Injuries to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff’s top two quarterbacks have made it unclear who will start in Saturday’s season finale.
UAPB has the remainder of this week to figure out who will play when the Golden Lions face Alabama State at ASU Stadium in Montgomery, Ala., at noon on The Grio.
Starting quarterback Christian Peters suffered a shoulder injury on the first drive of last weekend’s game at Prairie View A&M. UAPB (4-7, 2-5 SWAC) backup DJ Stevenson exited the game with an injury in the fourth quarter. Redshirt senior Tysan Robbins finished the game.
Head Coach Alonzo Hampton said Monday morning Peters had a doctor’s appointment later that afternoon, but Stevenson went on Sunday.
“It’s just a sprain,” Hampton said of Stevenson. “So, again, we’ll see where he’s at, but I know what I would do if I’m in that quarterback room. Man, I’m meeting with (Offensive Coordinator Tony) Hull right now, trying to figure out, ‘Hey, man, am I the guy? Coach, let’s get some film in.’ That’s what they’ve done all year.”
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Hampton said after the Prairie View game he didn’t anticipate Peters or Stevenson would be able to play this week at Alabama State (8-2, 6-1), though his comments on Monday suggested Stevenson may have a chance depending on how his recovery progresses.
UAPB has three other quarterbacks available if neither are healthy enough to play.
Robbins came to UAPB at the start of last year’s fall camp from Highland (Kan.) Community College after beginning his career at Bethune-Cookman. He has been buried on the depth chart since arriving and has seen limited time.
He has completed 10 of 15 passes for one touchdown and one interception in his two years as a Golden Lion. All but 2 of his 136 passing yards were against Westgate Christian earlier this season. He also rushed for a touchdown in that game.
UAPB also has two freshmen waiting for their turn. Pine Bluff native Landon Holcomb is 2 for 2 passing in his brief college career with 24 yards. He rushed for a touchdown last season against Arkansas Baptist.
True freshman Garrison Davis enrolled at UAPB this past spring out of Holmes County High School in Mississippi. He completed 1 of 2 passes for 9 yards against Westgate while rushing for a touchdown.
Saturday’s game will be the final game of the season regardless of the result, but Hampton said he won’t be thinking about building for the future when deciding who to start.
“Who can win on Saturday? As coaches, you’re highly competitive, right? You want to give your team the best opportunity to win,” Hampton said. “Nobody ever is going to throw in the towel, but I’ll tell you this: those guys on scholarship that we have behind those two guys, one of those guys is going to get a great opportunity.”
A-State will be a tough opponent, no matter who starts at quarterback.
The Hornets enter this week tied with Jackson State for first in the SWAC Eastern Division and are guaranteed to finish at least in the top two. A-State lost to JSU, so the Hornets need a win and a JSU loss to Alcorn State to earn a spot opposite Prairie View in the SWAC Championship Game.
A-State boasts the second-best passing defense in the SWAC. The Hornets’ 187.2 passing yards allowed per game is only more than Prairie View’s defense, which held UAPB to 80 passing yards amid the quarterback injuries last week.
Hampton said in this situation, the rest of the team must help the quarterback.
“Whoever behind that quarterback position, they’re going to need all of us to play good around them,” Hampton said. “Defense has to play well. The guys on special teams have to play well, so we can take some pressure off of him, whoever that guy is, whether it’s DJ or Tysan or Landon or Garrison.”
UAPB isn’t alone in dealing with quarterback injuries. A-State starter Andrew Body leads the SWAC in passing yards per game but hasn’t played since suffering a shoulder injury against Prairie View on Nov. 1.
Redshirt freshman Te’Sean Smoot has played in Body’s absence. In his two starts against Texas Southern and Mississippi Valley State, he completed 23 of 35 passes for 405 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He rushed four times for 33 yards, most of that against Valley.
A-State Coach Eddie Robinson Jr. said Body is progressing in his recovery, though he wasn’t yet sure whether he would be able to play against UAPB. Smoot, he said, has been working hard and doing everything he wants to see from a starting quarterback.
“I think from week to week, he’s improving on the small things of getting us into the right play, making sure that he’s getting the right reads,” Robinson said. “Threw an interception this past weekend. Nobody’s going to be perfect, but I think he’s moving in the right direction to say he hasn’t had a lot of snaps.”