JONESBORO -- Buster Faulkner decided to cut the question off before it was asked Saturday night.
"We still don't know, for the record," the Arkansas State offensive coordinator said as he prepared to address a small circle of reporters.
Faulkner was talking about a quarterback battle between Chad Voytik and Justice Hansen, but he could have just as easily been speaking about his offense in general after the Red Wolves' second scrimmage of fall camp at Centennial Bank Stadium.
Voytik and Hansen split snaps with sporadic success, and big offensive plays were lacking like they were in last week's scrimmage.
Progress could be seen with running back Armond Weh-Weh, who appeared to take the lead as a third running back option behind returners Warren Wand and Johnston White. But Coach Blake Anderson still thinks they have quite a ways to go before the Sept. 2 opener against Toledo.
The mysteries are partly due to a scrimmage format Anderson and coaches decided on Friday, which included no tackling to the ground to protect players before the season opener.
"It's a frustrating environment to be in because you do want to see a guy like Armond Weh-Weh, can he break a tackle, can he make a guy miss?" Anderson said. "You just don't get that opportunity. We're going to find that out on game day. We don't have enough bodies -- healthy bodies -- to do it any other way."
Anderson is confident he's seen enough big plays in practice to know they'll be there on game day, even if they were largely absent Saturday.
Voytik had one run for 20 yards before the play was blown dead, and he threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to tight end Blake Mack. But the longest pass play of the day came from third-team quarterback D.J. Pearson, who connected with Christian Booker For 15 yards.
Voytik finished an unofficial 9 of 17 for 69 yards, and he rushed for 42 yards. Hansen was 12 of 16 for 61 yards. He missed Javonis Isaac on a deep pass on his second possession, which he insisted he "won't miss again." He expressed confidence the passing game is further along than it appeared Saturday.
"We just missed some shots today that we normally don't miss," Hansen said. "That's not something that's happening all the time. We really just need to give our receivers a chance."
Voytik also led a 65-yard touchdown drive capped by a White's 2-yard run.
"Definitely, with time in an offense, you're going to grow, and I feel like I've grown a lot in the past week," Voytik said. "I feel a lot better tonight and really had fun out there."
The progress of Weh-Weh might be one of the most pleasing aspects of ASU's camp. Wand and White combined for more than 1,300 yards and 19 touchdowns last season, but coaches have expressed the need for a third back. Weh-Weh took no snaps with the top two offenses last week, but he took snaps with both quarterbacks Saturday.
"He's still learning how to practice and how to play at the tempo we want to play at," Faulkner said. "But you have seen progress to the type of player we think he can be."
Defensively, the Red Wolves continue to experiment. Usual linebacker Xavier Woodson-Luster started at nickel back, while usual safety Chris Humes played cornerback and usual nickel back Justin Clifton played safety.
"Linebacker is my home," said Woodson-Luster, a preseason first-team all-Sun Belt pick at linebacker. "But, coach said he's preparing for the worst."
The worst is any injuries that would require shuffling. If so, those players will have a jump start on new roles.
Anderson said the shuffling is a luxury the defense has this year considering its nine returning starters. He expects that side to operate at a high level, and it might have to considering the questions on offense might not be decided until the start of real games.
"That's something that we know that we need to expect," Anderson said. "A veteran defense with a lot of snaps under their belt, hopefully, they'll come out and play well Day 1 and allow these guys to gain some momentum and to get comfortable."
Sports on 08/21/2016