OSU Preview Quarterbacks

Originally Published: Aug 20, 2010 5:52 PM CDT

As part of the buildup to the season, I am previewing a different position for the Cowboys every day or so on my blog.

Lets start with the most important spot on the field, quarterback.
Zac Robinson has taken his record setting game and baby blue eyes to the NFL leaving Mike Gundy in search of a new field general and OSU female fans a new heart throb over whom to swoon.
Robinson was extremely durable during his OSU career, but ironically it was a game that he missed last season that gave Cowboy fans hope for the future.
With the Cowboys trailing Colorado 21-10 in the third quarter at home, Brandon Weeden relieved an ineffective Alex Cate and threw for 168 yards and two second half touchdowns as OSU rallied for a 31-28 win.  Since that time, the 26-year-old former professional baseball player has done nothing to make Cowboy coaches believe he cant do the job on a permanent basis.
In the spring, Mike Gundy hired Dana Holgorsen away from Houston and handed him the task of installing his explosive offense at OSU.
I think the Cowboys are in as good a position as they can be considering they are losing a three-year starter.  The new offense seems to suit the larger, less-mobile Weeden than did the zone read scheme of the Robinson era. 
If youre breaking in a new offense, why not start fresh with a new quarterback and four new offensive linemen as well?
Though Weeden has only one game of Division One football experience, he dealt with high-pressure situations during his 4 seasons of pro baseball in the Yankees organization (12-17 career record with a 4.86 by the way).  And theres no substitute for competition.
Hes also 26 years old making him an automatic father figure in the locker room.  And Weeden has played the role of leader well this offseason at team functions such as hospital visits and media days.
Weeden and Holgorsen have both said that the most important attributes for a quarterback in this system are organization and decision making.  You would expect an older, more mature person to perform better in those areas than a young, inexperienced newcomer.
If Weeden goes down, and he will have four new offensive linemen in front of him, things could get interesting.
Sand Springs true freshman Johnny Deaton was a terrific run-pass quarterback in high school.  The new system would seem to be a departure from his style, cut coaches have been pleased with Deatons progress.  He graduated high school early and participated in spring football.  In fact Deaton completed 14-of-18 passes in the spring game.
Enid redshirt freshman Clint Chelf has a full year of OSU football under his belt, but because the new offense was installed just this past spring, he has no learning curve advantage on Deaton.  Chelf has a good arm and is an underrated runner.
And true freshman quarterback Nate Sorenson has spent some time at wide receiver this preseason leading some to believe he could move to that spot or at least be utilized at a slash position.
Up next on our previews....running back