Jacksonville State starting QB for Week 9: Who is Rich Rodriguez's QB1 for game against Middle Tennessee?
Coach Rich Rodriguez's Jacksonville State Gamecocks will host conference foes Middle Tennessee in their backyard on Wednesday in Burgess-Snow Field at AmFirst Stadium in Jacksonville, Alabama. This will be the 24th matchup between these two teams in their history. Last year, Jacksonville State emerged as the winner in a 45-30 game.
Tyler Huff has started all six games for the Gamecocks, leading the team to a 3-3 record and 2-0 in Conference USA. After losing their first three games, they rebounded with three straight wins before heading into their open week.
Will Tyler Huff continue to start for Jacksonville State in Week 9?
With a whole open week to rest, Tyler Huff should be healthy for the game against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders tonight at home. Logan Smothers and Zion Turner are in the wings as well to take the reins in case Huff gets a last-minute setback or injury.
Huff's performance of late has also earned recognition from Middle Tennessee coach Derek Mason, who said:
"He's been efficient throwing the football, but what he's been able to do as a runner has been pretty exceptional. They will make you work to play 11-man football. Whether you're in a single safety defense or a split safety defense, you have to account for the quarterback in terms of the run game."
Tyler Huff's performance this season for Jacksonville State
While Tyler Huff didn't put in great performances right from the start, he has found his footing in the last three games, which he would like to continue against the Blue Raiders as well.
For the season, in six games thus far, he has thrown for 1269 yards on a 66.4% pass completion rate to go along with seven touchdowns and four interceptions. Unlike opposing quarterback Nicholas Vattiato, Huff is an exceptional dual-threat quarterback, leading his team with 503 rushing yards and six scores.
His best performance came in against the Kennesaw State Owls in a 63-24 win, where he threw for 193 receiving yards and rushed for 176 yards and three scores as well.
Ahead of Jacksonville State's game against the Blue Raiders, Rich Rodriguez said (via team website):
"I thought our guys seemed really dialed in and our defense was outstanding. The first half of the season is over and we've gotten better. We still think there's another step or two we can take. We've started off 2-0 in the conference and that's a good thing."
The Furman transfer senior quarterback will hope to lead his team to a fourth straight win and even the odds are with him to do so by a huge margin (20.5 points).