Two Men Out Washington State Quarterback Chase Has Three Able Bodies, Room For One Winner

It’s your turn now. Go ahead, grab the whistle. Don’t forget the clipboard.

OK, ready? Good.

Now you’re the Washington State football coach. (Just the chance all you second-guessers have been waiting for.) And it is up to you to make the decision. Who is going to be your quarterback? Will it be Jason Gesser? Or Paul Mencke? Or maybe Steve Birnbaum? Wait, wait, wait. Not yet. Like any good coach, you first need to evaluate your talent. After all, rush decisions will put you straight on the Jerry Glanville track to the broadcast booth.

So just settle back and evaluate; this is why you get the big bucks. First off take a glance at Gesser.

He’s 6-foot-1. That’s shorter than Mencke and Birnbaum.

Even he admits it is tough to see over the line at that size, especially considering the right side of the line has the 6-8 Raymond twins. But remember UCLA’s Cade McNown was only 6-1. McNown had 6-8 Kris Farris to throw over. McNown was a Heisman candidate and top-10 draft pick.

Of course, McNown was a senior. Gesser, a redshirt freshman, last played in a game almost two years ago at St. Louis High in Hawaii. And he had to leave that one after breaking his non-throwing arm.

No experience, that’s the big knock on Gesser. But he did have the spring. And you must admit he did look good. He completed 24 of 44 for 318 yards in three scrimmages. In the spring game, he completed 14 of 24 for 224 yards and a touchdown. But there was also a walk-on cornerback about the size of Gary Coleman that Gesser continually picked on during that game.

Then again on Thursday in practice, Gesser had no problem connecting on about an 80-yard touchdown to Milton Wynn. And that was against a first-string corner.

“Gesser to Wynn, you could hear that a lot this year,” Wynn said after practice.

Or maybe not. It might be Birnbaum to Wynn. Or Mencke to Wynn.

Tough, huh?

Wait, it gets harder. You’re not even through evaluating Gesser yet. And he’s definitely got a lot of talent to be evaluated. Just listen to teammates and the other coaches. “Really good feet,” said Birnbaum. “Athletic and quick.”

“Strong arm,” Mencke added.

“He’s the toughest one for me,” said middle linebacker Curtis Holden. “He can just scramble around, keep you off balance and make things happen.”

Gesser has proven to everyone he can scramble and run. Now think about it: With the loss of Kevin Brown, you might need a quarterback who can gain some yardage on the ground. Or, more importantly, a quarterback who can turn negative yardage, such as a likely sack, into positive yardage.

Then there are the plays when he scrambles and makes the pass.

“Big plays,” QB coach Eric Price said. “When I think of Jason that is the first thing that comes to my mind, big plays. He has got the ability to make some big plays for this team.

“I don’t have to diagram everything perfectly on the board for Jason, he just goes out and does something and I say, `That’s good too. Go out there and do that again.”’

But big plays sometimes lead to big turnovers. You know about that, don’t you? Mencke and Birnbaum tried to make some big plays last year and they turned into big mistakes. So you might want to heed the warnings of Mike Price.

“You never really know what a quarterback is going to be like until he is under fire,” Price advised. “It’s like he is a tea bag, you never know what you’ve got until you add hot water.”

Of course, if you don’t make the right decision you’re going to be the one in hot water.

So, is Gesser the man?

Or is it Mencke?

Mencke is 6-5. Mencke is 225 pounds. Mencke looks like a Pac-10 quarterback.

He can drop back and throw the bomb. He can also drop back and run the draw. Remember that touchdown last year against Oregon? Mencke was inserted into the game at the start of the second half and on his first drive, he pulled it down and ran for a 24-yard score.

That’s what Mencke gives you. The ability to keep the defense off balance. He’s durable. He’s big. And maybe most importantly, he’s been there.

But, remember, he’s been there and he’s failed. Just how much stock do you, as a coach, want to put into Mencke’s many mistakes of last season?

You have got to take all the factors into account. He was young. The first game he started for the Cougars - against USC - was only the 13th game he had started since the eighth grade. He was inexperienced.

