Alcorn State University football coach Fred McNair made it clear at SWAC Media Day that there is competition in the Braves quarterback room.
With a history of producing some of the best quarterbacks that the SWAC has to offer, Coach Fred McNair knows what he is doing when finding his next signal-caller. This year the Braves’ quarterback room is deep with talent but the starter will have to prove himself to McNair’s liking.
“You gotta play man, you gotta show me that you can lead this team, lead this offense in terms of what you can do. Can you make plays with your legs and stuff like that. That helps out a lot when you got a quarterback that can do those kinds of things” McNair told Tolly Carr.
McNair mentioned that quarterbacks Aaron Allen, Tyler Macon, Tre Lawrence and Roderick Hartsfield are all capable of being the starter.
Allen, the returning starting quarterback, is the most experienced under center with throwing for 1,424 yards and eight touchdowns on 121 completions last season. This year will be Allen’s sixth year of college football. Before transferring to Alcorn, he spent four years playing quarterback at Louisiana Tech University.
Macon made waves by transferring to Alcorn State University from Missouri after the 2022 season. During his freshman year in 2021, he saw limited playing time as he threw for 143 yards and one touchdown. Last season he saw less playing time as he didn’t record any passing stats. Before starting his college career, Macon was ranked the 34th pro-style quarterback in the class of 2021.
Lawrence returns as he backed up Allen last year. In four games, he completed 27 passes for 352 yards and threw one touchdown.
Hartsfield comes in as a 6’1 freshman from Waxahachie, Texas where he led his high school to 10-3 record while playing under center.
“As coaches, we wanna see that competition level in that room, just like any other room. You wanna be able to create competition for your players and the best guy gonna step up, he’s gonna take the ranks he’s gonna lead,” McNair added.
As the 2023 football season approaches, the best guy will need to step up and be ready for the Braves opener on the road against the University of Southern Mississippi on September 2nd.