

Engstrom, who transferred from Townsend, Mont., should be a fine addition to the Timberwolves golf team. He carries a 6 handicap and he already works at the Public, the T-Wolves’ home course.

He joins a T-Wolves team that returns, among others, Jeff Schuh, Pat Jennings, Dave Clark and Steve Booth. The team should give defending state champion Coeur d’Alene a run for regional and state bragging rights.

UI’s Tormey saw something of a horror film when he started breaking down tape of LSU.

“This team is more talented than our national championship team at Washington,” said Tormey, a former UW assistant. “The reason I say that is their depth. They have the same kind of first-line players, but their backup players are outstanding.”

Idaho should see all of LSU’s personnel because the game doesn’t figure to stay close long. The Tigers, ranked No. 6, are 36-point favorites and trying to score points with pollsters.

Arizona quarterback Jake Plummer had some special backers when the Cardinals lost to Seattle 33-14 nine days ago in the Kingdome. Plummer’s dad, who lives in Coeur d’Alene, took a group of about 15 to cheer on Plummer, who starred at Capital High in Boise.

Front row

Saturday’s Farragut Invitational cross country meet, hosted by Lake City and Coeur d’Alene, features the state-champion East Valley girls and the best runners from southern Idaho and regionally.

Running begins at 9 a.m.

Grad school

Post Falls grad Austin Lee has returned from knee surgery and saw his first action on the Stanford football team Saturday. Lee, a defensive end, made one tackle in Stanford’s win over North Carolina.

Lee was battling for a starting job before his knee injury and is expected to see time against Oregon on Saturday.