From GoRacers.com...
One of the biggest questions heading into the 2017
season for the Murray State football team was who would replace all-time leading
passer KD Humphries at quarterback. On Wednesday, head coach Mitch Stewart
answered that question by naming junior transfer Shuler Bentley as the starting
quarterback for the team's opener against Kentucky Wesleyan on August 31.
"He just took care of the football," Stewart said when asked what helped earn
Bentley the job. "He's very good at moving the offense. There is a big time
comfort level with him on the field as far as when you call a play and you are
wanting him to look at a certain place. With Shuler, he gives you a comfort
level in knowing there are very few times that you call something thinking he's
going to do something to the left and he does something to the right. However,
when he does do something other than what you thought he was going to do, it
usually works just because he's a smart football player."
Bentley joined the Racers in January and went through spring practice. A
two-time South Carolina Gatorade High School Player of the Year, the redshirt
junior comes to Murray State after spending two seasons at Old Dominion.
In two seasons at ODU, Bentley completed 144 of 279
passes with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. He started eight games in 2015.
Backing up Bentley will be redshirt sophomore Brendan Bognar. Bognar joined the
Racers in 2016, but sat out last season to NCAA regulations after transferring
from Lindenwood (MO).
"Every time his number was called," explains Stewart, "he was productive with
the ball. He didn't get a ton of reps until the end of camp, but the reps
he got were very good. So when we evaluated the quarterbacks towards the middle
of camp, we upped his reps to see if his production level would fall and it
didn't. In the last several practices and scrimmages, he's been very productive"
In addition to naming his quarterbacks, Stewart also released his first depth
chart of the 2017 season. However, he knows that while the initial depth chart
is a starting point, it is far from the finished product.
"With all those positions on that depth chart, everything is fluid. Other than
recruiting, that is one of the most fluid things there is in college football,
is the depth chart. You can't afford to go out there and have a bad practice. It
doesn't matter who you are, everybody has the chance to get Wally Pipped."
Stewart continued to explain that there are no off days and that the process for
determining roles is constant. "Every day is an evaluation for everybody, even
our futures squad, everyone out there is getting evaluated. I'm getting
evaluated, our coaches are getting evaluated. One of the best things you can do
for your program is to try and create an atmosphere or culture where nobody
feels like there job is safe and there is always a sense of urgency. Because
with that sense of urgency comes a great sense of competitiveness and that is
ultimately what we have to get around here. We need every position feeling like
every day there is always a competition at that position. "
The Murray State football team will officially begin its 2017 campaign,
Thursday, August 31 at 6 p.m., against Kentucky Wesleyan under the lights at Roy
Stewart Stadium.