WACO, Texas (AP) — Baylor’s depth chart lists returning starter Charlie Brewer or graduate transfer Jalan McClendon as the quarterback, and coach Matt Rhule still isn’t ready to say which one will take the first snap of the season.
“I probably won’t name a starter until Friday night to the guys. I’m going to see how they prepare all week. I think both guys have been awesome,” Rhule said Monday. “Both guys have played at such a high level all camp, they’ve pushed each other.”
The Bears open their second season under Rhule on Saturday night at home against Abilene Christian.
Brewer played eight games as a true freshman last season, when he completed 68 percent of his passes (139 of 204) for 1,562 yards and 11 touchdowns with only four interceptions. He started the last four games, passing for at least 300 yards with multiple TDs in three of them.
McClendon appeared in 20 games for North Carolina State the past three seasons. The 6-foot-5, 219-pound senior completed 26 of 47 passes for 262 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions, and ran 46 times for 223 yards and two TDs.
Baylor opened last season with a graduate transfer quarterback, when Anu Solomon, previously of Arizona, started the first two games before being sidelined by concussion symptoms. Zach Smith, then a sophomore who has since transferred to Tulsa, started the next six games before Brewer took over the rest of the season.
Rhule understands why people see similarities in the quarterback competition from last year and now.
“Charlie has played for us and Zach had played. I’ve seen Charlie play and I have seen the things that he can do,” Rhule said. “Both Charlie and Jalan are playing well. For me to say somebody is starting this week might make them feel good, but it won’t give us the best week. … If I have two guys playing well, that doesn’t mean that only one will get to play.”
Notes: Rhule said senior Greg Roberts, who had been an expected starter at defensive end, will miss the Abilene Christian game and the first half of the second game at UTSA because of disciplinary issues this summer. Rhule also said freshman linebacker Ashton Logan and sophomore defensive end BJ Thompson will miss two games. The coach didn’t elaborate.
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