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QBs, Receivers Must Earn Spots Battle to Start Extends Throughout Passing Units, Coach Says By Zach Warner The Southlake Journal When fans think of Carroll football, one of the first things that comes to mind is the spread offense. Since switching to the pass-oriented system under Todd Dodge in 2000, the Dragons have made executing the spread a thing of beauty. Many teams across the state have switched to that same offense or a variable of it since that time, likely due to the success Carroll experienced with it. That’s why the development of the Dragons quarterbacks and

This year, however, the team has no returning starters among its receiving corps. New faces from the JV and freshman team have a chance to battle it out for a starting spot.

And even though a new starter in David Piland at quarterback came out of an unfortunate injury to graduating senior Kyle Padron last season, Carroll coach Hal Wasson said that doesn’t guarantee what the hierarchy on the quarterback depth chart will be this season, either.

"That’s something we told them from the start of spring ball: There’s no guaranteed spots for anybody," said Wasson, pointing to solid competition between incoming seniors Piland and Kyle Williamson, each of whom started out last season as backups to Padron. "You’ve got to go out and earn it.

"[Piland and Williams] are having good competition," he said. "We don’t have a timetable where we say at this point, this guy has to be a starter. … We focus on the process and that’s where it has to be."

Both Piland and Williamson showed promise in backup roles last season. The two would rotate who would serve as varsity backup and who would start on their JV team from week to week. However, Piland happened to be the backup the week that Padron went down with the injury that kept him out the rest of the season.

Being thrown into the spot, Piland did a great job filling in for Padron, showing ability to pass the ball efficiently and run the football as well. However, Piland’s six and a half games of experience starting for varsity doesn’t give him an advantage in the coaches’ decision process this spring, Wasson said.

Both players must handle the pressure that comes with being a Dragon quarterback in order to succeed, the coach said.

"We ask a lot of our quarterbacks," he said. "There’s a lot that goes on in being a Dragon quarterback. We’re a spread, shotgun, no-huddle team, so there’s a lot of things that go into each set of plays.

"You have to get your bearings on the defense and make it all work. We don’t want our quarterbacks to be one-dimensional. They have to be able to do it all – be a runner, passer, faker and a thinker. … They have to process a lot in a short amount of time."

Like many other positions this spring, Wasson believes it could be after the summer 7-on-7 season and even early into the fall season before a starting quarterback is set.

The same is true with the wide receivers. Right now, Wasson wants his receivers to realize that being unselfish is really where their focus should be – not on putting up big numbers to look impressive. With the level of depth available at the position, receivers should aim to be team players, he said.

"We want our wide receivers to be willing to play without the ball," Wasson said. "They have to be unselfish. They have to be blockers, route-runners and catchers. They have to process a lot of information as well.

"A lot of those things will shake itself out over the summer," he said. "That’s something I’ve noticed with our offense. The deeper it goes through the summer, the better they get. … They really dive in and develop their game."

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