Injuries are a brutal reality in college football, so it’s no surprise that only two weeks in to the 2015 season, there have already been some notable quarterbacks that will be forced to miss the rest of the year. Those injuries have opened the door for notable backups to take over. It’s not ideal but remember, it doesn’t mean these teams are finished. Just take a look back to last season’s BCS Playoff Champion, the Ohio State Buckeyes, who used a third-string quarterback to win it all. Here are four backups that have been forced into action:
DeShone Kizer, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The Fighting Irish were already dealing with the loss of their star running back Tarean Folston to a season-ending torn ACL injury in Week 1 when their star quarterback Malik Zaire went down with a fractured ankle in Week 2. That created some major question marks about whether this team had enough pieces left to be considered a serious contender for the College Football Playoff.
Senior runner C.J. Prosise proved he can handle the workload as the feature back when he ran for 155 yards and a touchdown in Week 2 but it was Kizer that delivered the most impressive strike when he hit Will Fuller for a 39-yard touchdown pass with 12 seconds left in regulation. That was the difference in a 34-27 win. Kizer completed 8-of-12 passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns in the victory and all eyes will be on the sophomore quarterback again this week when Notre Dame hosts No. 14 Georgia Tech.
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Tanner Mangum, BYU Cougars
BYU knew the situation the Irish were in last week all too well after losing senior quarterback Taysom Hill to a season-ending Lisfranc sprain in his foot in the opener. That forced freshman Tanner Mangum into the spotlight in Week 1 against Nebraska. Mangum replaced Hill early in the fourth quarter of that showdown with the Huskers and delivered in a big way with a 42-yard touchdown Hail Mary touchdown pass as time expired. That handed Nebraska its first loss in a season opener since 1985 and ended the longest streak season-opening win streak in college football at 29. Hill followed up that win with an excellent performance in his first career start against No. 20 Boise State as he completed 17-of-28 passes for 309 yards and two touchdowns as well as two interceptions as BYU stunned the No. 20 Broncos. BYU certainly looks like a dark horse sleeper to contend for the College Football Playoff even with Mangum in the starter role. We’ll know more this week as they have a tough test at No. 10 UCLA.
Jerrod Heard, Texas Longhorns
The Longhorns were reeling after their Week 1 blowout loss to Notre Dame, so head coach Charlie Strong decided to make some changes – including at quarterback where they handed the No. 1 job to freshman Jerrod Heard. The passing numbers might not have looked very good on paper with only four completions but Heard was 4-of-7 for 120 yards and two touchdowns and he added another 96 yards on the ground in a 42-28 win over Rice. The competition will get a lot tougher down the line – including three games in a row against AP Top 25 teams with Oklahoma State, TCU and Oklahoma. Even this week is a stern test as California looks to be much improved. We’ll see if Heard can keep it up or whether he just looked good against Rice.
Perry Orth, South Carolina Gamecocks
South Carolina suffered a couple of tough blows in Week 2 with a 26-22 loss to Kentucky made worse by the fact that sophomore quarterback Connor Mitch suffered a separated shoulder that will sideline him for the remainder of the year. Junior Perry Orth stepped in and looked solid as he completed 13-of-20 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown and it will be interesting to see how he performs now that he will be in the No. 1 role. Mitch beat out Orth for the starting job in camp this spring but Orth is a capable quarterback. It will be interesting to see how the team responds with him under center.
