NOFOLK, Va. - Old Dominion could play as many as three quarterbacks in its season opener.
Head coach Bobby Wilder says David Washington is the clear-cut starter. However, Washington is not only recovering from off-season knee surgery, but he was slowed in fall camp by a sprained knee.
"To expect him to go out and play 80 snaps Saturday isn't fair to him and isn't smart on our part," Wilder said Monday. "This is his first competition, going back ten months, since the Southern Miss game."
ODU QB Blake LaRussa at practice
Wilder says back-up QB Shuler Bentley, who started eight games last season, will see time in the opener against Hampton. He also indicated third-string quarterback, Blake LaRussa, a redshirt freshman from Virginia Beach, should expect to play.
"We know we have a great player in Shuler Bentley and Blake has made progress," Wilder said. "We want all three of them to approach this like they're going to play."
It's certainly not a quarterback competition. If anything, it's a pitching staff. "I would make an analogy for people who follow baseball," Wilder said. "We have a starter, we have a middle reliever and we have a closer. We have guys that can come-in in different points of the game."
ODU hosts Hampton at 6pm Saturday.
