Silva Says So

Quarterback is a term used to identify the person who crouches beneath the center and throws the pigskin to teammates across the football field.

Quarterback is also a term that is nonchalantly thrown around by athletes and coaches of all sports.

Early in the fall sports season, Temple volleyball coach Bob Bertucci tagged junior setter Solana Lee as the team’s “quarterback.” As setter, Lee played with eyes behind her head and touched on nearly every hit from her teammates. In a sense she was a quarterback — reading the defenses and making adjustments when necessary.

Stacey Smalls and Lynn Greer each were “quarterbacks” for their respective women’s and men’s basketball teams, although neither coach dubbed their players with that label. Both responded well under pressure and could cut holes through defenses when needed.

Lacrosse coach Kim Ciarrocca said senior attacker Noelle Cebron has been the team’s quarterback. She has led the team in assists and points. Cebron’s awareness on the field has paid off for her teammates and given the team a variety of options in the open field.

But technically there can be only one quarterback on the field, and there is really only one quarterback position widely recognized. Heading into spring practices, which started last Monday, the Temple football team has three quarterbacks, not including senior Devin Scott, who, given another season of eligibility, might attempt to be next season’s signal caller.

But Scott’s return would just be an added problem to the Owls, whose three quarterbacks on the depth chart are trying to grasp the spread offense installed by new offensive coordinator David Brock.

Sophomore-to-be Mike McGann, senior-to-be Mike Frost and sophomore-to-be Collin Hannigan will all compete for the starting quarterback position, with McGann seeming to be the most promising candidate after starting seven games as a freshman.

Who will quarterback the Temple football team is unknown, but when a quarterback is chosen he will have to live up to and exceed the performances of Temple’s other “quarterbacks.”

Chris Silva can be reached at CBSRICAN@aol.com