Test drive this Carr, Bulldogs

Don't bench Colburn, but give heir apparent a look.

Published online on Tuesday, Sep. 29, 2009

After four games, it is unclear whether Ryan Colburn is the best quarterback at Fresno State.

He could be the toughest quarterback at Fresno State. He could be the strongest quarterback at Fresno State. He could be the hardest working quarterback at Fresno State.

In fact, he is probably all of those things.

But best quarterback? I'm not sure yet.

Since returning from Cincinnati, the Bulldogs have been on furlough days during their bye week, about as far from football as a football team gets in the fall, so we will do a little wondering aloud.

Colburn has made some nice plays, the heave to Devon Wylie against Wisconsin, the throw to Jamel Hamler against Cincinnati, the scramble against Boise State.

He has the strong personality of a leader, no doubt. The Bulldogs punting team tried to run onto the field against Boise State and Colburn halted it with one angry swipe of his left arm. And then his team made it on fourth down.

Colburn grew up near Visalia, driving a tractor on his parents' farm. For a college internship, he walked into brutally hot fields and studied plants and bugs. He is Fresno, the name on the jersey, and he is San Joaquin Valley, the "V" on the back of the helmet.

He was too stubborn to slide against the Broncos and took a scary hit he didn't need. He'd play nose tackle if you asked. He's as much grit as raw talent, and represents Fresno State well in about every way.

Problem is, his team is 1-3 and he has been as responsible for the "3" as anyone else wearing red, starting with his seven interceptions. To be picky, his release could be quicker. His play-action fakes do not seem to be fooling many people. Not that he is in denial. Colburn studies constantly. He reads everything that is written about him. He knows he needs to play better.

And he hasn't exactly had the easiest debut in Broadway history. The three losses were to teams that are now 12-0. Two of them, Boise State and Cincinnati, are now in the top 10.

If Coach Pat Hill had given the starting job to Derek Carr before the season, the record could easily be the same. Still, though, I'm not sure if Colburn is the better quarterback and so a question: Why not find out?

Play them both. Starting with the Hawaii game next weekend, play them both. The team already burned Carr's possibility of a redshirt season by playing him in the first game against UC Davis.

If an offensive lineman makes mistakes, he could easily get yanked or platooned, so why not the quarterback position? Well, the easy answer is because everyone notices that sort of thing, and it just generally smells of instability, and the quarterback position affects everyone else, and yada yada yada.

But if Carr is the quarterback of the future -- and a lot of people within the Bulldogs program think he's going to be great -- why not give him a chance now? A little experience couldn't hurt, and Colburn isn't going to wilt if Carr runs onto the field to an ovation. He's too strong-willed for that, too business-like.

The magical run is long gone. It would probably take incurable swine flu to keep Boise State from winning the WAC championship. What better time to rotate a couple of quarterbacks in with the running of Ebahn Feathers? Try everything. Evaluate everything.

If getting to a bowl game is still a reality, Ryan Mathews will probably do most of the towing anyway.

It's not a cry for a benching. Colburn has earned more time. But under the circumstances, why not take the new model out for a test drive once in a while, just to see what's under the hood?