BOCA RATON – The additional time he committed to football study during recent weeks made Daniel Parr into a starting quarterback – at least for one weekend.
“The biggest thing, the difference in Daniel between now and maybe early in the season is his preparation on his own time,” FAU offensive coordinator Travis Trickett said. “He’s taken more of a load on his end and is growing up in that aspect.”
To be effective in Trickett’s offense, quarterbacks need to recognize defenses and make quick decisions with the ball.
Parr’s extra homework helped speed his decision-making process.
“I’ll ask questions in the meetings, he’s faster to answer,” Trickett said.
Parr didn’t perform poorly in Houston, but the small sample size from first start didn’t offer much to evaluate.
He was behind center for the first two FAU series, running seven plays while picking up one first down.
“There’s times where it was a little fast for him, you know, but we were going to work through that,” Trickett said. “That’s fine because, again, that’s anybody’s first start. It’s just different when you start.”
Parr didn’t return to game action following those two series, but it wasn’t because of ineffectiveness. It was more about what Driskel was doing right.
The redshirt sophomore who started the first eight games of the season made his planned entrance in the game’s third series and promptly connected on two long pass plays, leading to a touchdown. After Driskel guided the Owls to another touchdown on the next series, Trickett and the coaching staff decided to stick with the hot hand.
FAU intends to stick with a similar rotation on Saturday when UTEP comes to Boca Raton, though coaches aren’t naming the starter, yet.
Despite the fact that both quarterbacks are expected to play and FAU will likely stick with the hot hand, the selection of the starting quarterback is still a significant decision for Trickett.
“We start a guy for a reason,” Trickett said. “Obviously, if you start a guy you feel like he gives you the best chance to win.”
Inserting the backup into the game for the third series affords FAU the opportunity to develop both quarterbacks.
The two-quarterback system could stay with the Owls for the remainder of the season.
“Like anybody, I’d rather just have one guy and go and you know what you’re getting, but until we have that separation that’s what we’ll do,” Trickett said.
Another Stage: At least one FAU football player will be heading to the postseason. FAU announced on Wednesday that defensive end Trey Hendrickson received an invitation to play in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, a college all-star game for graduating seniors.
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