Replacing a QB, Part 1

The biggest unknown heading into the 2008 football season is the quarterback position. As the overriding theme of the offseason, I thought I would take a look at how BC and other programs have done replacing an experienced QB. For Part 1 of the series, I decided to just look back at BC’s recent history. Here is recap of the QB transitions in the past 10 years.


Season: 2005
Previous Starter: Paul Peterson
Starter for Opener: Quinton Porter
What happened? After redshirting the 2004 season, former starter Quinton Porter was expected to pick up where Peterson left off and provide a steady hand in BC’s first ACC season. Inconsistency and injuries continued to haunt Porter. A week after winning ACC player of the week honors, he was pulled from the Wake Forest game. Matt Ryan came off the bench and led a stunning comeback. BC had a huge QB controversy.
Stats Comparison:

Year	QB	Comp Pct	Yards	TDs-INTs
2004	Peterson	62.3%	2,594	18-10
2005	Porter	63.6%	1,357	9-7
2005	Ryan	62.1%	1,514	8-5

Record: 9-3
Assessment: Messy. This was obviously the most controversial transition of the TOB era. A good defense and a surprising run by Ryan kept BC in the Top 25 despite the QB controversy.

Season: 2003
Previous Starter: Brian St. Pierre
Starter for Opener: Quinton Porter
What happened? Unlike St. Pierre, who had been groomed with game action for two years, Porter was somewhat thrown to the wolves in 2003. BC had brought in Junior College transfer Paul Peterson as an insurance policy. Porter was inconsistent throughout the season, while Peterson looked promising in his limited play. Once Porter hurt his hand against West Virginia, the job was PaulPete’s.
Stats Comparison:

Year	QB	Comp Pct	Yards	TDs-INTs
2002	St. Pierre	58.2%	2,983	18-17
2003	Porter	56%	1,764	14-6
2003	Peterson	57.1%	1,124	10-7

Record: 8-5
Assessment: Lucky. This season lacked the controversy of 2005, but they both included late runs after the change. While there were grumblings that the wrong QB was starting, few around BC knew what we had in Peterson. BC was 5-5 coming into Peterson’s first start. Once the job was his, the team ran off a 12-2 streak over the next season and a half.

Season: 2001
Previous Starter: Tim Hasselbeck
Starter for Opener: Brian St. Pierre
What happened? Brian St. Pierre took over as a redshirt JR. A local kid, recruited by TOB, BSP was groomed with game action and the occasional start prior to being the full-time starter. There was no other real candidate for the position.
Stats Comparison:

Year	QB	Comp Pct	Yards	TDs-INTs
2000	T. Hasselbeck	53.2%	1,810	16-9
2001	St. Pierre	53.4%	2,016	25-10

Record: 8-4
Assessment: This is how it was supposed to work. Having a great offensive line and William Green in the backfield aided St. Pierre’s transition.

Season: 1999
Previous Starter: Scott Mutryn
Starter for Opener: Tim Hasselbeck
What happened? Tim Hasselbeck, who had played sparingly prior to the season, came in as the heir apparent. He played well and led BC to its first bowl appearance in five seasons.

Year	QB	Comp Pct	Yards	TDs-INTs
1998	Mutryn	60%	2,218	12-11
1999	T. Hasselbeck	54.1%	2,086	12-9

Record: 8-4
Assessment: Pretty good. The only awkward period of the transition was TOB inserting Brian St. Pierre into games for the first drive of the second quarter. The goal was to give BSP game experience. Critics felt it just killed BC’s momentum.


This should be a reminder that even the best laid plans can go awry. St. Pierre was the only QB recruited by one head coach, redshirted, groomed, and named the starter without controversy as a JR…and he was good not great. One thing is certain, whoever starts the Kent State game will be our least experienced starting QB since Porter’s vs Wake Forest in 2003.