Big Sky notes: Southern Utah puts faith in Olsen at QB
Even as Eastern Washington adjusts to a new quarterback this week, there’s no controversy: Vernon Adams is injured and backup Jordan West is stepping up.
It wasn’t that simple last month for Southern Utah coach Ed Lamb, who found himself benching last year’s starting quarterback in favor of a transfer.
“It was a delicate situation,” said Lamb, whose 1-5 Thunderbirds face Eastern on Saturday in Cedar City, Utah.
Eric Cantu was back for his senior year after leading Southern Utah to the FCS playoffs last season, but Brigham Young transfer Ammon Olsen pushed him through fall camp and won the job after Cantu struggled with turnovers.
Since then, the 6-foot-3, 190-pounder from Draper, Utah, has started three straight games, including a 42-39 loss last week at Cal Poly in which Olsen completed 29 of 43 passes for 402 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
Those kinds of stats evoke the memory of NFL draft pick Brad Sorensen, who led the T-Birds to a 30-27 win over a top-ranked Eagles team in 2012 – Eastern’s last Big Sky Conference defeat.
Olsen isn’t there yet, but Lamb is optimistic.
“We’d like to see him get more and more confident – he can’t be afraid,” Lamb said Wednesday. “He’s got to see things quickly … and that can come only through experience.”
For the season, Olsen is 78 for 135 for 1,066 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions. He began his college career at Southern Utah in 2009, seeing action in six games, but left after one season for a two-year Latter-day Saints mission in Mexico.
He enrolled at BYU in 2012 and saw limited action last year for the Cougars before transferring last winter.
‘Struggling’ defenses
It’s been said before, but Lamb clearly explained why some Big Sky defenses are the victims of their own prolific offenses.
Asked about the Eastern Washington defense, Lamb said, “They’re struggling in the same way a lot of defenses are stuggling. … Eastern is running so many plays, that when the offenses match up, their defense is playing two games worth of snaps.”
While some look at yardage and see a subpar defense, Lamb said that’s not valid. It’s the same with Eastern, which he describes as “well-coached with solid schemes – I don’t think that there’s anything that I would characterize as a weak defense.”
Both defenses have struggled in some key areas. Eastern is 5-1 but ranks 116th out of 121 teams in red-zone defense, conceding scores on 19 of 20 attempts. Southern Utah ranks 118th in total defense, giving up 530 yards a game, and is dead last in first downs given up with 162.
Last week, the T-Birds’ defense couldn’t get off the field. Cal Poly rolled up 33 first downs and 452 yards on the ground while holding a 16- minute edge in time of possession.
Notes
Three Big Sky quarterbacks rushed for more than 100 yards on Saturday, which may be a first in league history. Sacramento State’s Garrett Safron (146), Montana State’s Dakota Prukop (140) and Cal Poly’s Chris Brown accomplished the feat. … Northern Colorado intercepted three passes and returned two for touchdowns in a 24-17 upset of Northern Arizona. The Bears lead the nation with 13 interceptions and rank second in the nation in turnovers forced with 16.