Tech QB competition back on

Louisiana Tech’s starting quarterback role is officially up for grabs.

After a back-and-forth affair of shuffling signal-callers Saturday in a 23-20 overtime loss to Tulsa, the Bulldogs (1-2) will prepare for their Conference USA opener at FIU (1-3) with an official competition behind center between redshirt junior Jack Turner and redshirt freshman Evan Bullock.

“They’ll both get reps this week and we’ll see how it goes. But both will be prepared to play,” Tech head coach Sonny Cumbie said Tuesday. “I think a large part of it is going to be Tuesday and Wednesday’s practices just because that’s the bulk of all our team periods. But we’ll continue, as the weeks goes on, just see who does the best.”

Turner has started Tech’s first three games this year but was benched in the first quarter on Saturday for redshirt freshman Blake Baker. Turner then came back to start the third quarter, but after more of the same struggles offensively, Baker returned to start the fourth quarter. See, easy to follow.

But after Baker went down with an injury, Cumbie gave the reins to Bullock with under 10 minutes left in regulation, as well as the overtime period. He finished 4-6 for 49 yards and a touchdown, while Turner finished 7-14 for 41 yards.

The changes and constant switching were moves from Cumbie, as he put it, to try to give the Bulldogs’ offense juice. As of right now, however, Tech’s offense is closer to a raisin.

As a team, Tech has had 43 offensive drives this season, resulting in 18 punts, 10 turnovers, 8 touchdowns, 3 field goals, 2 turnovers on downs, and a pair of drives ending as time expired in the half. That’s good for a punt or turnover on 66.6%, or two thirds, of their drives.

Turner is 30-of-58 passing (51.7%) overall for 392 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions in three games — a completion percentage ranking as the fifth lowest among qualified quarterbacks in the country.

Bullock, 19, had a nice fourth quarter drive to give Tech a brief lead but hasn’t played much in college with just three games in two years under his belt. Overall, he’s completed 6 of his 11 passes for 70 yards for a touchdown and an interception. A former three-star prospect by 247Sports out of Anna, Texas, Bullock drew interest from Tech, Tulsa, and Western Kentucky out of high school.

As for Turner’s original backup, Baker, the fellow redshirt freshman suffered a broken collarbone on his non-throwing side against Tulsa and will miss the next four-to-five weeks.

With only Turner and Bullock available and conference play approaching, Cumbie was asked directly if the two are in a competition to lead the offense moving forward.

“I think that’s fair to say. There are a lot of positions that are back open, to be honest on offense,” Cumbie said.

Tech (1-2, 0-0 CUSA) will face FIU (1-3, 0-0 CUSA) Saturday in Miami, Florida on open CUSA play.