Hawaii playing musical QBs on eve of Florida game
Posted By Matt Severance on Wednesday, August 27th 2008 under: NCAA Football Tags: Florida Gators, Hawaii football
As if the Hawaii Warriors didn’t have enough problems – having to face No. 5 Florida in the Gators’ home opener on Saturday at 6:30 a.m. Hawaii time; having to travel for nearly a full day, mostly commercially; and having to replace Colt Brennan and nearly their entire offense – now they don’t know who their starting quarterback will be for Saturday’s game in Gainesville, in which the Gators are 35.5-point favorites on WagerWeb.com.
Coach Greg McMackin said that the call on who will take the first snaps of the season “could be a game-time decision.”
Junior Greg Alexander may get the start because presumed starter Brent Rausch, a sophomore JuCo transfer, rested a sore arm over the weekend and has backed up Alexander and practices this week.
“I’m going to have that mind-set that you always have to be ready and always prepared and just get ready to go and do my job,” Alexander said.
McMackin said he will evaluate the situation when Rausch is able to throw without discomfort for long periods of time. He did say that Rausch is the No. 1 if he is 100 percent healthy.
“I gotta see if his arm’s OK,” McMackin said of Rausch. “If both are playing good, it could be a game-time decision.”
However, McMackin said he doesn’t expect to rotate quarterbacks.
“The first guy in will be the quarterback,” he said. “I don’t want him looking behind.”
McMackin said Alexander and Rausch are the top two quarterbacks, followed by junior Inoke Funaki. But that depth chart could change after the Florida game as Tyler Graunke, who started two games last season and was Brennan’s primary backup the past three years, will receive some reps when the Warriors return Hawaii. Graunke was recently reinstated after missing all of training camp while addressing academic issues but won’t be ready to play this week.
“Tyler is going to get his chance,” offensive coordinator Ron Lee said. “He deserves one.”
Related posts on The Red Zone Report
- Will Tim Tebow be able to cut it in the NFL? (6)
- Who replaces Colt Brennan at Hawaii? Now it’s not so clear (0)
- Tebow tops list of the country’s top 20 dual-threat quarterbacks (10)
- See ya later, Gator: Florida loses its top tight end (0)
- Results from talented defense are the key to Florida’s national title hopes (0)
Related Posts
Who could be the Big Ten’s 12th team?
No reason for Paterno to be scared of the big bad Delany
The Last Draft Recap You’ll Ever Need
Lane’s Lame Blame Game

