Quarterback Position In Good Hands
4/10/2016 11:14:00 AM | Football
The Sam Houston offense that ranked No. 1 in the nation in first downs and total offense last fall showed Friday night in the annual Orange-White scrimmage that the Bearkat attack is ready for more achievements in the coming 2016 season.
The Kats led all NCAA Division I FCS offenses last season with 414 first downs and 531.7 yards per game. Sam Houston also ranked fifth nationally in scoring offense (41.1) and ninth in rushing offense (254.5 yards per game).
As the Orange (the offense) defeated the White 65-46 in Friday's spring ball wrap-up, Sam Houston showed the 2016 team is in capable hands at quarterback
Junior Jeremiah Briscoe completed 14 of 22 passes for 167 yards. He directed an eight-play, 65-yard scoring drive with a nine-yard TD run on his opening possession. His next time up, he directed a six-play 50-yard drive for a two-yard scoring run by Remus Bulmer.
Back-up quarterback freshman Caleb Griffin completed seven of 12 passes for 66 yards including a 21-yard touchdown throw to wide receiver Jordan Ingram.
“On offense, the sky is the limit for us this year,” Briscoe said. “This will be most of the guys' third year in the offense and it's my second year. It's amazing how much better you get from season to season. Friday night we held out some of our top running backs and receivers and still kept rolling.”
Briscoe passed for 1,883 yards and threw 14 touchdowns last year after coming to Sam Houston as a transfer from UAB. He led the Kats to victories in both the Southern Utah and McNeese State NCAA Division I Football Championship playoff games.
Griffin is a “green shirt” freshman having already enrolled at Sam Houston after receiving his high school diploma in December from Keller High School. The past two seasons, the 6-2 quarterback has passed for 2,509 yards and 21 touchdowns and rushed for 478 more yards and 13 scores for the Indians.
“In this offense, it's a 'take what the defense gives you' mentality,” Sam Houston head coach K. C. Keeler said. “If you are playing efficiently at the quarterback spot with the athletes we have on the perimeter, it's pretty tough to stop. That's what happened Friday night. Jeremiah really was on target. Caleb is really accurate also, so he bodes well in this offense.”
Friday's scrimmage, which signaled the complete of 2016 spring work for the Kats, marked only the second time all spring the Bearkats had tackled players to the ground. The head coach K. C. Keeler has been sensitive to keeping his team healthy during workouts the past four weeks.
“That puts the defense at a disadvantage. They were a little rusty,” Keeler said. “I've done this before. When I think I have a good experienced team, we try to eliminate some of the wear and tear. For example, I don't think the offensive linemen need that wear and tear. The running backs get pounded enough too. The big thing is getting the tempo going. We're working on being assignment sound – know your job, do your job.”
The Kats return 53 lettermen from last year's 11-4 team that reached the NCAA Division I Football Championship semifinals for the fourth time in the past five years. That number includes 16 starters.
In two seasons as Bearkat head coach, Keeler has directed Sam Houston to a 22-9 record, back-to-back NCAA Division I Football Championship semifinals berths and a multitude of school records. The Kats stood No. 3 in the final STATS FSC national poll.
“We're really happy with all we've achieved this spring, both on the field and in the community,” Keeler said. “We've done more community projects this semester than just about any time I can remember. We have one more day of spring ball where we will meet with the team and go off what they'll be doing over the summer. Coach (Brian) Hess and his staff do a great job in working with the players with conditioning and injury prevention.”
Sam Houston will open its 2016 schedule against Oklahoma Panhandle State Saturday, Sept. 3. Season tickets for Bearkat football are on sale now.
