FORT COLLINS — For an entire year, Colorado State senior Grant Stucker remembered how it felt the day coach Steve Fairchild named Billy Farris the starter for the 2008 season.
“That experience last year was tough. It really taught me to make the most of your opportunities because you only get so many,” Stucker had said during the heat of this summer’s quarterback derby with Jon Eastman. “Especially being a senior like Billy was last year, he took advantage of every opportunity he had.”
Less than 24 hours after Fairchild casually told Stucker after practice he had won the starting quarterback job, the reality was starting to sink in. “He believes in me and has high expectations for me to come out and do what I’m expected to do,” Stucker said.
He knows Fairchild won’t hesitate to use Eastman. As far as the prolonged preseason drama, Stucker said: “When you think about it, and I tried not to think about it, it kind of gets in your head. Why is this taking so long to make a decision? . . . You put that out of your mind and stop thinking about it.”
Stucker pulled into the lead last week as he took most of the snaps in practice and looked smooth in his timing with top receiver Rashaun Greer. In the end, Fairchild said Stucker’s consistency of late was the deciding factor.
“He’s going to be a good quarterback. He’s mobile. He has a good arm. He knows the offense,” said Greer, who came in with Stucker as freshmen in 2005.
Meanwhile, Eastman didn’t make the long journey from Midvale, Utah, to an Mormon church mission in Brazil to Snow College just to hold the clipboard.
Eastman was told of the decision before Friday’s practice.
“I have to keep preparing and trying to get on the field,” Eastman said.
Two weeks ago, Fairchild called the Stucker-Eastman effort the worst quarterback practice he witnessed in 30 years of coaching. With Stucker’s longevity at CSU comes the knowledge of Fairchild’s purpose.
“You discard the negative and rebuild. You come every day to practice with a fresh body. You know you are going to make mistakes, but it’s how you bounce back from it,” Stucker said. “Coach uses a lot of stuff he does as a game-type thing. Are you going to be mentally tough enough to bounce back from an interception?”
For the first time this month, Fairchild had some praise for his quarterbacks, saying they did an “outstanding job” with the 40-second clock.
Rather than show relief on the first day he wasn’t asked when he would name a starter at quarterback, Fairchild said, “You earn the right to start, but you’ve got to keep it.”
Footnotes. Defensive end C.J. James will play as a true freshman. Fairchild also wants to consider the status of safety Ezra Thompson and running backs Chris Nwoke and Lee Greenwood, who have made strong bids for early playing time. The first two-deep chart will be released Monday.
Natalie Meisler: 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
