During head coach Ted Roof's 5-34 career at Duke, his offense has suffered from a lack of consistency and leadership primarily because he has played six different quarterbacks.
With last year's starter Thaddeus Lewis coming back and 2005 starter Zack Asack returning from his year-long suspension, Roof and his staff had yet another vital quarterback decision to make in the offseason. But Lewis' hard work and steady improvement have solidified his place at the top of the depth chart, and the Blue Devils hope to keep the revolving door at quarterback shut.
"Coaches don't make the decision," quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Peter Vaas said. "Players make the decision for you. Thaddeus has an air of confidence about him, and he's executed extremely well throughout the spring and throughout the fall. It was just a natural thing that it ended up this way."
Voted the team's Most Improved Offensive Player last year, Lewis has continued to show off his strong arm and unique ability to throw on the run. He is an accurate passer, completing almost 53 percent of his attempts last year, but Roof has stressed that he must take better care of the ball. He threw 16 interceptions versus just 11 touchdowns in 2006.
Asack, in his six starts during the 2005 campaign, threw for nearly 1,000 yards and ran for another 95 yards and two scores. Also a winner of the Most Improved Offensive Player award, Asack hopes his scrambling capabilities will mesh well with Lewis' in-the-pocket style of play.
"We learn a lot of different stuff from each other," Asack said. "Everyday in practice, we push each other. He's definitely making me a better quarterback, and I feel I'm doing the same for him."
Since Asack's return this summer, the two quarterbacks have been contending for the starting spot. Instead of shying away from it, Lewis has embraced the competition because of its positive effects on the whole squad.
"When Zack came back, it was just a momentum booster for the team," Lewis said. "For him and I to go out there and compete against each other, we're making each other better, as well as the team. When they see that competition level, then everybody else is competing like that at every other position, too."
Lewis played himself into the starting position over the course of the offseason with his commitment to improving and his leadership qualities, Vaas said. But above all, he added, a successful quarterback needs to execute and exude confidence.
"Any quarterback is going to set himself apart from the others through those [qualities]," Vaas said. "He needs confidence in himself and that breeds confidence in those around him. And if you don't execute at that position, you don't have a very good chance of being a good quarterback. Thaddeus has shown a propensity to execute pretty well."
As far as any controversy is concerned, the two quarterbacks simply deny there is one. And why should there be? Looking to snap a 22-game losing streak against Division I-A opponents, Roof says the most important thing is the team and that both players are willing to do whatever it takes to win.
"They're teammates," Roof said. "They both want the same thing. They want our team to win. They don't care how. That's why they make each other better and they make our football team better. That's what being a team is all about."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.