By ROBERT CESSNATexas A&M head football coach Mike Sherman doesn't have a quarterback controversy. However, he does have to decide how best to utilize backup quarterback Ryan Tannehill. That's been cause for debate, and it could become a controversy.
Is Tannehill best suited to be:
A. the backup quarterback.
B. a wide receiver.
C. the starting quarterback by season's end.
D. all of the above.
There is no easy answer, and Tannehill's talented enough that any decision could be right. At least that's been the case thus far.
Last year, Tannehill was third in a top-heavy quarterback race. But instead of donning a baseball cap and grabbing a clipboard, he became the team's leading receiver. He's gifted enough that he could earn all-conference honors if he stayed at wide receiver.
But the more time he spends at quarterback, the more he looks like a natural. He has all the intangibles that all great quaterbacks have. He just didn't do enough to take the job from incumbent Jerrod Johnson, who is in a precarious position.
About a dozen players off last season's 4-8 team were virtually assured of starting positions before fall camp opened. Johnson wasn't one of them, despite some good numbers. He completed 59.5 percent of his passes for 2,435 yards. He also threw for a school-record 21 touchdowns. But he was only 2-7 as a starter, playing poorly in A&M's last three games. It didn't matter that few other Aggies played well against Oklahoma, Baylor or Texas. Johnson's eight sacks and six interceptions along with a 47.2 percent completion rate in those games invited competition, which Tannehill supplied.
A torn labrum in Tannehill's right shoulder knocked him out of spring practice and, for all practical purposes, knocked him out of a chance to be the starting quarterback.
For now.
Sherman, as expected, named Johnson the starter two weeks ago -- but just for New Mexico.
"And, we'll go from there," he added.
Actually, we don't even know how Sherman will use Tannehill against the Lobos, though getting some snaps at quarterback makes sense. We know Tannehill can play wide receiver. He needs to play quarterback in a game, and the sooner the better. Tannehill shouldn't be needed at wide receiver to beat New Mexico, Utah State and Alabama-Birmingham. The Aggies need to establish the pecking order of the freshman receivers and also see which of the veterans they can count on during these games.
There should be a sense of urgency in getting Tannehill snaps under center considering that last year Stephen McGee was hurt in the first quarter of the second game, which was at New Mexico. Johnson led A&M to a 28-22 victory by throwing for three touchdowns. He had previously thrown only seven passes, but that's six more than Tannehill.
Johnson's health isn't the only concern. He has yet to beat a team with a winning record. It's important for him to gain confidence in September, because the schedule turns tougher in October. And if Johnson performs well against Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Texas Tech, you'd expect Tannehill to get more and more snaps at wide receiver.
But if Johnson struggles at some point and Sherman turns to Tannehill, it would be beneficial for Tannehill to have had some snaps under center before trotting out onto Tech's Jones AT&T Stadium.
What to do with Tannehill is a pleasant problem to have. Hopefully for A&M, it won't become a controversy.
Robert Cessna's e-mail address is robert.cessna@theagle.com.
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