The Hoyas may not enter Harbin Field through a shroud of smoke and hoopla as many of today’s top Division I football programs do. Nonetheless, Head Coach Bob Benson’s squad fields a pair of quarterbacks who possess the same multi-faceted arsenal as many of the football slingers for the nation’s largest programs.
Like top-25 programs such as Texas, Georgetown has mixed and matched two quarterbacks with divergent styles to create problems for opposing defenses. “The first thing to do is set the mind set as a staff that it is not a quarterback controversy,” Benson said. “It’s a decision to blend in two quarterbacks as a strategy.”
If the coaching staff worried about a controversy, the two players involved never did. Although they are both known for their competitiveness, neither junior Drew Crawford nor first-year Alondzo Turner feels pressured.
“It’s not really pressure at all,” Crawford said, “It’s a matter of playing towards specific strengths depending on defenses and games.”
Turner echoed Crawford’s response. “[Quarterbacks] Coach Joe Moorhead bases who starts and who plays on what the defense is giving us,” Turner said.
The more experienced Crawford has started each of the Hoyas’ eight contests and uses a traditional drop-back passing method. With an accurate arm, Crawford is able to slice up opposing defenses by connecting with receivers on slant routes, and has shown an ability to hit his man on deep out routes throughout the season. These long passes, often connecting with senior wide receiver Luke McArdle, have provided many of the team’s touchdowns and most timely plays. As a rhythm-based passer, it would seem that a system in which two quarterbacks switch off on drives, or even within individual drives, would fluster Crawford. Not so, he says.
“It actually helps,” Crawford said. “It lets me set myself back from the field for awhile and watch the opposing defense and talk to coaches about what we need to do. Besides, it keeps other teams more on their toes.”
Keeping defenders on their toes has been Turner’s specialty all season, as he has contributed on over two-thirds of the Hoyas’ scoring drives. The two-time Patriot League rookie-of-the-week, Turner began the season almost exclusively as a running quarterback. Since then he has found a more diverse role, passing for 141 yards and his first two scores on Saturday against Lehigh.
“I know my role and what I have to do,” Turner said. “I sit back and watch, and when it’s my turn I come in and try to shake things up. I just sit back and learn from Drew. I know next year he’ll be there, but I’ll have my time to shine junior year. I’m in a great situation. I’m getting to learn and getting [playing] time as a freshman. It’s helping me become a better player.”
Together, the duo has provided headaches for defensive coordinators all season. Lehigh coach Pete Lembo attested to the difficulty in preparing for two quarterbacks with different styles.
“It’s hard getting ready for guys like Turner after Crawford,” Lembo said. “We had a guy simulating Turner’s running in practice, but there’s only so much you can do.”
The quarterbacks are well aware of the diversity they bring to the game, and have embraced their different roles as a result.
“There’s a lot for defenses to prepare for and that’s one of the strengths of our offense,” Crawford said. “It’s varied, and it has so many options.”
These are the advantages of having two players who describe their quarterbacking as styles as resembling Jake Plummer of the Denver Broncos (Crawford) and Michael Vick of the Atlanta Falcons (Turner). While each game holds uncertainty for which player will receive most of the snaps, both Crawford and Turner are more than willing to bounce in and out of games as long as the results are best for the team.
When Turner was asked whether Vick’s level of performance and celebrity await him, Crawford jovially quipped, “but Vick’s not slow or off-target.”
Turner, however, had a non-chalant response: “I’m getting better and i’ll get there,” he said.
If Patriot League teams didn’t have enough to worry about with this pair, Turner’s future is a terrifying thought.