Maybe those 14 interceptions were just rookie mistakes. Maybe not.

But you have to evaluate more than just last year’s performance. Remember to take into account spring ball. And Mencke was strong in the spring.

He didn’t throw an interception. In fact, he didn’t even come close. Maybe that’s because he started to understand the offense and take direction better. Like on the first day when he didn’t throw the ball away properly and a coach chewed him out. The next time he threw it away, not even the waterboy had a chance at catching it.

One thing you do know is that Mencke is a leader. His father is a retired military man. He instilled strong leadership qualities in his son. When Wynn and three other players were suspended last spring, Mencke was the first one on their butts, telling them to get with the program. That’s what leaders do.

The players feel comfortable with Mencke as a leader. When things were at their worst last season, Mencke kept his head up and always tried to rally the team. And leadership is a must-have for any team.

“That’s the quarterback’s job,” Wynn said. “He’s got to take control.”

The question you have to ask yourself is: Can Mencke control his impulses and let the offense work?

Many, including his competitors, believe he can.

“He’s got the awareness now,” said Gesser. “He has been around the program now for four years and he knows the program a lot better.”

“Patience, that’s what a receiver wants a quarterback to have,” added Wynn. “He (Mencke) has good patience to let you run your routes and get open.”

And if those receivers don’t get open, Mencke has learned to throw the ball away.

The one knock on him - turnovers - seem to be a thing of the past. He worked through the summer on timing. He knows the plays, the offense, the receivers. He says he is ready.

So is Mencke the man?

Or is it Birnbaum?

Birnbaum stands 6-4. Big body. Big arm. Of the three, this is the one with the cannon.

Everything he does is technically correct. Watch practice for a week and you will probably find yourself saying, “This is my guy.”

Watch game film from last season and you may find yourself saying, “We’ve got to find somebody else.”

As a junior, he was inconsistent and was sometimes flat-out bad. Eleven interceptions, an inability to lead and a 3-5 record as a starter.

But your quarterback coach Eric Price tells you, “You will see a big difference in him this year.”

Birnbaum, a fifth-year senior, worked out all summer with the receivers. He improved his quickness. He broke the bench press record for quarterbacks. He also stood tall in the pocket in spring ball. He threw it away when he had to. He tucked it and ran when he had to. He, like your other two quarterbacks, did not throw an interception.

Last year, he was thrown into the fire. No more Ryan Leaf to build a 30-point cushion. No more Rose Bowl offensive line.

Now, as a senior, he knows your system better than anyone. “He knows the plays even better than I do,” said the QB coach.

“ He is kind of like a coach out there,” added Gesser.

That’s just what a quarterback is supposed to be, right? A coach on the field.

This time, he tells you, he will not get flustered. He knows what to expect and how to deal with it all. Of the three, he is the most cerebral and the most equipped to deal with adversity.

But watching him in practice you wonder. He’s slower. Doesn’t scramble. But when he hits the target, he really hits the target. He’s got the arm it takes. In your offense, you need somebody who can throw it on a rope from the far hash to the opposite sideline. You also need someone who can stretch the field. Birnbaum can do both.

But is he willing to pull the trigger? Or did those interceptions last year, all that berating by the media and all that pressure get to him? Does he have the confidence in himself anymore?

His teammates say they know he can lead them. But do you know that? Are you sure?

He throws the best ball. He calls the right plays. He knows the weakness and strengths of his teammates and his Pac-10 opponents. But does that technique and talent overshadow the talent of the other two.

Being too rigid in the pocket and too wrapped up in technique, those can be problems.

“It’s a little easier to understand the plays on the board,” said Eric Price. “When you come out to the game, it is a little different.”

Now, Birnbaum tells you he understands that. He has always been a winner, whatever level, whatever sport. Last year was an aberration. He wants a chance to prove that to you and to his teammates.

So is Birnbaum the man?

Or is it Mencke?

Or is it Gesser?

You’re the coach now. It’s your call.