“Nope.”
That was the first word Terrence Graves said in response to the first question in Tuesday's media availability ahead of Southern football’s season opener against North Carolina Central at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta.
The second-year coach's reply was to the question of whether the team had decided on a starting quarterback.
“Nope, we haven’t,” Graves said. “We’ll find out Saturday.”
Graves said not naming a quarterback isn't an attempt at secrecy, indicating the competition hasn’t truly ended.
The quarterbacks battling for the top spot are redshirt sophomore and lone returner Jalen Woods, junior Jackson State transfer Cam’Ron McCoy and freshman Dillon Compton.
The Jaguars recently added a fourth quarterback in junior Ashton Strother, who transferred from Coahoma Community College in Mississippi. He is not being considered to start the opener, given how late he joined. He stepped on campus four or five days ago, Graves said.
When asked how much of a chance the freshman Compton has at starting, Graves said he’s included in the competition.
Last season, Graves decided on quarterback Noah Bodden as the starter nine days before the season opener against McNeese State. In that decision, Graves said game experience was the primary differentiator as the then-junior Bodden won out over three redshirt freshmen.
This time around, Graves has multiple quarterbacks who has played collegiate games. Woods appeared in six games, winning the only two contests he was a starter for, last season for Southern. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound quarterback completed 38 of 66 passes for 541 yards passing, four touchdowns and three interceptions. He also had 19 rushes for 48 yards.
McCoy, who transferred to Southern in the offseason, appeared last season in eight games at Jackson State, completing 18 of 38 passes for 310 yards passing and four touchdowns. The 6-1, 195-pound signal-caller also rushed for 163 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries.
McCoy also appeared in five games at Eastern Michigan and had 73 yards passing on a 42.9% completions and 72 yards rushing on 18 attempts in 2023.
Graves said that the battle has taken this amount of time because each player has proven capable of running the offense. Quarterbacks coach Fred McNair and offensive coordinator Mark Frederick are also involved in the decision.
“They’re doing a great job of leading and executing the offense,” Graves said. “So you give them an opportunity. It's Jalen's job to lose, but those guys are competing every single day. And I put all the faith and trust in coach McNair, the quarterbacks coach, coach Frederick, the offensive coordinator. I know that they're going to put the right guy out there."
Graves did say with certainty that he expects both Woods and McCoy to receive snaps this season.
“We’ll play both, that’s not a question about it,” Graves said. “A lot of times, people get caught up in to having to have one guy. Now that may be good in the NFL, but in college football … you want your best players on the field at all times so (if) we have an opportunity to play those guys, we gonna play them.”
North Carolina Central coach Trei Holly on Monday said that he has two game plans prepared for both Southern quarterbacks, presumably Woods and McCoy.
Graves was asked whether his team has an advantage with their opponent not knowing which quarterback it will see. He said there’s no edge gained from the mystery.
“I think people want to make that as a, ‘Hey, we’ll keep them guessing,’ ” Graves said. “They prepared for both quarterbacks. So basically, whoever goes out there first, then whatever game plan they have for that quarterback, that's what they're going to use.
“Some people like to use that as the element of surprise, but it's not that big of a deal.”
Graves was also asked whether making the opposing coaching staff spend more time practicing a second defensive plan for a quarterback is a good thing for Southern. Graves, again, said that it doesn’t matter.
Southern expects a challenge when it faces the No. 2 team in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference preseason poll. The quarterback running the offense will have a major role in Southern's chances of winning.
Graves is confident that whoever is chosen will be ready for that opportunity.