Article

Bryant enters QB mix at MSU

Junior college transfer; teammates begin spring practice today

April 6th, 2005
By Chad Courrier
Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO There is no quarterback controversy at Minnesota State.

In fact, the quarterback that starts the season opener against Northwest Missouri State on Thursday, Aug. 25, at Blakeslee Stadium might not even be on the practice field today as the Mavericks open spring practice.

"Ben King has been the starter for two years, and he did some good things last year," Minnesota State coach Jeff Jamrog said. "Unfortunately, he's not with us this spring. While we're out at practice, he'll be throwing no-hitters."

Spring practice begins today at 2:45 p.m. with the first workout at the Minnesota State practice field. The Mavericks have 15 practices schedule for the spring period, which ends April 30 with the intrasquad game. Jamrog expects 63 players on the field today, almost twice as many as competed last spring, before Jamrog was hired.

"I'm excited," Jamrog said. "The players have worked extremely hard, and I'm excited to see the progress they've made. All jobs are open, I don't care if you rushed for 1,300 yards last season, we need to improve and put the best players on the field. The guys are pretty hungry right now."

King has started 20 of 22 games in the last two seasons, completing 317 of 589 passes for 3,922 yards with 24 touchdowns and 21 interceptions. But in the spring, King is a starting pitcher with the baseball team, and instead of trying to split time between the two programs, he'll concentrate on baseball during this season, then switch to football when the baseball season ends.

That leaves time for three other quarterbacks to impress the coaches: Josh Bryant, Jamie VanDenElzen and Cohlman Rutschow. VanDenElzen is a senior who has contributed the most as a punter, and Rutschow is a freshman from Red Wing.

The most intriguing prospect is Bryant, a junior college player who came to Minnesota State during the semester break.

"He has an excellent attitude, a great work ethic," Jamrog said. "He's been impressive in our drills, and I'm anxious to see him out on the practice field competing.

"It would be nice if we could have (King and Bryant) out there competing against each other, but unfortunately, that won't happen until fall. It's going to be tough to come out of spring with a clear-cut starter."

Bryant, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound native of suburban Detroit, played two seasons at Mesabi Range Community and Technical College in Virginia, where he played for Minnesota State assistant coach Jeff Sims as a freshman. Bryant led the Norsemen to a 19-2 record over two seasons and two conference championships.

Last season, Mesabi led the nation in total offense, racking up 440 yards per game. Bryant passed for 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns against just three interceptions, and he also ran for 300 yards and three touchdowns.

"I've kind of grown into a leader," Bryant said. "Even though I'm new here, I'm one of the guys that has a shot at playing a lot. I needed to make guys comfortable with me before they'll listen to me. I know I have to work harder than anyone else."

Even though Jamrog said he will not designate a No. 1 quarterback for spring practice, Bryant will clearly get a long look to see how he runs the offense, which feature returning running backs Sean Treasure and Cory Jones and top receiver Kyle Krivoruchka.

"It should be great competition," Bryant said. "Ben King is a great guy, he has great character. We're both good quarterbacks, and that should help the team a great deal."

 

John Cross

Josh Bryant, a junior transfer from Mesabi Range Community and Technical College, is one of three quarterbacks on the Minnesota State football team this spring.