1st-year QBs take over, uncertainty is prevalent

The Great American Conference’s preseason coaches poll looks a lot like last year’s final standings.

Defending GAC champion Ouachita Baptist was picked to win its second consecutive title, followed by Harding and Henderson State, which finished second and third last season.

What won’t be the same are the quarterbacks leading those teams.

Ouachita Baptist’s Kiehl Frazier, Henderson State’s Kevin Rodgers and Harding’s Keenan Kellett combined to lead their teams to 28-5 records last season, and the three played in a combined four NCAA Division II playoff games.

In addition, Southern Arkansas quarterback Si Blackshire, whose 2,956 passing yards and 30 touchdowns were second in the GAC, is gone. Arkansas Tech’s Dennis Robertson returns, but Coach Raymond Monica hasn’t decided on whether he will be the starter this season.

That means at least four of the six Arkansas schools in the GAC are breaking in new quarterbacks.

“When you watch the guys who played quarterback of that caliber leave, you wonder is everybody reloading, or what’s going to happen,” Harding Coach Ronnie Huckeba said. “I think we’re all saying, ‘Let’s wait and see.’ ”

Ouachita Baptist Coach Todd Knight, in his 17th season, said it makes for a wideopen league, which has been won by either Harding, Henderson State or OBU each year since it formed in 2011.

“It’s kind of the year of the break-in as far as quarterbacks are concerned,” Knight said. “That’s a lot of fun for everybody. It’s fun to coach, too.”

Knight will turn to sophomore Austin Warford to replace Frazier, who led the Tigers to a 10-1 record in his only season as a starter. Warford, from Malvern, redshirted last season after Frazier transferred to OBU and beat out sophomore Lucas Reed for the job in the spring. Knight said both could play.

“Austin has great feet, good vision and he’s got a really strong arm,” Knight said. “He’s a super athlete. That’s not to say that the other kid isn’t. Lucas had a really good spring, too.”

Huckeba said he believes he’s found the answer to the departure of Kellett, who was 17-3 over the past two seasons as a starter. That would be junior Park Parish, who rushed for 283 yards and averaged 8.1 yards per carry as a backup last season in Harding’s triple option offense.

“He’s a home-run hitter, and he’s very shifty,” Huckeba said.

Henderson State Coach Scott Maxfield must replace Rodgers, who passed for 13,678 yards and led the Reddies to 30 victories over the past three seasons, 2 GAC titles and to 2 Division II playoff appearances.

Junior Dallas Hardison, from Bentonville, will get the first shot. Hardison completed 28 of 40 passes last year for 328 yards and 5 touchdowns with 1 interception in a backup role.

Coach Bill Keopple hasn’t named a starter at Southern Arkansas to replace Blackshire, while Brett Courville will replace Hunter Leppert at Arkansas-Monticello. Arkansas Tech’s Robertson is the only returning quarterback among Arkansas’ GAC schools.

All the uncertainty at quarterback leads Huckeba to believe the first team to find a consistent one could end up in the playoffs come December.

“You’re going to go as your trigger man goes,” he said. “You’ve got to be a physically dominant football team to win a championship without a good quarterback.”