JONESBORO -- Blake Anderson remembers driving up to Centennial Bank Stadium one day this past winter and looking out onto a turf field covered in snow.
Despite the conditions, there was freshman quarterback James Tabary all alone throwing footballs into a net.
"He just loves the game," said Anderson, ASU's second-year coach. "He's improving because he works really hard. He's competitive. He needs reps and an opportunity."
A minor injury has given Tabary his most extensive opportunity to play with the top offense over the final week of spring.
Tabary, who redshirted last season, won't win the No. 1 quarterback job this spring, and neither he nor sophomore Cameron Birse will be named the No. 2 quarterback behind Fredi Knighten. But a hamstring injury to Knighten has given both a chance for more snaps with the top offense than at any point in their young careers.
Knigthen pulled a hamstring during Wednesday's practice and didn't play in Friday's scrimmage. Anderson said Knighten, the Sun Belt Conference's offensive player of the year last season, could miss the final week of spring, including the April 17 spring game.
Without Knighten, Tabary and Birse split reps with the top offense evenly Friday while providing Anderson and the rest of the staff something they haven't had -- evaluation material from both quarterbacks.
"We know who the No. 1 is," Anderson said, referring to Knighten. "We can take our time and make sure we give them a good evaluation, make sure it's as fair as possible. ... I think it's a really good chance it carries into fall camp. We don't want to rush it, because once you make that decision there's really no going back."
Tabary took the first snaps with the top offense Friday, and although Anderson said that isn't an indication of him being ahead of Birse, he threw five touchdown passes. Tabary connected with Booker Mays on a 70-yard touchdown down the right sideline on the first possession, then threw a 32-yard touchdown to Tres Houston on the next. Tabary also threw two touchdowns to Sterling Stowers, another to Blake Mack and did not throw an interception.
Tabary played down the idea of competing with Birse for the No. 2 job, insisting that he's more concerned with learning the offense better after spending last fall running the scout team.
"It's more important to get yourself better and help this team than to know about your spot," Tabary said. "Of course you're going to compete every single day and every rep counts, but trying to get better as a team is more important."
Birse, who has yet to throw a pass in a game, threw the only interception of the scrimmage to safety Cody Brown and was critical of his own performance while complimenting Tabary.
"James is a really good quarterback," he said. "He can make all the throws, and so can I. We're very similar in a lot of aspects, and it really comes down to the mental side of the game and watching film and taking care of the ball.
"You've got to come out here every single day and compete with that kid, because he'll compete."
When asked what he wanted to improve on in the final week of spring, Tabary ticked off having a better awareness of the playbook and a better understanding of the offensive line schemes.
Birse was critical of his own throwing, pointing to a pass that sailed over the end of Darion Griswold in the end zone.
"There's plenty of plays I can definitely throw the ball better," Birse said. "Got to improve."
Sports on 04/12/2015