The Quarterback Quandary - Analysis

By Bruce Wood
www.biggreenalert.com

Hanover -- First things first. For as much as losing quarterback Josh Cohen to academics was a blow to the Dartmouth football program, it is more of a blow to Josh, to his family and to his friends.
Josh is a bright and talented kid who I enjoyed getting to know last year. Hopefully a little time away will give him perspective on what he wants in life and how to achieve it. If, as has been written, he wants to return to Dartmouth and Dartmouth football in another year, I have no doubt he’ll be back and find success both on the football field and in the classroom.

When news broke during my cross country trip that Cohen was an academic casualty it wasn’t a great surprise. I’d heard murmurings to that effect before I left, but nothing had been confirmed and nothing was official, so I kept quiet out of respect for him and his family.
My first reaction when I heard it was a possibility that Cohen would be lost was that the Dartmouth football program was going to be Nancy Kerriganed -- that it would be taking a shot where it could least afford it at a juncture when it absolutely could not afford it. Josh was one of the few bright spots last fall and having a big, strong-armed quarterback with starting experience was going to be a real plus for the Big Green this season. There aren’t many veteran quarterbacks this year in a league where they often make a huge difference.
But the reality is that Josh did not have a particularly good spring practice. Given what we now know he had on his plate, that probably shouldn’t be a surprise. He even lost the No. 1 position for a spell during the spring to Tom Bennewitz.
While he didn’t get a whole lot of snaps during the Green-White scrimmage at the end of spring ball, Cohen hardly looked like a cinch to start this fall until the final minutes of each half. Then, with the clock running down, he got to work and showed exactly what he could do, smoothly and confidently driving his team for two scores. He finished a very efficient 9-of-12 for 124 yards with the two TD passes.
It would have been interesting to see what Cohen could do this fall with a year’s experience behind him and an improved line in front of him.
But I’ll admit, I am intrigued by Bennewitz. (That’s not to disparage Mike Fritz, who will battle Bennewitz for the starting job, or any of the freshmen QB’s. Fritz has been hurt most of his career and the freshmen haven’t been on the field yet, so I can’t offer informed opinions about them.)
Watching Charlie Rittgers and then Cohen get swarmed under when the protection broke down last year, I found myself increasingly wondering what would have happened if Dartmouth had a quarterback who was more adept at avoiding the rush.
Bennewitz isn’t nearly as big as Cohen, but he showed three things that caught my eye during junior varsity games against some very good competition:

• He’s elusive and can make things happen with his feet;
• He can hit the long ball;
• He has a knack for making plays and improvising.

The knock on Bennewitz has been that he’s not a practice player. The sense I have is that’s been changing and he’s come to understand that every snap during the week has to be approached like it is Saturday afternoon.
Who to compare Bennewitz to? He has an almost uncanny resemblance to Brian Mann on the field. He holds the ball the same way. He whips it with the same motion. He even runs like BMann.
And, having watched Bennewitz for a couple of years, he’s got a bit of swagger on the field. Lke Brian, he'll make some mistakes that will make you pull your hair out, but he’ll also take some chances and make some plays out of nothing. Pending improvement by the line and the development of a running game, the rising junior’s improvisational ability might be the best weapon Dartmouth has.
No Bennewitz doesn’t have varsity starting experience. But he’s played a lot of football and thrown a lot of passes. I remember when he was recruited hearing a couple members of the former staff talking about how “we might have stolen one,” and they might have been right.
Of course, there’s no guarantee Bennewitz will win the starting job this fall. Buddy Teevens is the kind of coach who is going to give everyone a shot and Tom will have to perform well during the week to get on the field on Saturday. But don’t be surprised if Bennewitz does win the job and makes some magic happen on the field. He absolutely has the ability.

As for Fritz, he showed a lot of the same qualities as Bennewitz during the spring. He, too, can make things happen with his legs. At 6-2, 195, he's bigger than Bennewitz but it's hard for me to judge how he’ll do against outside competition because he’s been sidelined two seasons by hand injuries. But whether Bennewitz or Fritz starts, it probably doesn’t hurt to have two quarterbacks who play roughly the same style battling each other.

As for the freshmen, Max Heiges garnered a lot of recruiting attention. Like Cohen, he’s a pro-style quarterback with the kind of size Teevens seems to favor. (UPDATE: I was just on campus and met Heiges, who is here early and raring to go. That won't hurt his chances.) But don’t discount classmates Jordan Kling and Alex Jenny. Both performed well in their all-star games and both are gritty playmakers who will now come to camp knowing they will get a good look. It is going to be interesting, for sure.