DILLON — Montana Western is still in search of a new quarterback. Through spring practices and into fall camp, Jon Jund, Blake Sentman and Sean Miller are still competing for the job. Following the graduation of Bennett Gibson, the Bulldogs are looking for a new signal caller to lead the attack.
“”Those guys all, they stayed here this summer. They put a ton of work in. They’ve taken the stuff and all of the things they learned in the spring and they accentuated it through the summer and they’re all performing really, really well right now,” head coach Ryan Nourse said. “You’ve got to feel fortunate that we’ve got a really tough competition at that position.”
There’s been little separation in the competitoin to this point, but by the weekend, coach Nourse expects some clarity. Facing a live defense with in-game scenarios will give Nourse a better understanding for who his signal caller will be.
“A scrimmage this saturday. By then we’ll at least make a decision where we’re going to go in terms of separation,” Nourse said. “At this point, they’re all playing really well and they’re all bringing their best to the table.”
Whoever grabs the starting job has the confidence of Nourse, as well as the receiving corps. Bulldog players will be comfortable in Nourse’s decision, as all three quarterbacks have developed a relationship and rapport with the wide receivers and offensive line.
“Each of them has a different set of intangibles that is unique to themselves,” Nourse said. “Just in terms of how we do things and how we operate and moving the ball, all of them do a really good job. They have good rapport with the wide receivers and timing and pace, so that’s really one of the things that makes it pretty tough.”
“All three guys are looking real good, good competition,” said Melvin Wasler, the team’s leading returning receiver. “Just waiting for one of those guys to stand out, but they’re all three doing real good looking like great leaders, so it should be exciting.”
With some high-powered offenses in the Frontier Conference, performance at the quarterback position will be as important as ever for Western. The Bulldogs open up their season on Sept. 1 at Carroll College.
