Zordich and Licata compete for starting quarterback job at UB

AMHERST - Alex Zordich took most of the first-team reps during the University at Buffalo Bulls spring- practice sessions last week, but the job of starting quarterback is still very much up in the air. As of Saturday, it appears to be a two-man race between Zordich, a junior, and redshirt freshman Joe Licata.

“They are,” said coach Jeff Quinn, asked if Zordich and Licata fill out the top of his pecking order. “They are going to get the first two. We really feel that all four [quarterbacks], but somebody’s got to take the first rep every day. And somebody’s going to get the No. 2 reps. And that’s really where we are right now and that’s really where we could start Sept. 1 for all I know. It may be different. But at this point those are the two guys that are going to get the majority of the beginning reps, and then we’ll flavor in Jerry [Davis] and Tony [Daniel].”

Zordich, who made a handful of starts as a freshman, could have a slight edge. He was impressive during training camp last year, narrowly losing a competition to Chazz Anderson, a fifth-year senior who previously played under Quinn at Cincinnati. Quinn likes Zordich’s mobility and has praised his leadership.

Licata is much more of a pocket passer, with a quick delivery and big-time arm. He turned a lot of heads during training camp last year, too, but never made it onto the field during the regular season. Working with strength and conditioning coach Zach Duval throughout the offseason, Licata reports to have gained 15 pounds of muscle. He’s also been working on improving his speed and agility.

“We were running in the mornings, speed work, lateral work, all that stuff and it helped out,” Licata said. “I’ve never been able to run away from anyone in the past. Hopefully I can now.”

Davis, a senior, and Daniel, a true freshman, will likely battle for the No. 3 spot. What remains to be seen, however, is incoming freshman Collin Michael – a prized 6-foot-5 recruit from Lexington, Ohio.

“I always feel like it’s a competition,” Zordich said. “You can’t get comfortable, especially at the quarterback position. It’s always a competition in my head and you can’t get comfortable anywhere. Coach has said it’s going to be a competition throughout so you have to embrace it and that’s what everybody’s done, all the quarterbacks.”

Quinn will likely name a quarterback at some point in the next two weeks, perhaps after the April 14 inner-team scrimmage. That, of course, is subject to change. Last spring, he named Davis the starter. Davis entered the season No. 3 on the depth chart and didn’t log a single statistic.

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Reach freelance sportswriter Charles Roberts at CharlesHRoberts@yahoo.com.