By Niles Hall (@n23hall) – Content Editor | SJSU quarterbacks Luke Weaver and Daniel Rolovich participate in a drill as Robert McDaniel and offensive coordinator Craig Stutzmann look on Aug.14 (Photo by Niles Hall – Spear Photographer)
San Jose State’s starting quarterback competition between senior Luke Weaver, freshman Daniel Rolovich and redshirt freshman Robert McDaniel is heating up at fall camp.
“I feel like all three guys have been playing well from the spring to now,” SJSU head coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “I feel like Luke’s doing a lot of good things, Robbie McDaniel improved a lot and then you have Daniel Rolovich, who is a true freshman: maybe it (competition) has gotten a little more cloudy from that standpoint.”
With two weeks until the Spartans’ Week Zero kickoff at the University of Southern California, the Spartans’ quarterback competition has reached a standstill.
Weaver, the veteran of the group, is the only one with extended playing time, having transferred from the University of Hawaii and playing in an offensive scheme similar to SJSU’s.
McDaniel brings a year of familiarity with the ‘Spread-and-Shred’ offense and stands out for his arm talent.
Daniel Rolovich, the son of University of California, Berkeley associate head coach and quarterbacks coach Nick Rolovich, brings an early understanding of SJSU’s offense. As, Nick Rolovich was a teammate of SJSU offensive coordinator Craig Stutzmann for two seasons at Hawaii. The two coaches implemented similar schemes that they played in.
“I grew up watching it and going to games at Hawaii, and throughout my whole life I’ve been around this system,” Daniel Rolovich said. “So I kind of had an idea coming in here, but when I got here I started to pick up on the little things and getting a deeper understanding of how everything works.”
Unlike other competitions, the Spartans’ three quarterbacks are working together to make each other better.
“It’s great for us cause we learn from each other cause we talk through things with each other, and if we weren’t working together, there’d be less collaboration and more working against each other,” Weaver said. “All of us want to see each other do better cause we want to better ourselves and make the team better.”
The three quarterbacks have split reps throughout fall camp, making it more difficult for the offense to build chemistry with its eventual starter.
“They all have their different approach to the offense, like with certain routes and specific areas to place the ball, and we’ve just been learning from practice and picking their brains a little bit,” SJSU junior wide receiver Cooper Hoch said. “It’s been great and they’re all doing a great job.”
The team understands the closeness of the competition and how hard the quarterbacks are working.
“It’s been great. I love all three of them. It’s hard, I couldn’t even name a starter right now. If it was up to me personally, I’d love for all of them to, but that’s between them and the coaches,” junior tight end Kamaehu Kopa-Kaawalauole said.
The tightness of the competition may be due to the similarities between the three quarterbacks’ playing styles.
“I think everybody has similar strengths; everybody’s able to create plays with their legs, being able to extend plays and not take sacks, and Coach Stutzmann strives for that and getting the ball out quick,” McDaniel said.
