Quarterback might be the most important, most glamorous, and most difficult position in all of sports.
It is unquestionably the singular element that will define Toledo’s 2021 football season.
As the Rockets decamp from spring practice and embark on a significant summer, a cadre of quarterbacks carry the aspiration and belief that they will take the first snap of the Norfolk State game Sept. 4.
The big man on campus will be decided by head coach Jason Candle and his lieutenants on the offensive staff.
Fifteen practices into the UT derby, results are inconclusive.
“There are periods of elation and periods of frustration, but that’s natural,” Candle said. “You’re trying to get guys as many reps as they possibly can. It gives you an opportunity to watch guys make plays organically and some plays that you try to manufacture certain situations for them. It provides what a ceiling could be and what you really need to work on, how to address it, and how to fix it so we can give these guys the best tools so they have a fair opportunity to compete for the job.”
Carter Bradley, Tucker Gleason, Dequan Finn, and Gavin Hall headline the competition. A medical hardship ended the career of Eli Peters, who started 12 games over the past three seasons.
Decision-making, limiting turnovers, how teammates react, and accuracy are four central tenets of how the players will be evaluated individually.
“It all goes back to making decisions at a high level,” Candle said. “That’s the ultimate ticket. You’re trying to put as much heat on them as we can.”
The Rockets return all 22 starters on offense and defense, with Bradley representing the returnee at quarterback. The sophomore from Jacksonville has started three games at Toledo, completing 58 of 120 pass attempts for 708 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions.
During the abbreviated 2020 season, Bradley threw for a career-high 432 yards against Central Michigan, the most by a Mid-American Conference QB all season, and ranked third in the MAC in passing efficiency (164.1). But a lingering elbow injury nagged at Bradley, an impediment that he played through.
No more. A stem cell injection during the offseason relieved him of all pain, allowing Bradley to go forward without any barriers and play at 100 percent for the first time in several years.
“Growing mentally was still a huge part of what I needed to do,” Bradley said. “Learning in this offense, there’s something new every day that you can get better at. As a whole, it was, how can we be better for this offense and this team, and how can we grow and make this offense even better than it was last year?”
Bradley is by far the most experienced of the quartet vying for the job. He’s been at UT the longest (since 2018) and is the only quarterback on the roster who’s started a game for the Rockets. That alone makes him a veteran and the leader of the room.
“He understands why things go the way they do and how to react when situations don’t turn out in your favor,” Candle said. “That command and level of comfort comes with experience.”
Bradley pushes back at the notion that he’s a veteran, choosing instead to describe his record as something that gives him the ability to better grasp Toledo’s offense.
“I feel like I understand coach Candle more and what he’s looking for,” Bradley said. “I would like to understand the whys of the game more from coach Candle and [co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks] coach [Robert] Weiner and the guys on the offensive staff. They’re always teaching me something, so I’m trying to be a student of the game. I’m just trying to soak up as much as possible so when it comes to next season I’m totally prepared and ready for any situation.”
The spirited contest has bonded the quarterbacks together more closely, not torn them apart. They’ve helped each other and pushed one another to perform their best, hoping in the end that it produces a great leader for the offense.
Less than two months after arriving at UT, Gleason, a freshman transfer from Georgia Tech, was competing against his new teammates, attempting to quickly learn the nuances of the playbook and seize the opportunity presented to him.
“I thought it went really well from an overall quarterback room standpoint,” said Gleason, a former three-star recruit and high school All-American. “I thought we grew tremendously through the spring. And personally, obviously, I had no prior knowledge of the offense, so just getting in there for 15 practices and taking reps, I grew as well.
“I feel pretty comfortable. We got a good foundation of the offense in during the spring, and we were able to hit that over and over again during the 15 practices.”
Finn, the former player of the year in the state of Michigan, has played in seven career games, including all four in 2020. He’ll still be a freshman eligibility-wise, but the Detroit native is entering his third year on the team.
Finn has completed six of 13 career passes for 86 yards. The elusive Finn’s damage has been down with his legs, rushing for 141 yards on 25 carries, an average of 5.6 yards per touch.
“Spring was more of a mental thing for me, as far as preparing and just knowing what to do and how to approach everything,” Finn said. “The first day of spring I was like, ‘OK, what do I need to do to earn everyone’s trust?’ Working hard in the weight room, standing out in mat drills, the little things that could grab the players’ attention so they could be like, ‘OK, DQ is working hard.’”
In previous years, Finn kept quiet and mostly to himself. He’s doing his best to engage with teammates and hang out away from the field, with the goal of building relationships that ultimately help the team as a whole.
“I feel like I’m becoming more of a leader,” Finn said. “I feel more comfortable being around the guys and the coaches and being able to be myself.”
All Hall did was follow Justin Fields as the starter at Harrison High School in Georgia, guiding them to a 15-0 record and the school’s first championship.
Whoever wins the job should give Toledo a clean look at its first MAC title since 2017. And part of the offensive firepower and efficiency comes from all of those returning starters and a deep, talented group of wide receivers. Whether the quarterback is someone with several career starts or none, the Rockets’ pass-catchers help put the person delivering the ball at ease.
“Once we find a groove, I mean, this is a high-powered offense,” Gleason said. “I don’t think any defense will be able to stop us.”
The only people stopping the quarterbacks right now are the other quarterbacks.
“You just have to take it day-by-day and breathe,” Bradley said.
First Published April 7, 2021, 7:22 p.m.