Quarterback Battles That Could Shape The Big East

The Big East is one of two BCS conferences, where in my opinion, the race is so wide open that up to 4 teams could win the conference and find themselves playing in a BCS Bowl. However, two of those teams, Rutgers and Pittsburgh, have a little uncertainty as to who will be taking the snaps from under center this fall.

Pittsburgh Panthers:
Candidates: Bill Stull, Pat Bostick, & Tino Sunseri

I said this a few times last season, if the Pitt Panthers had a quarterback that was even average, they would have easily won the Big East. With the departure of LeSean McCoy, that need for their quarterback to produce became even greater. Last year Bill Stull was the starter for the majority of the season, but his play was less than stellar throwing for 2300 yards but 9 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. So why not turn to Bostick? Well Bostick came in with a lot of fan fare, being ranked the #6 quarterback recruit in the 2007 class, but his lack of arm strength and mobility has kept him behind Stull. Bostick also has had trouble not turning the ball over; last year he throw 1 touchdown but had 4 interceptions.

The wild card in this scenario is redshirt freshman Tino Sunseri. Sunseri played locally at Pittsburgh Central Catholic and has a nice upside, but is he ready to be in the spotlight? This is a young qb that is solid in all aspects, will not make mistakes, but won't exactly take the game on his shoulders and win games for you. This might be exactly the quarterback Pittsburgh needs for the future. I don't expect Sunseri to win the starting job this fall, but if the Panthers begin a losing streak, the job might be given to him. I feel that Stull will be the starter come the beginning of the season, however, one of the other two (Sunseri or Bostick) will get some reps.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights:
Candidates: Domenic Natale, Jabu Lovelace, D.C. Jefferson, & Tom Savage

Rutgers fans are really excited for true freshman Tom Savage, but they might have to wait another year for him to crack the starting lineup. Savage was at spring practice, but since he was still enrolled in High School, all he did was watch and attend film sessions. It will be very hard for any QB to unseat an upperclassman by just practicing in the fall. Natale, a transfer from Michigan state battled Jefferson in spring practice, but neither were good enough to have head coach Greg Schiano come out and say that one was the starter.

The other horse in this race, Lovelace, did not practice at all during the spring since he was healing from ankle surgery. Schiano did state that Natale had the best spring and highlighted that since he did not turn the ball over in the spring game, he had a leg up over Jefferson who has a ton of athletic ability. With the uncertainty of Lovelace's ankle, and the learning curve Savage needs to overcome, it could very well be Natale's team to start the season.