Bobo Talks Spring QB Race

More notes coming in a bit, but here's a bunch of stuff from Mike Bobo about the race for the starting QB job this spring...

On whether he expected Logan Gray to play more last season...
“We did hope to play him more last year going into the season and it just didn’t work out that way. Not that we had this game plan going into each game that we were going to play him X number of snaps. Certain games did not dictate that, and sometimes performance in practice did not dictate playing in games. He had a lot of opportunities to prove that you’re ready to play. He knows what he has to work on, he’s been working on it hard, and he’s excited about this spring.”

On whether Aaron Murray's injury cost him a chance to play last year...
“I think it was a make-or-break thing. I can’t sit here and say if he wasn’t injured he would have played, but I think it definitely sealed the deal that he did not play when he misses 21 practice opportunities. It just hurt his progression of playing quarterback. It was not in his best interest or our best interest to play him based off of some potential we might have seen in the spring.”

On Zach Mettenberger's improvement with his footwork...
“He’s improved tremendously and a lot has to do with getting himself in good physical condition. He’s always going to be a big boy. He’s always going to weight around 240. But being in good physical shape where he doesn’t get tired and his legs get tired – he’s never going to be the fastest or the quickest guy, but if he’s in good shape and good condition, he’ll be able to improve his foot quickness.”

On what Mettenberger needs to work on with his footwork...
“People have told him all his life he’s slow and you’ve got to work on your feet. So a lot of times he overcompensates and tries to speed things up when he’s really in good timing and good balance, because in his mind, he’s thinking, I’m slow, I’m slow, I’m slow.”

On what he would like to do differently with this QB competition than he did in 2006...
“We probably should have weeded it down a little bit sooner. We went into two, two-and-a-half weeks of fall camp before we ranked them. It’s just tough to get that many guys reps and get them quality reps and get them ready for the season. I don’t see us going that far this year. Not to say it won’t go into the fall, but to wait until the second scrimmage, it’s a little bit difficult to get a guy ready to play for the first game. You’re trying to get them all an opportunity, but you’ve still got to get a guy ready for that first game.”

On how he views the QB competition this spring...
“The way we’re viewing it going into the spring is it’s wide open. There is not a clear-cut No. 1 going into the spring. Logan Gray will take the first reps with the No. 1 offense, but we’re planning on rotating all three, and giving all three equal amount of looks with the first group.”

On whether he could play two QBs extensively in 2010...
“I’d definitely be comfortable with that. Sometimes it takes that. You have to play it out sometimes if it’s close. You can’t overestimate playing in a game-like atmosphere and experience. I’m not saying yes or no, that’s what we’re going to do, but I would not be against it.”

On when he might begin to narrow down the options at QB...
“I can’t say it’s one week, two weeks, three weeks. It might be the end of spring, it might be into the fall. It depends on which guys step up, show an ability to lead the offense and execute the offense.”

On what the QBs need to do to impress this spring...
“The big thing for them is to worry about improving themselves and not worry about where they are on the depth chart, what their statistics were for the day or certain scrimmages. It’s about getting better every day and trying to put them in the best position to lead the offense. They need to worry about that, and we’ll figure out all that as we go.”

On the fact that each QB brings a different set of skills...
“You’ve got to put them into positions where they can be successful when you’re scripting plays and in practice. You know what they can do and what they can’t do. I want to do things they can be successful in.”

On how those skill sets could fit into the 2010 offense...
“A lot is going to depend on the personnel group around them, who steps up and who we think the playmakers are as to what direction we need to go at quarterback or what type of quarterback we might need to have. But the bottom line for the guy that plays quarterback for us, he’s got to make good decisions in the run and pass game, he’s got to be able to execute the offense and throw the ball accurately, and respect the football. Coming off last year, that’s going to be a big focus of ours is taking care of the football and not turning it over. Now if you add something to that with your legs or athletic ability, that’s a bonus.”

On what kind of physical shape the QBs are in...
“They’re all three doing a nice job in the winter workouts. The two young guys, Zach and Aaron, having come in last year and gone through mat drills definitely benefited them. They know what to expect. Logan going into his third or fourth mat is really doing a nice job of leading and competing. … All of them look great. Zach came in last year at about 245, 250. He’s down to about 234. He’s really changed his body. Murray’s at like 210, 211. He looks really good and does a good job in the weight room. His body looks great. Logan, when we signed that kid, he might have been 170, 175 pounds. Now he’s like 196, a really good athletic body. All three of them are in good shape physically, all of them are ready to go and excited about the opportunity they have this spring.”