College football notes: Washington coach mum on starting QB vs. Cal; San Jose State QB honored
In Jimmy Lake’s debut as Washington head coach, he’s not going to share anything about who his starting quarterback will be before Saturday’s opener at Cal.
“Great question. I guess we will find out about 7:34 p.m. Pacific time, right around there on Saturday night,” Lake said Monday.
No bigger question surrounds Lake’s first game in charge of the Huskies than who will be under center against the Bears. After several weeks of practice and a few scrimmages, Lake is still keeping the decision under wraps as to which of his four options will take that first snap.
The favorite from the start has appeared to be graduate transfer Kevin Thomson because he has the most experience. Thomson was the Big Sky Conference offensive player of the year last year at Sacramento State before deciding to transfer back home to finish his college career at Washington.
Thomson threw 450 passes and 27 touchdowns in 2019. Washington’s other three QB options — Jacob Sirmon, Dylan Morris and Ethan Garbers — have combined to throw three passes in college, all of them by Sirmon last season.
Whoever the starter is, he will direct a new offense under first-year offensive coordinator John Donovan. Lake has also said the Huskies could use multiple QBs to start and all four were listed as potential starters on the depth chart.
“If there’s a guy that can just take over the reins and be the guy, then he’ll be the guy,” Lake said. “But from a defensive standpoint, if there’s a guy back there that can just take control, that’s difficult to defend. If there’s a two-headed monster back there, that’s difficult to defend. We’re going to do whatever is best for our team to make sure we get victories.”
Washington has been blessed with experience at the position for years. Jake Browning was a four-year starter at...