NORFOLK — Old Dominion hardly started fall practice Wednesday with a quarterback controversy, but the position isn’t entirely settled.
Fifth-year coach Ricky Rahne wouldn’t have it any other way.
Incumbent starter Grant Wilson appears poised to keep the job, but he’s not likely to do it without being pushed.
Wilson, a junior who passed for 2,149 yards last season, will be challenged by redshirt freshman Colton Joseph and Boston College transfer Emmett Morehead, among others, at least until the Monarchs open the season Aug. 31 at South Carolina.
Asked whether the job was Wilson’s to lose, Rahne left the door open for competition.
“I think Grant has a great opportunity to win the job,” said Rahne, who has a history of late announcements regarding his starter behind center. “And if he continues on that trajectory, I feel confident in what he can do.”
It’s hardly the only position the Monarchs will have to sort out on the heels of a 6-7 season that included a second straight bowl appearance.
The team welcomed 57 newcomers, most of whom were not around for spring practice.
During Wednesday’s workout, which was conducted in helmets and shoulder pads under a hot midday sun, some receivers lined up and ran routes according to a piece of paper they held in their hands.
Wilson, who threw 17 touchdown passes and eight interceptions last season after transferring from Fordham, is not treating the quarterback job as though it’s his.
“I think everyone’s fighting for it every day,” Wilson said. “If you don’t have that mentality, if you’re satisfied or complacent, then someone can just come in there and take it. But if you work for it and you want it, then you can keep taking it.”
Fans will notice something different about the 6-foot-3, 227-pound Wilson right away: After wearing No. 13 last season, he switched to No. 7.
Wilson said he’d worn No. 7 since he was a third-grader, but he had to give it up when he got to Fordham.
“I’ll be the same Grant Wilson,” he said, “but I’m an older, more mature Grant Wilson.”
One moment during Wednesday’s workout served to remind Rahne that he has other options.
On one play, Joseph calmly stepped up in the pocket and threw a strike to an open running back.
“He absolutely would never have done that last year,” Rahne said. “It was a really, really mature football play. So there’s just little things like that that show that the other guys are progressing as well.”
David Hall, david.hall@pilotonline.com.
