TicketsBy Bill Koch
GoBEARCATS.com
CINCINNATI – There's been very little, if any, drama during the last few weeks surrounding University of Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell's decision on who would start the season opener at quarterback for the Bearcats.
The once-intense competition between junior Hayden Moore and sophomore Ross Trail had cooled off due to an abdominal strain that caused Trail to miss significant practice time.
So when Fickell announced Monday that Moore would start Thursday's game vs. Austin Peay, the first of the Fickell coaching era at UC, it wasn't exactly big news.
That's not to say Moore didn't earn the position during training camp or that he wouldn't have won the job anyway. But the fact that Trail was not 100 percent healthy in recent weeks clearly made the decision easier.
"Trail has been hampered by that and it didn't help him in the competition," Fickell said during the American Athletic Conference's weekly coaches conference call. "Probably a week after the big scrimmage (on Aug. 12) or a couple of days after the scrimmage is when that really started bothering him. That put him a little bit behind the 8-ball with missing some days. But it is what it is. We had to continue to move forward. We knew we were going to have to make a decision and obviously everybody understands that."
Moore, from Clay, Ala., was the starter last year coming out of training camp, but missed five games due to an ankle injury that he sustained against Houston on Sept. 15. He had a quarterback rating of 123.4, completing 146 of 255 passes for 1,744 yards with 11 touchdown passes and seven interceptions. His best game was in the season finale last year at Tulsa when he completed 20 of 37 passes for 371 yards and three touchdowns.
Trail appeared to make strides in the competition against Moore with his performance in the scrimmage, but was unable to capitalize due to his injury. Trail played in four games last season, completing 46 of 70 passes for 494 yards with one touchdown and six interceptions.
In the end, Fickell said, it was Moore's experience that stood out.
"I think that's where we really had to break it down to find the things that give us the opportunity to be successful," Fickell said. "It was a very tight and tough battle, very competitive. If you were here, you saw us kind of bounce back and forth from day to day with who was with the ones. It comes down to the whole body of what we're doing, the consistency to give us an opportunity to be successful."
Moore made a big splash during his redshirt freshman year two years ago when he passed for 557 yards and four touchdowns at Memphis in relief of Gunner Kiel, breaking UC Hall of Famer Greg Cook's school record for passing yardage in a game.
This will be the third different offense that Moore has directed during his time at UC, but Fickell is confident he has mastered the new schemes and said the ups and downs that Moore has endured the past few years will hold him in good stead as the season unfolds.
"He brings not just an experience of playing, but he brings a knowledge," Fickell said. "Being a fourth-year junior guy, it's not just that he's played, but what he's been through. He's seen a lot of different things, a lot more things than people would know."
Moore should benefit from the presence of senior running back Mike Boone, who also missed time last year with injuries, and his backup, redshirt freshman Gerrid Doaks. True freshman Michael Warren has also been impressive during camp. UC returns its top two receivers from last year in junior Kahlil Lewis (48 catches, 605 yards, five touchdowns) and senior Devin Gray (58 catches, 860 yards, five touchdowns).
"Knowing what is successful for us as a quarterback is really key," Fickell said. "Being a mature kid going through a lot those things, he has the ability to accept what our expectations are and it's given him probably the heads up, the nudge, to be the guy that leads the team."
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 – There's been very little, if any, drama during the last few weeks surrounding University of Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell's decision on who would start the season opener at quarterback for the Bearcats.
The once-intense competition between junior Hayden Moore and sophomore Ross Trail had cooled off due to an abdominal strain that caused Trail to miss significant practice time.
So when Fickell announced Monday that Moore would start Thursday's game vs. Austin Peay, the first of the Fickell coaching era at UC, it wasn't exactly big news.
That's not to say Moore didn't earn the position during training camp or that he wouldn't have won the job anyway. But the fact that Trail was not 100 percent healthy in recent weeks clearly made the decision easier.
"Trail has been hampered by that and it didn't help him in the competition," Fickell said during the American Athletic Conference's weekly coaches conference call. "Probably a week after the big scrimmage (on Aug. 12) or a couple of days after the scrimmage is when that really started bothering him. That put him a little bit behind the 8-ball with missing some days. But it is what it is. We had to continue to move forward. We knew we were going to have to make a decision and obviously everybody understands that."
Moore, from Clay, Ala., was the starter last year coming out of training camp, but missed five games due to an ankle injury that he sustained against Houston on Sept. 15. He had a quarterback rating of 123.4, completing 146 of 255 passes for 1,744 yards with 11 touchdown passes and seven interceptions. His best game was in the season finale last year at Tulsa when he completed 20 of 37 passes for 371 yards and three touchdowns.
Trail appeared to make strides in the competition against Moore with his performance in the scrimmage, but was unable to capitalize due to his injury. Trail played in four games last season, completing 46 of 70 passes for 494 yards with one touchdown and six interceptions.
In the end, Fickell said, it was Moore's experience that stood out.
"I think that's where we really had to break it down to find the things that give us the opportunity to be successful," Fickell said. "It was a very tight and tough battle, very competitive. If you were here, you saw us kind of bounce back and forth from day to day with who was with the ones. It comes down to the whole body of what we're doing, the consistency to give us an opportunity to be successful."
Moore made a big splash during his redshirt freshman year two years ago when he passed for 557 yards and four touchdowns at Memphis in relief of Gunner Kiel, breaking UC Hall of Famer Greg Cook's school record for passing yardage in a game.
This will be the third different offense that Moore has directed during his time at UC, but Fickell is confident he has mastered the new schemes and said the ups and downs that Moore has endured the past few years will hold him in good stead as the season unfolds.
"He brings not just an experience of playing, but he brings a knowledge," Fickell said. "Being a fourth-year junior guy, it's not just that he's played, but what he's been through. He's seen a lot of different things, a lot more things than people would know."
Moore should benefit from the presence of senior running back Mike Boone, who also missed time last year with injuries, and his backup, redshirt freshman Gerrid Doaks. True freshman Michael Warren has also been impressive during camp. UC returns its top two receivers from last year in junior Kahlil Lewis (48 catches, 605 yards, five touchdowns) and senior Devin Gray (58 catches, 860 yards, five touchdowns).
"Knowing what is successful for us as a quarterback is really key," Fickell said. "Being a mature kid going through a lot those things, he has the ability to accept what our expectations are and it's given him probably the heads up, the nudge, to be the guy that leads the team."
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.