TicketsBy Bill Koch
GoBEARCATS.com
CINCINNATI – University of Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell didn't officially name a starting quarterback Monday as he said he might at the end of last week, but all signs point a decision being made this week.
"We've got to go sit down and talk about it," Fickell said, "and we've got to talk to those guys. I'd say by tomorrow we would have a good idea of how we're gonna roll with this thing. We're gonna go up and talk about it now and bring the guys up and kind of hash through some things and make sure we're doing this thing the right way."
Junior Hayden Moore appears to be the likely choice to line up under center for the Aug. 31 opener against Austin Peay. Sophomore Ross Trail has been hindered by an ab strain that caused him to miss four days of practice, including last Saturday's scrimmage just when the competition was reaching crunch time.
"That hurts him a little bit because he missed a bunch of snaps," Fickell said of Trail. "So that puts him at a little bit of a disadvantage. But again, it's the whole picture and what we think in the long run is going to give us an opportunity to be successful as a team. If you want to look into it and if you want to try to assume, you can, but that's why we said we're gonna take it as a whole picture."
Moore also has the edge in experience, although that might not be as much of a factor as it could be given the fact that the Bearcats will be running their third different offense in the last four years. Last year, Moore played in seven games to four for Trail, a third-year sophomore.
Neither quarterback stood out on a team that endured a 13-quarter stretch without scoring a touchdown. More completed 57.3 percent of his passes for 1,744 yards with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Trail was 46 for 70 for 494 yards with one touchdown and a troubling six interceptions.
But Trail, who was all but counted out in the early days of fall camp, rallied to help close the gap with Moore and played well in the Bearcats' scrimmage on Aug. 12.
"It's been a lot closer than I thought," Fickell said. "Guys that were around and maybe saw even the first three practices thought Hayden did a lot better job and then Ross really picked it up and he made it a hell of a competition. Those guys have battled."
Regardless of who the starter is, Fickell has urged each quarterback to be supportive of the other.
"We talked about it before we went to camp that we've to handle this thing the right way however it comes out," Fickell said. "It's competitive as hell and that's what we want you to be and no matter which way it goes, we're gonna need both of you. And I mean that in a positive way.
"We've got to push each other. We've got to help each other. We've got to make sure each and every one of us is prepared and we'll only be as strong as you guys are close. And that's not easy because someone is gonna get the starting nod and if the other guy has animosity towards that…but that doesn't mean you have to be happy about it. You want to be the starter, you want to be the guy, but if you can't provide value to our team and make each other better then you're doing nothing but hurting our program."
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer – before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January, 2015.
GoBEARCATS.com
CINCINNATI – University of Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell didn't officially name a starting quarterback Monday as he said he might at the end of last week, but all signs point a decision being made this week.
"We've got to go sit down and talk about it," Fickell said, "and we've got to talk to those guys. I'd say by tomorrow we would have a good idea of how we're gonna roll with this thing. We're gonna go up and talk about it now and bring the guys up and kind of hash through some things and make sure we're doing this thing the right way."
Junior Hayden Moore appears to be the likely choice to line up under center for the Aug. 31 opener against Austin Peay. Sophomore Ross Trail has been hindered by an ab strain that caused him to miss four days of practice, including last Saturday's scrimmage just when the competition was reaching crunch time.
"That hurts him a little bit because he missed a bunch of snaps," Fickell said of Trail. "So that puts him at a little bit of a disadvantage. But again, it's the whole picture and what we think in the long run is going to give us an opportunity to be successful as a team. If you want to look into it and if you want to try to assume, you can, but that's why we said we're gonna take it as a whole picture."
Moore also has the edge in experience, although that might not be as much of a factor as it could be given the fact that the Bearcats will be running their third different offense in the last four years. Last year, Moore played in seven games to four for Trail, a third-year sophomore.
Neither quarterback stood out on a team that endured a 13-quarter stretch without scoring a touchdown. More completed 57.3 percent of his passes for 1,744 yards with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Trail was 46 for 70 for 494 yards with one touchdown and a troubling six interceptions.
But Trail, who was all but counted out in the early days of fall camp, rallied to help close the gap with Moore and played well in the Bearcats' scrimmage on Aug. 12.
"It's been a lot closer than I thought," Fickell said. "Guys that were around and maybe saw even the first three practices thought Hayden did a lot better job and then Ross really picked it up and he made it a hell of a competition. Those guys have battled."
Regardless of who the starter is, Fickell has urged each quarterback to be supportive of the other.
"We talked about it before we went to camp that we've to handle this thing the right way however it comes out," Fickell said. "It's competitive as hell and that's what we want you to be and no matter which way it goes, we're gonna need both of you. And I mean that in a positive way.
"We've got to push each other. We've got to help each other. We've got to make sure each and every one of us is prepared and we'll only be as strong as you guys are close. And that's not easy because someone is gonna get the starting nod and if the other guy has animosity towards that…but that doesn't mean you have to be happy about it. You want to be the starter, you want to be the guy, but if you can't provide value to our team and make each other better then you're doing nothing but hurting our program."
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer – before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January, 2015.