Wolf Pack not only Mountain West team with QB quandary

As the battle for the Wolf Pack's starting quarterback position rages on in Reno, so too do similar battles in Boise, Fresno, Colorado Springs, San Diego, Albuquerque, San Jose and Fort Collins.

Of the 12 teams in the Mountain West, only four began fall camp last week with a starting quarterback firmly named: Utah State (Chuckie Keeton); Hawaii (Max Wittek); UNLV (Blake Decker); and Wyoming (Cameron Coffman). The other eight teams all entered camp with question marks at the most important position on the field. So, if Nevada coach Brian Polian is feeling a little unsettled, he's not alone.

"I feel a little better about it knowing I'm not the only coach in the league asking, 'Where's the quarterback going to come from?'" said Polian, who has three players fighting for the starting job.

Said Boise State coach Bryan Harsin: "Everybody is in the same boat at quarterback."

Truth be told: All 12 MW teams have questions at quarterback, even those with starters named.

Utah State's Keeton, a star when healthy, has missed the last two years with torn ACLs. Hawaii's Wittek hasn't played since 2013, when he was struggling while at USC. Wyoming's Cameron also hasn't played since 2013, when he was at Indiana. And UNLV's Decker has more picks (18) than TDs (15) last year.

Throw those guys in with the teams still hunting for their starters and the quarterback position has never been this uncertain in the MW. San Diego State's Rocky Long, who has coached in the MW for all 16 seasons of its existence, said the quarterback position is the biggest issue in the conference in 2015.

"In the past, you could look at the teams and say, 'Hmmm, these four teams have the best chance to win because they have the best quarterbacks,'" Long said. "That's what makes this really interesting and makes the league wide open. Everybody is hunting for a quarterback to have a great year. We are, too."

The MW has a long tradition of strong quarterback play, with Fresno State's Derrek Carr, Colorado State's Garrett Grayson, Nevada's Cody Fajardo, Boise State's Kellen Moore and TCU's Andy Dalton all playing at a record-setting level in recent seasons. The names at quarterback this year aren't as familiar.

Of the top-10 passers in the MW last year, only three return in 2015: UNLV's Decker; Hawaii's Ikaika Woolsey, who will be a backup this season; and Joe Gray, who is competing for SJSU's top job.

So, it's not just Nevada looking for some stability at the all-important quarterback position. And if there's one position in football where coaches would like to be set, it's quarterback.

"Football is quarterback-driven, from Pop Warner to the NFL," Hawaii coach Norm Chow said.

If any coach in the MW knows the importance of the quarterback first-hand, it's Fresno State's Tim DeRuyter. The Bulldogs won 11 games, the MW title and was ranked for most of the season in 2013 with Carr, a second-round draft pick, at the helm. Last year, without Carr, Fresno State fell to 6-8.

"It's really hard to win if you don't have a quarterback," said DeRuyter, who has four quarterbacks competing for the starting job in 2015, including West Virginia transfer Ford Childress. "I just know for some reason we found it a lot easier to win with Derek than we did last year without him."

While many of the names competing for starting jobs are relatively anonymous at this stage, it's wise to expect a couple of stars to emerge from the group. It's just the natural evolution. A handful of MW teams imported former Power 5 players to compete for jobs. There's Childress (West Virginia) at Fresno State; Wittek (USC) at Hawaii; Cameron (Indiana) at Wyoming; Maxwell Smith (Kentucky) and Jake Rodrigues (Oregon) at SDSU; and Austin Apodaca (Washington State) at SJSU. Young players Ryan Finley (Boise State), Hunter Fralick (Nevada) and Nick Stevens (CSU) also could make a big splash in 2015.

"There will be four or five quarterbacks come out of the Mountain West and be studs," Decker said.

The big question is who will be those studs and how quickly will they be ready to lead their respective teams. Because stellar play at quarterback can transform a good team into a title-winning team. And poor play at quarterback can turn a good team into a bad one.

"Take out the outliers on the top or the bottom, but the vast majority of the league, we all look like each other — our offensive lines look the same, our defensive backs and wide receivers look the same — so then what's the wild card? The wild card is the quarterback," Polian said. "He's the difference-maker."

Columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. Contact him at cmurray@rgj.com or follow him on Twitter @MurrayRGJ.

MOUNTAIN WEST QUARTERBACKS

A look at the projected starters for all 12 Mountain West teams.

Air Force: Junior Nate Romine has six career starts and five TDs passes in 111 career attempts.

Boise State: Sophomore Ryan Finley, who was arrested in the offseason, is the talented front-runner.

Colorado State: Sophomore Nick Stevens looks like a lock here; he has 25 career college passes.

Fresno State: West Virginia transfer Ford Childress is talented but has to beat out three others.

Hawaii: USC transfer Max Wittek has the measurables, but is 50-of-95 with three TDs, six INTs in college.

Nevada: Vet Tyler Stewart (21-of-37, 251 yards, three TDs, two INTs) is being pushed by Hunter Fralick.

New Mexico: 2014 starter, Cole Gautsche, is at TE; Lamar Jordan, Wazzu transfer Austin Apodaca in mix for job.

San Diego State: Kentucky transfer Maxwell Smith has played well in the SEC and is the front-runner.

San Jose State: Joe Gray threw for 2,305 yards last year, but was inconsistent. He must beat two others.

Utah State: Chuckie Keeton returns after losing two years to ACL injuries. He could return to star form.

UNLV: Blake Decker threw for 2,886 yards in 2014 but must cut down mistakes (18 interceptions).

Wyoming: Cameron Coffman, who started at Indiana in 2012, was named Wyoming's starter in spring.