2017 FB Preview: Quarterbacks
8/22/2017 11:30:00 AM | Football
The 2017 Sam Houston State Bearkat football season is nearly upon us, and leading up to the August 27 kickoff vs Richmond, Bearkat Athletics will be taking a look at this year's Sam Houston roster.
This is the final of a nine-part preview, position-by-position of this year's squad. The Kats were selected as unanimous favorites to reclaim the SLC crown and boast five preseason all-Americans on the roster.
QUARTERBACK NOTABLES
Returning: Jeremiah Briscoe, Caleb Griffin
Newcomers: Ty Brock, Eric Schmid
HUNTSVILLE – How do you follow up a season that includes winning the Walter Payton Award and breaking a 32-year old record for touchdown passes in a season? For Sam Houston State quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe, that answer comes in the form of the ultimate team success.
Briscoe claimed the honor as the top individual offensive player in the FCS in 2016 after throwing for more than 4,600 yards and an FCS-record 57 touchdown passes as a junior, his first full season at the helm of the Bearkat offense.
It was the 13th time in the last 15 years that a quarterback has won the award, dating back to Tony Romo (Eastern Illinois) winning the award in 2002; however, Briscoe is only one of four in that group to win the honor prior his senior season, and could join Armanti Edwards (Appalachain State) as the only repeat winners in the award's history. But he has made it clear that leading into his senior year that his ultimate goal is to be a part of a Sam Houston team that brings the school its first-ever FCS national championship.
“Jeremiah has been great to work with so far,” first-year Bearkat offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tim Cramsey said. “His biggest asset is his arm strength. He can make any throw from any position in any situation. Some of the things we have talked about for him to continue to mature as a quarterback is the understanding of game situations and that sometimes you need to take the 5-yard throw instead of going for the 30-yard throw down the field. At the same time, you don't want to take away his arm talent or the educated risks he takes in the game. That's the edge he has on other guys.”
Briscoe made things look awfully easy as a junior, spreading the ball around to a dozen different receivers for touchdowns while 10 players finished with at least 10 receptions for the season. He averaged nearly 350 yards per game in the air and had at least 300 yards passing in 11 of 13 games last season.
“One trait about this team that made me a little nervous coming here was how many playmakers we had, but I have been pleasantly excited by how unselfish everyone is,” Cramsey said. “Gameplan-wise, we will make sure that we get everyone the necessary touches, but the gameplay and the scheme and the way Jeremiah spreads the ball around kind of takes care of that in itself.”
He threw three touchdowns apiece in each of the first three games of the year before exploding for seven touchdowns in just three quarters of play in a win over Stephen F. Austin. From there, he threw less than four scores only once leading into the FCS quarterfinals, including four games with at least six scores.
Those exploits had a residual effect too, as the consistently large margins of victory in 2016 allowed Caleb Griffin to gain valuable in-game experience as a true freshman. The southpaw signal caller saw action in 10 games as the No. 2 quarterback for the Kats a year ago, an uncommon amount of action for a first-year signal caller.
He threw a touchdown in his career debut against Oklahoma Panhandle State and averaged a first down per completion for the season. At 6-3, 240 pounds, Griffin is more mobile than one would expect and uses both his mobility in the pocket and his accuracy to his advantage.
“Caleb is an unbelievably accurate quarterback,” Cramsey said. “He doesn't have the big-time arm that JB has, but he is a very accurate and smart quarterback who a great job of moving in the pocket. He has to be really 100 percent with where and how he is going with the ball and to this point he has been. He's a good decision maker, but he is still a young quarterback despite getting a lot of reps last season. Every rep he gets helps him get there I think he is taking the proper strides to get there.”
The Kats also added a pair of talented quarterbacks in their February signing class, bringing in Ty Brock (College Station) and Eric Schmid (The Woodlands) who are both expected to compete for the backup role this year.
Brock was rated by HERO Sports as the No. 5 overall signee and the top quarterback signee in nation among FCS schools in the Spring 2017 class despite missing the bulk of both his junior and senior seasons at College Station High School with a pair of leg injuries.
The grandson of SHSU head softball coach Bob Brock, threw for 402 yards and seven touchdowns in his first two games of his senior year at CSHS before suffering a broken leg. He brings a 6-4, 200-pound frame to the Bearkat roster and was a consensus 3-star recruit by both Rivals.com and 247Sports.com as a recruit.
“Ty is a special talent,” Cramsey said. “He's different than JB and Caleb in the quarterback run game comes back into play. He is a very mature player for his age and a very special athlete. I think both he and Eric (Schmid) are going to have a battle for four years, and Caleb is going to be involved in that as well. I've been very impressed with Ty and how he has picked things up. He's far more mature than most kids are at his age.”
Sam Houston also brought in a second talented quarterback with its latest class in Schmid, who led The Woodlands High School to deep runs in the playoffs each of the past two seasons. That included a run tothe Class 6A Division I state title game as a senior. He played for his father, Mark Schmid, during his time with the Highlanders and earned all-state honors in 2016 when he threw for 3,629 yards with 46 touchdowns and just four interceptions while also adding 1,079 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground.
Despite a smaller frame than Brock (6-1, 165 pounds), Schmid still brings plenty of athleticism and impressed the Bearkat coaches in a camp when he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds. He holds the all-time record for both passing yards (4,753) and passing touchdowns (57) at The Woodlands.
“Eric is a coach's kid. He's quiet and doesn't say much, but he's a different guy when he steps on the field,” Cramsey said. “He's a playmaker and has picked things up very well. He's done a very good job and can make all the throws and we just need him to be who he was in high school where he really took control of a very good program.”
