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The Daily OrangeBig East: Injuries force Bearcats to 4th string QB
By Meredith Galante
Posted: 9/30/08, 11:28 PM EST Section: Sports
Brian Kelly never imagined his team's season turning out like this. Sure, the head coach's team is 3-1, but it had to go through four quarterbacks to get there.
After just four games, Cincinnati will resort to its fourth-string quarterback when it plays Marshall, on Friday.
Ben Mauk, Dustin Grutza and Tony Pike were all slated to start this year, but now they can only watch from the sidelines.
"I've never been in a situation like this before in my 14 years of coaching," Kelly said. "You go into the season thinking you'll play one, maybe two quarterbacks. You don't expect this to happen to your season. Sure, it's frustrating but you don't get points for complaining about it."
Mauk, who led the Bearcats to 10 wins and a No. 17 final ranking in 2007, was first in line. Mauk redshirted in 2003, but then suffered a season-ending injury against Syracuse in October 2006. So Mauk, a graduate student at Cincinnati, applied for another season of eligibility. However, the NCAA turned him down four times, and he never got a shot this year.
Grutza had the starting job in 2006, lost it to Mauk in 2007 and started the season-opener for Cincinnati this season. Grutza threw 514 yards and four touchdowns in two games. Then he suffered a fractured right fibula with a residual high ankle sprain, in the fourth quarter against Oklahoma on Sept. 4.
Option number three: Pike. He saw action in five games in 2007 and stepped up against Miami (OH) this season, completing 20-of-24 passes for 241 yards. This year Pike got the start against Akron and went 23-for-34 for 320 yards. Then, injury struck the Bearcats again. Pike injured his non-throwing arm in the fourth quarter and did not return.
After Pike went down, Kelly had to turn to No. 4 on the depth chart, redshirt freshman Zack Collaros. Collaros went 1-of-4 for two yards and rushed for 18 yards.
Now, Kelly is left with a decision. Two redshirt freshmen will fight for the job of Kelly's fourth starting quarterback of the season - Collaros and Chazz Anderson. They're two very different players with two very different styles.
After just four games, Cincinnati will resort to its fourth-string quarterback when it plays Marshall, on Friday.
Ben Mauk, Dustin Grutza and Tony Pike were all slated to start this year, but now they can only watch from the sidelines.
"I've never been in a situation like this before in my 14 years of coaching," Kelly said. "You go into the season thinking you'll play one, maybe two quarterbacks. You don't expect this to happen to your season. Sure, it's frustrating but you don't get points for complaining about it."
Mauk, who led the Bearcats to 10 wins and a No. 17 final ranking in 2007, was first in line. Mauk redshirted in 2003, but then suffered a season-ending injury against Syracuse in October 2006. So Mauk, a graduate student at Cincinnati, applied for another season of eligibility. However, the NCAA turned him down four times, and he never got a shot this year.
Grutza had the starting job in 2006, lost it to Mauk in 2007 and started the season-opener for Cincinnati this season. Grutza threw 514 yards and four touchdowns in two games. Then he suffered a fractured right fibula with a residual high ankle sprain, in the fourth quarter against Oklahoma on Sept. 4.
Option number three: Pike. He saw action in five games in 2007 and stepped up against Miami (OH) this season, completing 20-of-24 passes for 241 yards. This year Pike got the start against Akron and went 23-for-34 for 320 yards. Then, injury struck the Bearcats again. Pike injured his non-throwing arm in the fourth quarter and did not return.
After Pike went down, Kelly had to turn to No. 4 on the depth chart, redshirt freshman Zack Collaros. Collaros went 1-of-4 for two yards and rushed for 18 yards.
Now, Kelly is left with a decision. Two redshirt freshmen will fight for the job of Kelly's fourth starting quarterback of the season - Collaros and Chazz Anderson. They're two very different players with two very different styles.
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