TALLAHASSEE, Fla.-When Dan Ellis missed a start last season, backup David Rivers had the good fortune to make his first and only Division I start the next week against Georgia Tech and the ACC's most porous pass defense. This time around, with Ellis out with a nearly healed hamstring injury Saturday, Bryson Spinner ended up with Florida State. At Doak Campbell Stadium. Against a Seminole defense ranked sixth in the nation. Poor Bryson.
The Cavaliers (4-3, 3-2 ACC) swallowed a 37-3 loss in Tallahassee, but Spinner actually managed to do relatively well for a brand spankin' new quarterback. Though he finished just 9-for-21 for 130 yards with an interception, Spinner gradually calmed down after a shaky opening and got to the point where he almost looked at ease at the helm of the Virginia offense.
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"Spinner was a little nervous in the beginning, I thought, but he settled down and did pretty well," Cavalier coach George Welsh said. "He did a good job running the option, made the right pitches. He threw the ball fairly well, considering you'd rather not have to have a redshirt freshman quarterback going against Florida State's defense."
Spinner's most poised play of the day came about six minutes before fellow redshirt freshman Matt Schaub relieved him near the end of the third quarter. Spinner neatly side-stepped an oncoming Seminole pass rusher and fired a 19-yard strike to senior wideout Demetrius Dotson over the middle. The completion was wiped out after Dotson fumbled and FSU drew a flag for jumping offsides, but Spinner's newfound composure was evident for at least one play. Cue the dancing visions of Aaron Brooks, the Cavs' last multi-dimensional threat at quarterback.
"I got more comfortable in the pocket as the game went on," Spinner said. "It was just [about] settling down. My nerves were jumping in the first series."
Spinner was sacked four times and harassed constantly by a Florida State defense that has allowed a mere 11.1 points per game. Yet the 6-foot-3 Alexandria native maintained that despite his opening jitters, he welcomed the opportunity to make his starting debut in Tallahassee.
"That's what you come to college for, to play against the best," Spinner said. "You don't back down from anything."
With four very challenging games arriving in the next five weeks, the Virginia offense faces a repeat of Saturday's three-point, 199-yard performance if Spinner - or Schaub, who was 5-for-6 with a pick in the fourth quarter - starts under center. Fortunately for the Cavaliers, that possibility appears remote, because Ellis is expected to start against North Carolina in two days. He was 90-95 percent healthy for the Florida State game, but Welsh said he did not want to let Ellis risk reaggravating the injury. All systems are go for Ellis' return to the field Saturday.
And thus, Spinner will return to the sideline Saturday. Welsh said yesterday that Spinner is the clear-cut No. 2 quarterback - at least for this week - but he is clear where he fits on the Virginia depth chart.
"Dan, he's the man," Spinner said. "He's the guy this year, so I'll just have to wait my turn"
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