Grant Stucker, a fifth-year senior from Ponderosa High School who waited patiently while playing in five games over three seasons, was named Colorado State’s starting quarterback Friday.
Although Stucker came out of the spring with a slight edge on junior college transfer Jon Eastman, Rams coach Steve Fairchild said repeatedly the past three weeks the race was too close to call. Then a day after he joked about opening in a “wildcat” formation without a standard quarterback, Fairchild name Stucker.
Strucker had taken the majority of the snaps with the first team recently. Stucker took advantage when Eastman missed several practices because of a broken finger.
“We will start Grant Stucker at CU. He will start the game and Jon Eastman will be ready,” Fairchild said after Friday’s practice. “I would like to get Jon in there at some point, but it depends on the flow of the game.”
Stucker (6-feet-2 and 203 pounds) is 3-of-5 passing in his career for 22 yards. Last season, he narrowly lost the job in preseason to then fifth-year senior Billy Farris. At one point in 2008, Klay Kubiak moved ahead of Stucker on the depth chart before Kubiak was injured.
Although Fairchild brutally critiqued his quarterbacks two weeks ago after a scrimmage, the coach said Friday: “(Grant) has played a little more consistently down the stretch. Since last Saturday, I have been pleased with the direction he’s headed. There will be growing pains with both of them.”
Recalling the lessons he learned last year from Farris, who also didn’t start until his senior year, Stucker said: “Billy was really mentally tough and bounced back every time. Nothing is laid in cement. Ever. No matter if you’re a four-year starter, or like me, just getting named right now.”
Stucker knows the competition won’t end because it didn’t when Farris was first moved to No. 1 last season.
“I told (Farris) that it was not going to change the way we competed,” Stucker said. “So, I am going to make sure that Jon knows that as well, because I want him to be pushing me just as hard as I was pushing Billy last year.”
Footnotes.
The Rams used their indoor facility, despite perfect weather, to simulate crowd noise. Fairchild promised the longest practice of the preseason will be today in the mock game closed to the public. . . . Besides redshirt decisions on freshman running backs Lou Greenwood and Chris Nwoke, both pressing for playing time, Fairchild said a decision on safety Ezra Thompson, who has seen extensive work, could be made.
Natalie Meisler: 303 954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
