Matt Weir/Collegian File Photo
At Fresno State, there hasn’t been a quarterback competition since the 2009 season when Derek Carr first arrived on campus.
Back then, there was a competition between Ryan Colburn and Derek Carr for the starting quarterback position.
Carr was the young, early graduate from Bakersfield Christian High School and Colburn was the veteran who had been in the system for four years.
Eventually, Colburn would win the competition, keeping Carr on the sideline during his redshirt season.
Fast foward to this spring where there is a quarterback competition, but this time not for the starting quarterback position. A looming question lies in who will replace Carr should he not be able to play.
With Colburn now graduated, it leaves three quarterbacks for the 2011 season: Carr, Kelly O’Brien and Greg Watson.
Watson and O’Brien are battling for the backup spot after both redshirting last season.
Co-offensive coordinator Jeff Grady who works with the quarterbacks, talked about how the two quarterbacks have looked so far.
“They’re both doing good,” Grady said. “There both making progress everyday which is all you can ask. We’ve had our good days and some not so good days, but more good days.”
With the backup quarterback competition starting to heat up leading to this Saturday’s spring game, Grady described what the two candidates have to do to win this job.
“They need to learn the offense,” Grady said. “Know what we’re doing. We’re not asking them to do a ton. Just find the easiest completion on the field and get it done.”
With learning the offense as a key component to winning the job, Watson used his redshirt year as a chance to learn.
SPRING FOOTBALL POSITION BATTLE
“It was funny because last year, even though I redshirted, I traveled with the team,” Watson said. “So I practiced and everything but this year I feel like I know the playbook way more. I know the whole thing pretty much so now I feel comfortable just going out there and knowing what I’m doing. And I just give the ball to receivers and make smart plays so I like it.”
With more knowledge of the playbook, Watson has shown he could very likely be the No. 2 man on the depth chart.
Watson, who hails from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., understands the open spot is up for grabs.
“Only thing that’s going to stop me is myself I believe,” Watson said. “I mean Kelly O’Brien is a great quarterback too that’s why we got him here. But that’s why they got me here too. It’s just a competition. There’s no beef between us. It’s just the competition to see who’s going to be the backup and I wish the best luck to both of us.”
One thing that won’t stop Watson is his height, which plagues most quarterbacks who are not blessed with prototypical size. Watson is working to improve his accuracy this spring to help make up for his lack of desirable height.
“Accuracy, because I’m a short quarterback,” Watson said. “So people try to say ‘Oh, he’s a short quarterback. He can’t see over the line,’ but if I’m accurate that doesn’t mean anything. I can see over the line. I can do everything I want to do.”