It was a tale of two halves for redshirt freshman Justin Tuggle Wednesday
With the eagles' final intrasquad scrimmage in the books, it appears the QB pecking order hasn't gotten too much clearer. Dave Shinskie would appear to still be the front runner, but his injury has opened the door for Codi Boek and Justin Tuggle. Spaz said of Shinskie after the scrimmage, "Obviously, we have to make some (quarterback) decision. I think Dave (Shinskie) is in the mix but obviously if he can't practice for a week, he's out of the picture." So with that Tuggle and Boek tried to make most of their opportunities Wednesday. Tuggle performed lights out in the first half, going 6-9 for 104 yards and a 41-yard TD. He struggle mightily however, in the second half, going 1-10 (although there was supposedly a drop or two). Boek was pretty solid throughout, going 7-9 for 94 yards with a TD and an interception. 45 of those yards came on a TD pass to Clyde Lee however, where most of the work was done after the catch by Lee. Freshman Michael Marscovetra went 4-6 for 60 yards but appears to be out of the mix at this point.
I took a closer look at the quarterbacks stats this summer to see which one has indeed been the most proficient.
(Note: Stats are not official)
David Shinskie:
Game 3: 3-6 25 yards 1 INT
Game 2: 9-16 124 yards 1 INT
Game 1: 3-8 22 yards 1 INT
Totals: 15-30 (50%) 171 yards 3 INTs
Stat Analysis: Shinskie appears to neither be overly efficient or mistake-free. Yet, he does throw for a good amount of yards and may be the best mix of skills at QB that we have.
Justin Tuggle:
Game 4: 7-19 115 yards 1 TD
Game 3: 8-16 84 yards
Game 2: 3-7 39 yards
Game 1: 2-6 9 yards 1 INT
Totals: 20-48 (42%) 247 yards 1 TD 1 INT
Stat Analysis: While I am very encouraged by the fact that Tuggle only threw one interception this summer, I am also discouraged by the dismal 42% completion. He appears to be making a little bit better decisions on the field, but needs to be more accurate with his passes. 42% completion just wont cut it in the ACC.
Codi Boek:
Game 4: 7-9 94 yards 1 TD 1 INT
Game 3: 6-12 74 yards
Game 2: 1-8 5 yards
Game 1: 4-6 15 yards
Totals: 18-35 (51%) 188 yards 1 TD 1 INT
Stat Analysis: Boek seems to have a pretty solid summer (compared to our other QBs), with the second best completion percentage and the tied for fewest interceptions. A concern here though is arm strength. Most of Boek's yards came in the YAC category as he might not be able to air it out deep like Shinskie or Tuggle.
Michael Marscovetra:
Game 4: 4-6 60 yards
Game 3: 3-8 35 yards 2 INTs
Game 2: 6-11 43 yards 1 INT
Game 1: 5-6 45 yards 1 INT
Totals: 18-31 (58%) 4 INTs
Stat Analysis: Marscovetra appears to be the most accurate of the QBs, with a solid completion percentage of 58%, but he also appears to be most turnover-prone with a team-high 4 interceptions (which is to be expected from a freshman). Marscovetra seems to have potential, but still has a lot of learning to do before he sees any significant action.
It appears that Justin Tuggle may be creeping up the pecking order and has impressed the coaches with his confidence and swagger. "Tuggle has made a lot of strides,'' said Spaziani. "In the beginning of this, he was somewhere else on the ladder, but he took a licking and came back ticking. He could have gone two ways. He went the positive way. It means a lot and he's made progress.'' Codi Boek has also impressed coaches with his running ability and execution of the option.
The quarterback race may be very fuzzy right now but one thing is for sure: we may be in for a very long season.
