Nothing stirs a fan base quite like a quarterback controversy.
Southern coach Terrence Graves may have pre-empted one this year by going to his bench quickly in the Jaguars' 42-10 victory against Savannah State on Saturday at A.W. Mumford Stadium.
It’s hard not to conclude that Graves and the Jaguars will move forward with redshirt freshman Czavian Teasett behind center after his 316-yard, three-TD passing performance.
“We’ll talk about that as a staff” was Graves only promise on Saturday night, but it’s markedly different from last week’s postgame remarks when he said the job was still Noah Bodden’s.
Bodden missed badly on his first five throws against Savannah State, including an interception, fumbling the ball on another play and showing little pocket presence as he was sacked three times by a Division II defensive unit.
The start was even more alarming when the Southern defense let Tigers quarterback Jadon Adams slip away for an 81-yard touchdown run and Southern trailed in the second quarter of a get-well game.
But Teasett, who got some garbage-time snaps last season, looked poised and comfortable while completing 17 of 29 throws. Several of his misses were overthrows of open receivers, which can be fixed with fine-tuning.
“That was me trying to get into the game,” Teasett said with a hint of a smile. “It wasn’t me being nervous.”
Graves said Teasett has made the most of his opportunities while apparently sailing right past Bodden, a junior with five college starts going into Saturday night.
“Any time you get game experience, each time for a competitor it’s going to get better,” Graves said. “Going from high school to college, the speed of the game is faster. The game is starting to slow down for him.”
At this point, Teasett will need the maximum number of snaps in practice as the Jaguars begin game-planning for Jackson State in a game that won’t count in the Southwestern Athletic Conference standings. Even so, it will be Teasett’s first real test if he starts.
With Southern playing the level of defense it has shown and with the kicking game getting right again, the Jaguars won’t need Teasett to shine that brightly every night. It will need him to move the chains and put the team in position for points.
Opponents likely will begin game-planning for him and will try to take advantage of his youth. The more snaps he gets in practice, the better equipped he will be to handle the pressure.
And then there’s Bodden, who won’t go back to the end of the line but will be the second option now. Graves addressed the importance of keeping him engaged. He played far worse in four possessions against Savannah State than he did at any time in the opener against McNeese State
“Noah has to let the game come to him,” Graves said. “He played as a true freshman. He’s got to find that space again where he throws care to the wind and be that quarterback he’s capable of being.
"By no stretch of the imagination are we giving up on Noah Bodden. It’s a long season. We have a lot of football left to play.”