Starting QB Has Been Announced; Casey Cochran Wins the Job, but Chandler Whitmer Will Play

@MattSchonvisky

The Official Announcement (Part I): 

The Official Announcement (Part II): 

Casey Cochran has won the starting job. The leader of the 10th longest active winning streak in the nation, Cochran quarterbacked wins over Temple, Rutgers and Memphis to close out 2013. In the process, he set the Huskies all-time single-game passing record with 461 yards against the Tigers. He also threw for 4 TD’s.

“It’s great news and I think it felt even better to hear it around these guys,” Cochran said after practice this evening. “We’ve all been working as hard as we can for so long. I’m glad Chandler’s going to play as hard as he can and we are going to work together as hard as we can to put points on the board and win some games this year.”

The competition was close throughout all of camp. Head coach Bob Diaco said both him and Chandler Whitmer were given 280 reps each against real, live defense. Both completed around 64% of their passes, factoring in drops.

All scholarship quarterbacks, Cochran, Whitmer, Tim Boyle and Bryant Sherriff, met with the media following practice this evening inside the Burton Family Football Complex. Diaco noted he would like to redshirt Boyle at all costs, while Sherriff must sit out a year due to transfer rules. He will serve as the ‘look team’ quarterback during practice.

Despite Cochran receiving the starting nod, Whitmer will also see time as Diaco said it would be closer to ’51-49 than 85-15.’ Chandler is a positive story, one of second chances, while turning his life around.

“Chandler Whitmer, it’s been well-documented, last Fall, unjustly and unnecessarily and I’m sure Chandler would take accountability for his own actions, but the fact of the matter is it played out on a public stage, as it relates to performance and commitment and all that business,” Diaco said. “Last Fall was a hard year. We talked on the field and we laid out a role for Chandler. I said Chandler, if you’re interested in coming back, picture yourself in a red cap and signaling to the other quarterbacks in the game. If that role would be good for you, then come back. If it’s not, then don’t come back. You’re going to have a chance to compete for more than that, but at a minimum be ready to play whatever role we declare. He called me back and said ‘I’m all in.’ And every day since, he’s repaired, rebuilt and gained back the respect of his teammates and he didn’t have to regain our respect, he just got it. He got it through his actions, he got it through his behaviors, he got it through his work.”

Diaco touched on why he will plan to have multiple quarterbacks play this season.

“We’re going to put the games together to utilize everyone’s assets,” he said. “There’s not a player on our team and coach or support staff in our organization that wasn’t made for success. Not anyone here was created for failure. Everyone on our team and in our family was created for success, at something. We don’t mind finding out what that is and asking people to do those things, when they arise. That’s what we do at all positions, it’s no different than at defensive end, at outside linebacker and at quarterback. The missed perception in the country is you declare a starting quarterback and he’s a key starter. That’s not the case and it won’t be the case for us this Fall. And football is a fluid situation and they know what we need to do to win and they are going to work towards that.”

Cochran has lost 30-pounds since last season, reducing his body fat by 20%.

“It’s unbelievable, with the help of Coach Balis,” Cochran said. “I did a little bit on my own in terms of how much I’ve worked in transforming my body. I have a different lifestyle now and it’s working out. Misconception is if you work as hard as you can in the weight room or running, you’re going to have a good body, but I brought in the eating aspect of it, the diet and sleep and you bring it all together you have a healthy body and mind. It just took that little extra that the staff brings.”

Cochran enjoyed the competition, which showcased not only the competition on the field, but the camaraderie the unit has.

“As hard as the competition was and as long as it was going on for, we were always helping each other,” Cochran said. “We’ve always done that, been here together for almost three years. One of the first nights we were here, we were in the QB room, just watching film together. It’s kind of been that way since we both got here, very cooperative and we’ve gone that way for awhile now. It’s going to keep going that way.”

Diaco reinforced this isn’t a two-platoon, two headed monster.

“They just do different things better than the other guy, so when we are going to do those things in the game, why wouldn’t we ask them to do those things, it just doesn’t make sense to me. Hopefully it works out, if it doesn’t you guys will chase me down the street with flaming torches and pitchforks.”

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