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Schilz gets Falcons QB start |
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Written by Jack Carle - Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribune
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 Matt Schilz has earned Bowling Green’s starting quarterback job for the season-opener against Idaho Thursday, according to Dave Clawson, who is starting his third season as head coach.
READY TO WIN SOME GAMES
“It’s awesome. You work all season, all year for this and I’m just glad that it happened,” Schilz said. “I’ve worked hard for it, and I’m just ready to win some games with this team.”
“I feel so much better about where we are at that position right now than I did at this time a year ago,” Clawson said.
Now a redshirt sophomore, Schilz started 10 games for the Falcons last season, going 229-of-377 (60.7 percent) for 2,223 yards with eight touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He missed two full games and part of a third with an injury to his throwing shoulder.
“Playing in 10 games, you have that experience of going into the game and knowing what you have to do to be ready. That’s helped a lot,” Schilz said.
Schilz and redshirt freshman Trent Hurley have battled for the No. 1 spot since the end of last season.
“You can compare all the numbers and all the stats and at the end it comes down to a gut feeling over who gives your football team the best chance to win,” Clawson said. “This was a very, very hard decision. I have been involved in a number of these quarterback decisions ... and this is one of the more difficult ones and it’s for good reasons.
“It’s not that Matt hasn’t played well; it’s just that Trent Hurley got so good so quickly,” Clawson continued. “It’s a good problem. We really felt all through (fall) camp that we had two quarterbacks playing at a very high level, and we felt great about both of them.”
Schilz said the competition with Hurley has made him a better player.
“I’ve had to work that much harder to be the guy here,” Schilz said.
BIGGER, STRONGER, SMARTER
After gaining a great deal of experience last season, Schilz, from Maranatha High School in Arcadia, Calif, said he is much more prepared to play at the college level this fall.
“A year of experience helps, and I feel I know defenses better. Weight room-wise, I’m a lot bigger and stronger,” Schilz said about differences in himself from last season to this fall.
“I’m definitely a lot more comfortable. I know the offense better. I can start focusing more on defenses. Instead of knowing my role and knowing what I have to do, I can really get the whole picture this year,” he added.
Schilz and Hurley split the repetitions during the spring, summer and August workouts. Now Schilz will get between 60 and 70 percent of the work with the first unit.
“We’re going to continue to rep Trent with the ones and give him good work,” Clawson said. “I’m sure at some point we’re going to need him to play.”
RECEIVERS BENEFIT
The quarterback competition has improved the wide receiver corps, Clawson said.
“A lot of the time with the quarterbacks you’re worried about getting the timing with the starting receivers. Our first and second receivers are all pretty good and they are all going to play,” Clawson said. “When Matt was throwing to the twos or Trent was throwing, it wasn’t a huge drop off. Part of the reason our receivers have developed is that if you were running with the first and second groups, you were getting some pretty good footballs thrown your way.”
Schilz said BG’s offense will be better this season.
He likes the way the offensive line has meshed together; the receiving corps has improved and has added depth; and that there is good competition at running back.
“We had a lot of competition. The guys really pushed themselves in the off-season to get better. At every spot we have guys who can step in if someone goes down and play at a high level,” Schilz said.
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