BRIDGEPORT - In the game of football, the quarterback position is the one that everyone has their eyes on. Teams can win games without great quarterback play, but it certainly helps if teams have someone taking every snap and is able to make big plays when the game is on the line.
In the Mountain East Conference, the signal caller is a major strength for several teams entering the 2017 season.
A number of schools in the league are returning quarterbacks who have been starting, or receiving plenty of playing time, for a few seasons now and they have emerged as the types of leaders their teams need in order to have the success they're looking for.
"There's been a great emphasis in this league on opening up the offense, and you can do that when you have so many good quarterbacks throughout the conference," Shepherd coach Monte Cater said Tuesday at the MEC media day at the Bridgeport Conference Center. "Teams are throwing more and spreading people out. It puts a lot of pressure on defenses, but the bottom line is we have a lot of fine players at the position here and it makes it even tougher when a lot of them can run just as well as they can pass it."
Cater must replace Jeff Ziemba - a 2016 finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy, given to Division II's top football player - but the veteran coach has a very good quarterback ready to take over in Connor Jessop. A former Virginia Tech QB, Jessop has appeared in 16 games the last two years for the Rams and set a school record last season when he threw for 480 yards and six touchdowns in a win over West Virginia State.
Jessop said being in a situation where he's taking over for Ziemba and playing in a league with so many talented quarterbacks has made him step up his game heading into this season.
"One of the things this conference does better than a lot of leagues is put up a lot of points," Jessop said. "It says a lot about a team if you can hold some of these quarterbacks and these offenses in check, and it doesn't happen too often. It's always fun to watch these guys get to work from across the field. It's good to watch them and see things they do and learn things you can do to add to your game and get better."
West Virginia State returns Matt Kinnick, a three-year starter who led the league in passing in 2015 with 280.4 yards per game. Kinnick brings a level of consistency and leadership into the WVSU locker room that is valuable for new coach John Pennington as he makes the move from offensive coordinator to head coach. It also helps that Kinnick has other quarterbacks like Austin Hensley, a West Virginia transfer who filled in successfully for Kinnick when he was injured at times last season, pushing him every day in practice to improve.
"He never misses a workout, he never takes it easy. He's one of our hardest workers and you can see it from the way he's grown," Pennington said of Kinnick. "Our guys respect him, that's why he's one of our best leaders. He leads with his actions and gives it everything he's got.
"He battles with our other quarterbacks every day and he knows it is going to make our team better."
The MEC also features quarterbacks like Notre Dame's Malik Grove. Like Kinnick, Grove is heading into his third year starting for the Falcons and emerged as one of the conference's elite playmakers in 2016.
Grove is one of Division II's top dual-threat quarterbacks, throwing for 2,714 yards and 32 touchdowns with just three interceptions while also running for 578 yards last season. As Notre Dame College enters the new season picked to finish second in the league, he's hoping to continue standing out and helping the Falcons reach greater heights.
"It makes you work harder, it makes you stay in the film room and make sure you're doing the right stuff out there," Grove said. "I'm really competitive so I go out there wanting to be the best. If you go out and do that, then I feel like I'll give us a chance to get wins and hopefully put on a show for the fans and help us try to win a championship and go to the playoffs."
Contact Michael Carvelli at 304-348-4810 or michael.carvelli@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @carvelli3.