It was news to starting quarterback Robert Benjamin when he was pulled from the Weber State game because of a quarterback rotationthat was unkown to the starter, also it was surprise to myself was that the backup was not Karsteen Sween-- as I thought -- but it was true freshman Austyn Carta-Samuels.
"No, I didn't [expect it]," Benjamin said of sharing time. "It was the coach's decision at the time ... and it worked out pretty well.[Juggling quarterbacks is] always a frustrating thing. But, you know, every time you get in the game, you've just got to make the best of it, so I tried to make the best of it with the time that I had."
However, it seemed that everyone knew about the rotation except for Benjamin. That is odd that other offensive players knew that the quarterbacks would be in some type of rotation, and Coach Dave Christensen says this was the plan the whole time:
"We were going to play them both," Our plan was, going into the game, to play Robert the first quarter, play Austyn the second quarter, see kind of how they played, and then go with the guy with the hot hand. Austyn had a little bit more success there in the second half.
"We'll go back to the same plan again. I feel real good about both kids. I think they're going to get better every single week. We'll evaluate the film, make a decision going into next week's game. But we certainly still have a lot of confidence in Robert and in Austyn."
Christensen plans to use two quarterbacks against number two ranked Texas as well. In the Weber State game Austyn Carta-Samuels took more snaps but was just as effective as Robert Benjamin. Since Carta-Samuels was a surprise start not much has been talked about him here, so it is time to do so.
He is a true frosh rated as a three star recruit from rivals and is part of Dave Christensen's first recruiting class -- as was Robert Benjamin. Carta-Samules was also rated as the 22nd dual-threat quarterback as well as a top 100 player from California.
He also had offers from Purdue, Air Force, Utah, San Diego State, San Jose State, and UNLV. He must be that good of an athlete to be recruited to play the option at Air Force and also San Diego State who throws the ball a lot. His speed is very good for a quarterback with 4.63 forty. If he was taller then 6" 1' he almost certainly would have garnered more attention from bigger programs.
Looking at his highlight video he looks to be a realy good athlete who is capabale of running and passing the ball with efficency; which makes him ideal for the spread attack being implemented in Laramie. He does make plays with his feet by moving the pocket which can be risky in the FBS level, and especially when the play Texas this week.
Drop speed is very good. He gets set quickly. He's a good athlete. See's the field well for a shorter QB and does an excellent job keeping his eyes downfield. Is able to scramble and seems most comfortable when creating and improvising. Does a good job of getting his shoulder's square when throwing on the run.
He made multiple runs and beat the defensive to the edge for either a touchdown or a first down in his videos. He did show great poise, even when on the run.
Has extensive experience from both under center and from the shotgun and has proven he does not always need to be in the shotgun to be successful. Is on the shorter side, but is thick and well built in the same manner Missouri's Chase Daniel is.
Overall, Carta-Samuels is a sleeper in this class and will have some limitations due to his size, but he can play and his recruitment should heat up this fall.
Hopefully those recruiting services are right by calling Carta-Samuels a sleeper. Either way he and Robert Benjamin will be splitting time against Texas, and coach Dave Christensen has yet to announce how long he plans to play with two quarterbacks.