ABILENE – Three weeks ago, ACU head coach Chris Thomsen thought he would have a three-way battle for the starting quarterback spot.
But after
Zach Stewart quit the team the Friday before summer practice started and
Mitchell Gale out-performed
Clark Harrell throughout August, Thomsen's decision turned out to be a pretty easy one.
"Mitchell will be our starting quarterback, and that's a spot he's earned," Thomsen said. "He's had a great camp and built on what he did last year. I believe he's ready to take the next step in his progression as the leader of our offense."
Gale became the starter in the sixth game of the season when he threw for 300 yards and three scores in the Wildcats' 43-6 win over East Central on Oct. 3. He followed that with a solid effort (18 of 24 for 218 yards and one score) in a road win over Angelo State.
However, he followed that with two uneven performances (112 yards and two interceptions in a loss to West Texas A&M and a 16-of-41 performance in a loss to Tarleton State). Those up and down performances were part of the growing process for a redshirt freshman thrust into the starting role after neither Stewart nor Harrell was consistent enough in the Wildcats' first five games.
However, as Thomsen noted, Gale does have a road win over a nationally ranked Angelo State team on his resume, as well a home win over a nationally ranked Texas A&M-Kingsville team. He also led the Wildcats to a second-half comeback win over nationally ranked Midwestern State in the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.
"I think a lot of people forget that Mitchell has those wins on his resume," Thomsen said. "He had a good year for us, but those inconsistent games are sometimes the ones that people tend to focus on."
Thomsen said the primary reason Gale won the competition for the starting job was because of his work over the summer.
"I've seen a lot of improvement in his footwork and his accuracy," Thomsen said. "So much of being accurate with the football has to do with footwork. He worked hard this summer on his footwork, and you can see that. I believe he's on the right progression."
Thomsen also believes that Gale will be better in 2010 simply because the players around him will be better.
"I've seen more consistency from Mitchell, but I've also seen it from the players around him," Thomsen said. "Some of his inconsistencies last year were him, and some were due to the people around him. But I believe we'll be better at receiver and on the offensive line, and we've got good running backs. All of those areas are better, and that will have an effect on Mitchell."
Harell – who threw for 167 yards and a couple of touchdowns last year – will be the backup, while redshirt freshman
John David Baker of San Angelo is the third-string quarterback. Baker moved to receiver last spring, but after two weeks of summer camp the coaching staff decided to move him back to quarterback.
