It's hard to gauge your standing in the quarterback competition when you're slinging passes on the field and your primary challenger is sitting in first-period algebra.
They took some practice repetitions Thursday while standing only a few feet apart, firing passes to receivers at the same time. During one drill, they threw around contraptions designed to simulate offensive linemen. The devices featured wide black screens more than 6 feet tall attached to a metal framework on wheels that managers slowly rolled toward the quarterbacks as each play developed.
"Being here and learning the offense with the coaches is definitely an advantage," Modster, a redshirt sophomore, said afterward, "but at the end of the day, we're all gonna compete, and whoever has the starting job, we're just gonna back him up.