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Ely set the bar for UT’s signal callers

Blake Bacho, Sports Editor

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Phillip Ely knew he was hurt one play earlier than anyone else did last Saturday against Missouri.

Well, that isn’t totally true. His coach had a feeling something was wrong, asking the junior transfer from the University of Alabama if he needed to come out when Ely came to the sidelines late in the third quarter after having his knee twisted during a run.

The Florida native just shrugged the offer away. He wanted one last play.

“I had called a timeout and kept asking him ‘Are you OK, do you want to come out of the game?’” recalled UT head coach Matt Campbell. “He said ‘No, I’m fine.’”

Ely insisted on going in for one last snap, at which point his already shredded ACL gave out completely as he dropped back to pass, sending him to the turf for a nine-yard loss.

He couldn’t have known for sure at the time that it was the end of his season, but he still shrugged off what must have been excruciating pain to give his team one last effort.

It wasn’t pretty, and it wasn’t effective, but at least it was one last play.

“[That night at the hospital] I said ‘Well, why’d you take that one last snap?’ and he said ‘I wanted to get that one more play in, I thought I could help us,’” Campbell said. “That’s the type of kid he is.

“He’s a tough guy and he really did a great job in my opinion of setting the bar of what a quarterback should look like in our football program. Now we’ve got two guys right now that are ready to continue that level of excellence.”

Those two guys — sophomore Logan Woodside and redshirt freshman Michael Julian — will compete this week for the starting gig that is now up for grabs. I’m sure neither one of them wanted another chance at the job to come like this, but now that it is here the team can’t afford for them to dwell on the hows and whys.

It is the here and now that needs to matter. The Rockets are 1-1 and have lost the best man for the job, but the next man up needs to be just as good, and just as willing to give that one last play to his teammates.

The sample size is small when examining Ely. His season stats will officially read 41-of-68 passing, 541 yards, four touchdowns and one interception and his collegiate experience prior to Toledo isn’t enough to scratch a highlight from.

But the Rockets’ signal caller showed something important and intangible during his time on Glass Bowl turf: a good quarterback is always willing to give that one last play to his teammates.

One of Toledo’s remaining signal callers will have to show that they aren’t just the runner up if the Rockets want to keep their chances at a Mid-American Conference title alive. Now, for all I know, Friday could be the day when either Woodside or Julian proves that Campbell and his staff made the wrong mistake choosing Ely to be the starter.

It could happen, and it wouldn’t be completely surprising considering Julian’s athleticism and Woodside’s prior game experience. But the qualities Ely possesses, the skills that will again make him a dangerous competitor next season, are about more than speed and playing time.

Though it may sound cheesy, a starting quarterback has to want it. He needs to simply need that win more than the guys on the other side of the ball.

Campbell was right — Ely did set the bar for what a Toledo quarterback should be all about. He gave all of his teammates, specifically the two who he shares a meeting room with, a standard and a precedent that they will have to match if they want to be ready for the rest of the season. Ely did all that by falling to the ground for a nine-yard loss on a play that should never have even happened.

It wasn’t pretty, and only time will tell if it was actually helpful. But it was still one last play.

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