Gratitude.
That was Jacob Sirmon’s reaction Tuesday morning to being officially named as the starting quarterback for the University of Northern Colorado’s season opener Thursday at Abilene Christian in Abilene, Texas.
The game begins at 6 p.m. and will be available on ESPN+ and on 1310 KFKA radio, marking the competitive start of the Ed Lamb era at UNC. Lamb, a former BYU player and assistant, was hired in December to be the new Bears’ coach, replacing Ed McCaffrey.
Sirmon, a 24-year-old graduate student, is attending his third school and final school as a college football player. Sirmon, who is from Bothell, Washington, went to the University of Washington in the Pac-12 Conference out of high school in 2018. He played in six games in 2019 and 2020 for the Huskies.
Sirmon transferred to Central Michigan in 2021 and started the first four games. Central Michigan is a Football Bowl Subdivision program as is the University of Washington. UNC plays at the Football Championship Subdivision level of Division I college football. In the FCS, there is an NCAA-sanctioned tournament at the end of the regular season to determine the national champion.
“I’ve had a long process getting here, and I have to give all the glory to God,” Sirmon said during media available on campus late Tuesday morning. “I feel very fortunate and grateful for this opportunity. I put a lot of hard work into this program and to my personal development, and I believe I’ll be able to give it the best I can.”
Sirmon completed 55.9% of his passes (52 of 93) with four touchdowns and two interceptions in seven games last season. Graduate student Hank Gibbs is Sirmon’s backup for week 1 with redshirt freshman Shea Kuykendall third on the depth chart.
Kuykendall came to UNC last year from Long Beach Poly High School in California. Gibbs is from the University of Wyoming. He is from Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Lamb said Tuesday morning Sirmon checks all of the boxes the coach is looking for in a starting quarterback — on and off the field. Lamb said through his career as an assistant coach and head coach he’s been lucky to work with multiple quality quarterbacks such as Brad Sorensen at Southern Utah, Josh Johnson at the University of San Diego and Zach Wilson at BYU. Lamb’s list for a quarterback was constructed from working with those athletes.
Johnson and Wilson remain in the NFL as backups in Baltimore and with the New York Jets, respectively. Sorensen was drafted in 2013 by the then-San Diego Chargers and spent time with the Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings through 2016.
Lamb said Sirmon is a leader. He’ll speak up and give his opinion, and he’ll help teammates who are in need of a lift or a pat on the back.
“He’s got a live arm, he can make all of the throws,” Lamb said, adding there is no question about Sirmon’s physical ability to play the position. “He’s got a quick release. Stands tall in the pocket. Smart with the game, and even some of the nuances we bring in terms of game management and really took to it from Day 1.”
Lamb said all jobs among the players — and the coaches, including himself — is a competition every day. Sirmon and the other starting players for the opener against Abilene Christian will continue to compete for their positions. Those players are not automatically penciled in as the starters for the week 2 game against the University of the Incarnate Word.
It would be “disrespectful” to the other players on the rosters to think the positions on the team wouldn’t be up and open to whoever is playing the best at a given time, Lamb said.
“It’s certainly the way I want to build a team and the dynamic I want to have,” the coach said. “That being said, I have full confidence that Jacob and all these other starters will be our starters for the rest of season, so I hope we can have that kind of health and performance.”
Offensive coordinator Blair Peterson said Sirmon has “a lot of special traits” as a football player. Peterson referred to the way Sirmon sees the game, the way he studies, his work ethic and his mental processing of information.
Peterson compared Sirmon’s abilities to quarterbacks the coach has worked with in the past including Wilson and Jaren Hall at BYU and Justin Miller at Southern Utah. Peterson and Lamb coached together at BYU. Peterson was the offensive coordinator at Southern Utah last year.
“I think he has the ability and the talent to be just as good as any those guys I mentioned,” Peterson said. “I know that’s high praise. It really is. He’s had a long journey, and I think he’s ready for the moment.”
Statistically, Sirmon’s best game was the Bears’ 2022 opener against Houston Baptist. He completed 22 of 33 passes (66.6%) for 249 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw an interception and was sacked three times in the 46-34 loss.
Two weeks later against Lamar, Sirmon was 16 of 28 for 218 yards and a touchdown in a 21-14 win — one of three victories for UNC last year. Sirmon completed his longest pass of the year in the game, a 43-yarder to Trevis Graham.
Sirmon spoke about earning the starting position on his weekly show, “The Jacob Sirmon Show,” during Brady Hull’s show on KFKA. Sirmon’s show will air every Monday.
Peterson said he had a sense in spring ball Sirmon would be the guy. Sirmon then began to separate himself from the other quarterbacks. Peterson said Sirmon changed this summer and took greater charge of the position.
“His leadership,” Peterson said. “The extra time he put in on his own to really dive in and invest in this thing. We have a really good room (quarterback room). We have a room full of great kids. He’s definitely separated himself, and we’re excited to see what he does.”
