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Trio of Toledo quarterbacks fighting for full-time starting gig

Junior Ely will get first start for Rockets this season

Blake Bacho, Sports Editor

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When University of Toledo head football coach Matt Campbell announced on Monday, Aug. 25 that junior Phillip Ely would be his starting quarterback for UT’s first game of the 2014 season, it wasn’t just news to the media members he was addressing.

It was also a nice little surprise for Ely himself.

“I didn’t really officially hear it until today,” Ely said after the press conference. “I will owe it to the coaches that they did a really good job with the process. We were all on our toes, we didn’t take a day off, and we all fought for what we really love doing — playing quarterback.”

Make no mistake: the competition that awarded Ely with the start in Toledo’s season-opening bout against New Hampshire is not over, and the former University of Alabama backup quarterback is fully aware of how quickly things can change in the world of college football.

“You’ve always got to be on your toes,” Ely said. “If you aren’t getting the job done, then there are two very qualified guys behind [you] that can do that. That is what makes it fun, that you’ve got guys knocking on the door for the same spot and it is your job to be the best you can be at that spot and maintain it and be consistent at it.

“That’s my job, that’s what I got hired for and that’s what I like doing.”

The two individuals that stand behind Ely — sophomore Logan Woodside and redshirt freshman Michael Julian — are also well aware of where everything stands in this position battle.

The truth of the matter is that any one of these three Toledo quarterbacks could be asked to start at any time.

“You never know what is going to happen in a game,” Woodside said. “At any point [Ely] could get injured — I hope he doesn’t — but you never know what is going to happen at this position. I’ve got to prepare myself as if I am going to be the starter each week and whatever happens is what happens.”

Woodside knows only too well how important it is for each man in UT’s quarterback room to prepare like they might be called upon at any moment.

The sophomore QB faced that situation last season when he was called into action to replace an injured Terrance Owens during Toledo’s home opener against Eastern Washington.

Owens went down in the first quarter of that game after scrambling for seven yards and taking a hard hit from an EWU defender.

Woodside came in after the hit and went 14-of-24 in passing during UT’s 33-21 victory over EWU, and he finished his first game as a Rocket with 185 yards and one touchdown. Woodside would play in four games total in 2013, including a start at Central Michigan.

“At that time I was just doing anything I could to help my team win,” he said.

It is that dedication to football and to Toledo’s squad that has really rubbed off on Woodside’s fellow quarterbacks.

“To see a younger guy, a guy that is only going to be a sophomore, have so much knowledge of the game already, it is just awesome to see,” Ely said. “He takes full commitment into learning the game and offense.”

Woodside’s 24/7 commitment to football is something Julian admits to envying, as it is a skill he says he struggled with during his redshirt season last year.

“Being a redshirt freshman, I didn’t focus on the game as much as I should have,” he explained. “Looking at [Ely and Woodside] now, and how much film they watch, that is definitely a big thing that I am working on.”

It is Julian’s athleticism that will keep him in this competition, one of two such position battles he faces in his first active season at UT.

The redshirt freshman is also listed as the No. 2 punter right behind sophomore Nick Ellis.

“[Julian] is very athletic, very savvy in the read option game,” Ely said. “That is something that I did in high school but I don’t think I took full advantage of it.

The decision to start Ely against New Hampshire over Woodside or Julian may have surprised all three men, but it is Ely’s calm head and quick mind that ensure he never finds himself that unawares when he goes under center.

“Phillip is a young guy that, the first thing you say is that he makes great decisions,” Campbell said. “He is a great decision-maker with the ball in his hands and that is what ultimately put him in a position to start game one for us.

“He is going to do the right thing with the football and he can make all the throws on the field.”

Ely may not have the athleticism obvious in Julian, or Woodside’s experience in Campbell’s offense, but two years in the Alabama program have taught him a lot about the game, not to mention the quarterback position.

After redshirting his 2011 season with the Crimson Tide, Ely spent 2012 backing up Alabama star A.J. McCarron, who is currently a backup quarterback himself with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Ely played backup in six games that year, but had very little live game experience, completing 3-of-4 passes for 42 yards and one touchdown over that span.

“Of course it was a great experience to be around a program that was as elite as [Alabama],” Ely said. “As many victories as it has you can’t help but take good things from it. What I learned from A.J. and the coaches from Alabama is that it is all about the details.

“At every school it is always going to come down to the details and it is good to see Toledo implementing the same thing.”

As for the rather large detail of who will be Toledo’s 2014 starting quarterback, fans may have to tune in each week to find out. Campbell has yet to assure anything besides that he is comfortable calling on any one of his three potential signal callers.

“We really have the utmost confidence in all three of our quarterbacks,” he said. “That whole position group I am really excited about. I am really excited about what that group stands for and what their future brings.”

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Serving the University of Toledo community since 1919.
Trio of Toledo quarterbacks fighting for full-time starting gig