battles Bozeman to be Alcorn’s starting QB

By

ADAM DAIGLE

It never fails. Start talking about quarterbacks and their potential, and one name always comes up.

Steve McNair.

Now, at least, Donald Carrie’s name is sprinkled in on occasion with the greatest one ever to play at Alcorn State. Carrie ended his career last fall as the second-best passer in school history right behind the great one with more than 10,000 career yards.

But Carrie’s gone, and now the Braves are looking for the someone who could be as dynamic as McNair &045; or Carrie, for that matter &045; with the position wide open and the Braves entering their first full week of fall workouts Monday.

It’ll be either Oliver Bozeman or true freshman Tony Hobson.

The spot is up for grabs, but Hobson entered fall camp as quite possibly the most talked-about recruit in several years.

&uot;Everywhere I’ve been, we’ve always played our best people whether they were freshmen or seniors,&uot; Alcorn offensive coordinator John McKenzie said. &uot;We’ll try to take our bumps and bruises. We’re in this for the long haul. We still think we’ll have a good offense, but I don’t think we’ll be up to par as we were last year.

&uot;We’ll go through a learning process, but we’ll still be competitive and play hard every weekend.&uot;

And that includes the coaches. The Braves haven’t been this unsettled at quarterback since the 2000 season when Surhaver Fair beat out Damion Ford for the job in fall camp.

Even when Carrie was named starter as a red-shirt freshman in 2001, he earned the job during spring camp.

This season, though, may be more paramount than ever. There’s talent at each of the skill positions, and preseason All-SWAC receiver Charlie Spiller believes the key to the season will be how the quarterback position develops.

One thing for sure &045; Hobson is getting all the attention now, though Thursday’s Photo Day was the first time he put on an Alcorn jersey.

&uot;It makes for good competition and friendly competition,&uot; Alcorn head coach Johnny Thomas said. &uot;We’ve got more than Tony Hobson, but I guess he’s getting all the publicity at this particular point. I think we’ll let him come in and learn himself. We’ll let him come in and learn the system and let him be the kind of person he really would like to be in that kind of situation.&uot;

Prized recruit

The big Division I schools came calling during Hobson’s junior year at Jim Hill and showed big-time interest, but it slowed &045; for whatever reason &045; heading into his senior season.

While he still put up the numbers &045; 1,637 yards passing and 18 touchdowns as a senior &045; the offers on the table by signing day may not have been what he had hoped for a year earlier. It came down to Jackson State, Alcorn and Samford, and the 6-3, 208-pound standout said he wanted to be a Brave.

&uot;This is one of the reasons I chose Alcorn &045; I could come in and compete for a starting job,&uot; Hobson said. &uot;Coach McKenzie did a great job of recruiting me. When I came up on a visit, he talked with me. It came down to those three, and Alcorn was the best program. Coach McKenzie is a great coach and a good guy, and I learned that the first time I talked to him.&uot;

Hobson may have been the most celebrated recruit the Braves have landed &045; certainly among quarterbacks &045; since McKenzie’s arrival in 2002. The prep standout finished his career by playing in the 56th annual Bernard Blackwell All-Star Classic, and by then the world knew he would be a Brave.

Hobson, McKenzie noted, was just as good as Brookhaven standout Jimmy Johns, who eventually signed with Alabama. And staying after Hobson took almost as much persistence.

&uot;I followed him for the last two or three years of his high school career,&uot; McKenzie said. &uot;I thought he was one of the top three quarterbacks in the state of Mississippi. Everything we’ve heard about him is positive. I think his talent will supersede a lot of things we don’t have. He’s got all the attributes to be great. He’s a great kid, and his GPA was extremely high.&uot;

If there’s reason to compare him to the man whose No. 9 jersey is framed inside the school’s trophy case, it’s his ability to run as well as pass. Also a standout basketball player, Hobson has the ability to become a two-dimensional player as opposed to the pocket passer Carrie was or the speedy Bozeman is.

But he hasn’t stepped on the field in game situation yet.

&uot;I looked at Hobson on film in high school,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;It’s hard to single out certain attributes from someone on film, in my opinion. You have to see him in person. I’ve yet to see him in person, but I’ll see him once we start practices.&uot;

The freshman is be itching to get on the field and show coaches his ability. The Braves held their first practice Friday afternoon and went again Saturday before kicking off their first full week Monday.

&uot;I’m just anxious to get on the field and show what I can do,&uot; Hobson said. &uot;I think my chances are really good. I’m just trying my best not to think about it. I’m not trying to put any added pressure on myself. The system actually is kind of similar to what I did at Jim Hill with a little twist to it.&uot;

It’s just a matter of learning the system.

&uot;We’ve got 30 days to get him ready,&uot; McKenzie said. &uot;Hopefully he can follow the same footsteps as McNair.&uot;

Odd man out?

Timing couldn’t have been worse.

When spring camp ended in 2004, all the talk was of a tall, speedy quarterback named Oliver Bozeman. The freshman out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was quarterback for the entire spring with Carrie out with a torn labrum.

When Carrie suffered a shoulder injury in the season finale last year, Bozeman took the offense home in a 16-13 win over Jackson State.

Not many folks now, unfortunately, are talking about that.

&uot;For the last couple of weeks, I feel like everybody has turned their back on me,&uot; Bozeman said. &uot;Coach talks about character &045; things you do when no one’s watching. That’s what he always brings up &045; character. Competition is intense, and I have two incoming freshmen competing for the job and two already here. It’s going to be pretty interesting this year.&uot;

Bozeman saved the day against Jackson last year, but he displayed his biggest strength as a quarterback &045; his legs. At times last year he lined up at receiver.

In the spring, however, McKenzie said he didn’t parlay those efforts into taking the starting job. The Braves had others in camp at the time &045; Milton Green and Charles Herrington &045; with Hobson and Montgomery, Ala., product Stephen Barlow set to arrive in the fall.

&uot;I wasn’t pleased with it,&uot; McKenzie said. &uot;I don’t think we had progressed from the fall like I had hoped for. I don’t know what was going on with him, but now that we’ve got competition, the best man will win out.&uot;

Things did not go as well as they should in the spring, Bozeman acknowledged, so he spent the summer with his cousin who plays for the Carolina Panthers to keep working. And he kept with what Carrie always reminded him of &045; it’s not the arm that makes a quarterback, it’s how he picks apart a defense.

&uot;It was new to me taking the snaps every day,&uot; Bozeman said. &uot;It was something I had to adjust to, but everything is picking up pretty good right now. I just hope to continue where I left off in the Jackson State game. The biggest thing I learned from that is always be ready &045; you never know when your number will be called.&uot;

Hobson is getting all the attention right now, and McKenzie didn’t need any prodding Thursday to speak of the consequences of inserting a true freshman against a good team like Grambling in the season opener.

Yet the offensive coordinator &045; like the rest of the staff &045; insist Bozeman will be somewhere on the field if Hobson gets the job. Maybe at receiver.

&uot;We know what type of arm Bozeman has, but that could change,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;He’s gotten stronger in the weight room. Competition brings the best out of a great athlete. I think Bozeman is a great athlete, and I think Hobson is a great athlete.&uot;