Grant Gunnell proved himself as a viable starting quarterback as a freshman in the 2019 season, but he split time with then-senior Khalil Tate. Now it is Gunnell's show.
There is no open competition. There's no guesswork for the other players. There's no quarterback controversy for the media to discuss.
The Wildcats have their man and there will certainly be a lot put on the Houston native's shoulders this season as he takes over full time. Gunnell has benefitted from the extra few months to the offseason and his position coach, offensive coordinator. Noel Mazzone, has been focused on helping the sophomore quarterback reach the next stages of his development.
"We got a chance to really develop our relationship and spend a lot of time on Zoom virtual meetings," Mazzone said. "Then when they allowed us to go on the field and actually have our eight hours a week and work on football-specific stuff, we had a ton of time to spend on the field just working on things you really never have time to work on in the course of a real camp and a season.
"So, I think it's ben really beneficial for him. Obviously the closer that he and I become – knowing each other and knowing what his strengths and weaknesses are and same for him knowing my strengths and weaknesses – I think it's a better situation."
The bulk of the work has been focused on making him a more mobile quarterback while continuing to hone his abilities as a passer. Gunnell played in eight games with three starts last season finishing with over 1,200 yards passing to go with nine touchdowns through the air to just one interception.
"Grant needed a lot of work as far as his pocket presence," Mazzone said Saturday. "He's such a big tall long guy, so we're working on his quickness in the pocket and creating passing lanes and sliding in the pocket. So, we've had a lot of time to work on that.
"We've had some time to just clean up some fundamentals. And, actually I think he's throwing it as well as I've seen him throw it since he's been here."
It would be difficult to be more positive about the outlook for the upcoming season than Gunnell is right now. Understanding where he stands on the depth chart and having plenty of time to prepare for the upcoming season has certainly helped give Gunnell some confidence about his sophomore season.
"I think that quarantine was probably a blessing in disguise for me personally," Gunnell said Friday after the team's first practice of the fall. "I don't know how many months of straight work I've put in. I would say it's seven days a week I'm either in the weight room in the morning, working on throwing, feet work, arm strength in the afternoon. ... It sucks having to quarantine and the season being pushed back, but this might've been the best thing for me as a player."
While Gunnell is overall pleased with some of the benefits he has gained from some extra time, but for the players behind him on the depth chart there have been both positives and negatives. Veteran redshirt junior Rhett Rodriguez, redshirt sophomore Kevin Doyle and freshman Will Plummer are the main players vying for the backup job this season. Yet, none of those players had much of an opportunity to create separation with just four spring practices. That will leave Mazzone and head coach Kevin Sumlin to figure out just how to build the depth chart in the coming weeks.
"It's had a chance for the Will Plummers, the Lukes (Ashworth) and the Doyles and those guys because of all the meeting time we've had on Zoom, mentally, to watch video and really have time to discuss things and dive into the mental part of the game I think it's really helped those guys," Mazzone said about how the long offseason has impacted the battle for the backup job. "Now, the downside is I wanted to come out of spring ball with those guys competing so that coach Sumlin and I could really evaluate our quarterback position with those guys, because besides Rhett who is the old man of the group who has been in games and really understands the offense I got three young guys that have really no experience.
"So, missing spring ball on the field stuff hurt those guys the worst, but I think mentally they're ahead of the game right now. Now it's just a matter of them taking that information to the field. I think coach and I want to go here for about a week or so and give all these guys a chance to show where they are in their growth, and then kind of make some decisions on the position behind Grant."
That work will continue this week as the Wildcats open up the first full week of practices Monday evening.
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