Seems the Utes have themselves a bit of a QB controversy. Most will say that a QB controversy is always a bad thing. After all, any writer will say, "If you have two QB's, it means you don't really have one." Yeah, I'm sure Penn State and Nebraska would be the first to agree. Anyway, I love a little controversy. It may not be good for the program, but finally, the talk radio will have something to talk about instead of pre-season Jazz speculation or what it will take for Feterik to win the Heisman.

I'm not really prepared to choose sides on this one. I can see pros and cons for both. Granted, Darnell's injury may make the point moot, but I'd like to know what other's are thinking, keeping in mind that Crowshaw looked great against Louisiana-Monroe - not exactly a powerhouse.

Here are my thoughts for what they're worth:

Arceneaux:
Pros -

He wins games. Granted, he hasn't beaten any great teams, but when he's under center, the Utes are 10-1, average 34 Points, and 422 yards of total offense.

His scrambling ability freezes an OLB or DE to shadow and keep contain. It basically takes a defender out of the play every time.

He is a major threat on a roll out. Unfortunately - the coaching staff calls relatively few roll out plays.

QB draws and naked bootlegs are good, safe calls on third downs, and Darnell will get the first down a lot of the time. It's also is really demoralizing for the opposing team to have a QB scramble for a first down on third and long. I know it killed me when Boise's QB did that 3 times.

His competitiveness and leadership. I know I'll be criticized for this comment, but I like a guy who wants to win.

Arm strength. His freezing of the defensive player is more than made up for by the fact that they can stack one or both safeties in the box since the big play threat isn't there.

Slow starting. He usually takes at least 3 drives before he gets warmed up. Even that TD pass to Utu last night was at his knees.

Happy feet. He hardly ever plants his front foot before throwing. It kills any chance of his passes being accurate.

Inconsistency. He's just as likely to throw an interception as a TD. It makes the games tough on my heart.

Croshaw:
Pros -

Passing accuracy and strength. This may prove to be the deciding point for me. It has bugged me immeasurably that with Darnell as QB we hardly ever throw deep despite having two receivers with 4.3 or better speed. With that speed at wideout, and the depth the Utes have at Slot, we should be able to create some nasty mismatches. Cliff Russell and Steve Smith cannot be covered man on man. It requires the safeties to drop back. All of a sudden, the defense is spread out, and just ripe for Mike and Omar to do their thing. That passing threat really is huge.

Composure. I'd much rather see him behind center late in the game leading the Utes on a game winning/saving drive. He seems composed and calm. He'd have enough smarts to hit the short outs and hitches to move the chains rather than go for the homerun right away like Arceneaux.

Game smarts. I saw something from Crowshaw last night that I hadn't seen from a Ute QB since McCoy. He actually looked off his primary receiver and passed to a different guy. Crowshaw actually reads defenses. I wish Tommy Lee could do that.

He's slow. He's really not a threat to scramble unless the pocket completely collapses, and there's a huge hole straight ahead. This makes nickel/dime defenses very effective in third down situations.

He takes a long time to throw the ball. He was getting hammered all night last night by ULM's D-line. If the Utes face a faster and stronger front seven, Crowshaw has the potential to get sacked - a lot.

It was one game - against ULM. I honestly don't know how good he's capable of being. I was impressed by him in the first spring scrimmage I saw him play in, but he hasn't been overly impressive in any other games I've seen him in other than the last two. He'll need to prove himself in a game that counts before I'll be convinced.

One other thing to mention, Arceneaux is 6-2, runs a 4.5 40, and knows the routes. He'd make a fantastic receiver if his hands are any good. I know he gets hurt easily, but as a receiver he gets to wear more pads. Just a thought.

Go UTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Croshaw will get the chance to do it in a big game next week. Darnell won't be ready to go. The only concern I have is what you list as one of his pro's. Can Croshaw leed the team 80 yards in a minute and a half for the win late in a game? Not like Darnell has done it but is he that confident under real pressure? Poise in the pocket and against good teams is what he has to have. Other then that I think TD makes the Utes Offense harder to defend.

Until Crowshaw can prove it against "real" competition I think you have to start a healthy Darnell. However I think Crowshaw sould get real minutes. Lets make teams prepare for both QBs.

Vegas Ute (IMHO the one back offense requires the deep threat to spread the field)

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