Running back Byron Eaton, Jr. (10) is expected to take some quarterback snaps for Grambling this weekend out of the Wildcat formation. (Photo by T. Scott Boatright)
By T. Scott Boatright
It almost feels like the best of times and the worst of times for Grambling State football as the Tigers prepare to play host to Alabama A&M this weekend.
Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. Saturday at Eddie G. Robinson Stadium.
The Tigers stand at 5-3 overall and 2-2 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s West Division after upsetting Jackson State, which was the No. 1 team in HBCU football, by the score of 26-24 last weekend in Las Vegas.
That’s the best part of the current times for the Tigers.
The worst is the fact that starting quarterback C’zavian Teasett remains hospitalized in Las Vegas after being injured late in last week’s win.
And with No. 2 quarterback Ashton Frye remaining out with a shoulder injury, that leaves Tigers coach Mickey Joseph facing a true quarterback quandary.
A’Myne Darensbourg came off the bench last week to replace Teasett and lead the Tigers to the win with a late field goal.
And while he’ll get the start against Alabama A&M, the true freshman out of Kennedy High School in New Orleans has completed only 1-of-3 pass attempts in very few snaps on the collegiate level, leaving Joseph hesitant to place the weight of being a fulltime starter on the young QB’s shoulders.
So, Joseph plans to use all three quarterbacks he still has against Alabama A&M, with true freshman Hayden Benoit out of Loreauville High School, who has no career college snaps, and running back Byron Eaton, Jr., a redshirt freshman who played quarterback at Lincoln High School in Dallas, also in this weekend’s gameplan.
Eaton ranks second in team rushing stats with 235 yards and three touchdowns on 47 carries.
“Now, you don’t want to play musical chairs with this position,” Joseph said. “This isn’t going to be musical chairs. When they go into the game, they’re going to know what they are doing. It’s probably going to take three of these kids to get us into position to win a football game, and we’ll do it.
“But we’re not going to sub them just to sub them in and out. We do have a gameplan for them. (Quarterback coach Shyrone Carey) and I have talked a lot about this position, so we will have a gameplan. But everybody’s going to have to step their game up.”
While Eaton will take his QB snaps out of the Wildcat formation, Darensburg is a running quarterback with throwing ability.
“We’ve got some work to do, but we’re not going to overthink it — it’s still football,” Joseph said. “If we overdo it, then we’re going to confuse these three young men. We’re going to sit down with these three and tell them to tell us what they’re comfortable with. And they’ll tell you. They’ll say I’m comfortable with this and I’m comfortable with that. They’ll tell us players they’re comfortable with. We’re always talking about being honest because I don’t want to put one of them in a bad situation. I told (Carey) that if anyone can fix this thing, you and I can do it. We’ve got to do it together.
“That’s why we’ve got to play three (quarterbacks). We’ve got to figure out what he can do, and that’s what he can do, and then that’s what he can do. Eaton is a Wildcat quarterback, so (Alabama A&M) has got to respect that.”
Joseph admits that means his Tigers might run the ball more from the quarterback position with Darensbourg starting.
“That’s what he’s comfortable with — that’s what he did in high school in New Orleans,” Joseph said about Darensbourg’s rushing ability. “He’s a good leader, a natural leader. We just haven’t had to count on him. But I also told him the first day he showed up for camp that he might have to play without reps. And this kid, I think he believed me. He’s a tough-nosed kid. He’s got one face. He’s got a poker face. He doesn’t get too high, he doesn’t get too low. He knew he had to run, had to scramble, to get that first down (to set GSU up for the game-winning field goal against Jackson State). And he did a great job.”
Joseph said Benoit is more of a traditional quarterback
“Benoit is more of a drop back guy,” Joseph said. “He can spin it out. In high school he did some quarterback runs, but he can spin it out and that’s what he did more of. But he’s mobile enough that he can run around if he needs to.”
Joseph expects to see a lot of the run game from Alabama A&M (4-4, 1-3 SWAC East) because the Bulldogs are in a similar situation to the Tigers.
“we want to try to dominate the line of scrimmage,” Joseph said. “But you know, I think they’re playing with their backup quarterback. I think throughout this conference. a lot of people playing with their backup quarterback or even their third-string quarterback.
“So, one thing you know they want to do, they probably want to try to establish the run. So, we want to make sure that we have gap integrity.”
