It’s been a widely-held assumption that Stephen Morris and Jacory Harris would be duking it out over the next few months for the right to begin the season as Miami’s starting quarterback.
While that may likely end up being the case, both players are somewhat shockingly looking up at another competitor as spring practice gets set to commence.
The Hurricanes released the first depth chart of the Al Golden era ahead of the start of the spring sessions and, in a more than mildly surprising turn of events, Spencer Whipple‘s name sits atop the depth chart at the quarterback position. Harris, the starter last year until a concussion knocked him out both literally and figuratively, is listed as the No. 2 QB, while Morris, who replaced Harris, is at No. 3.
Whipple, whose offensive coordinator father was not retained by Golden, played in all 13 games as a junior in 2010, primarily as a holder on kicks. He did attempt 12 passes, completing eight of them. Unfortunately, two of those completions went to the other team.
Obviously there’s a helluva lot of distance between now and the start of the 2011 season, so the way the depth chart looks now likely won’t be the way it looks in early September. Whipple’s name appearing at the top of the depth chart, however, takes on the appearance of a shot across the bow of both Harris and Morris that Golden’s not going to hand one of the two the job simply because they’ve been there, done that.
Incidentally, the Hurricanes will begin spring practice Saturday morning.