Gundy: There's No Quarterback Controversy At Oklahoma State

Sunday, September 9th 2007, 6:51 pm

By: News On 6

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) _ Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy reiterated Sunday that Bobby Reid remains the Cowboys' starting quarterback, despite a strong showing a day earlier by backup Zac Robinson in a 42-6 rout of Florida Atlantic.

Robinson replaced Reid, who left the game late in the first quarter with an undisclosed injury, and for the second time in as many seasons, delivered a three-touchdown relief effort.

Gundy said during a teleconference with reporters that Robinson ``played pretty good,'' but repeated his policy that a player will not lose a starting job because of an injury and said he's not inclined to begin using a quarterback rotation system.

``We're not going to do that,'' Gundy said. ``I think the quarterback position is a lot different than any other position on the field. You can shove a (replacement) running back or a wide receiver out on the field, but quarterback is different.

``I just prefer to have one guy.''

Reid, whom Gundy said would practice Sunday as the Cowboys (1-1) began preparing for a game Friday at Troy (0-2), apparently will remain that guy. The junior has been Oklahoma State's starter since midway through his freshman season, and as a sophomore Reid passed for 2,266 yards and 24 touchdowns with 11 interceptions and rushed for 500 yards and five touchdowns.

He's shown flashes of brilliance, causing some pundits to proffer comparisons with former Texas standout Vince Young. But Reid also has battled bouts of inconsistency and has started this season in less-than-impressive fashion.

He passed for 191 yards but mostly struggled in a 35-14 season-opening loss at Georgia. Before leaving the Florida Atlantic game late in the first quarter with an undisclosed injury, he had 32 yards rushing and went 2-for-5 passing for 7 yards.

Robinson, a sophomore, replaced him, and the change in the tempo of the Cowboys' offense was immediate. Robinson guided three straight touchdown drives in the second and third quarters, turning a 14-6 game into a rout. He finished 14 of 20 passing for 250 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.

Robinson's performance reminded some of the Cowboys' game against Texas A&M last Oct. 21, when in his first extended action, he replaced an injured Reid and went 7 of 16 passing for 94 yards and three touchdowns on a cold night in a 34-33 overtime loss.

Robinson's performance in that game earned him more playing time, and Oklahoma State coaches developed plans during the offseason to use him more, up to 25 or 30 snaps a game either at quarterback or wide receiver.

Gundy said those plans haven't changed and that Reid, if healthy, will take the majority of the offensive snaps. But he didn't shy away from criticizing Reid's performance immediately after the win over the Owls.

``I didn't think he played very good,'' Gundy said of Reid. ``It didn't look like he played very steady before he got hurt.'' Gundy said the biggest issue with Reid was ``getting him in the flow, getting him going.''

Given a chance by reporters after Saturday's game to campaign for the starting job, Robinson declined.

His performance ``doesn't change anything,'' Robinson said. ``Every day I'm going to go out and compete at quarterback and anything else that I do, whether it's lining up in the slot or what not, I'm going to do whatever I can to help the offense.''

Reid was not made available for interviews after the game.

One of the team's offensive stars said it really doesn't matter who is playing quarterback for the Cowboys.

``I think that comes along with our offense, that we can play two different quarterbacks,'' said wide receiver Adarius Bowman, who caught touchdown passes of 7 and 77 yards from Robinson. ``Our number one is just as good as our number two, and our number two is just as good as our number one. I think that favors our side, and I love that fact.

``I liked the poise that Zac had ... He didn't come in nervous and to me he didn't miss a beat and I was feeding off of him. I was proud of Zac.''