Throughout the offseason, the NAU football squad was trying to figure out who would replace former starting quarterback Michael Herrick.
On Friday during their pep rally, the Lumberjacks announced what amounted to a 10-month decision -- fourth-year junior Cary Grossart will take the reigns of the NAU offense.
During the spring and fall, Grossart battled senior Chasen Stangel and redshirt freshman Chase Cartwright for the rights to lead the first-team offense and received the majority of snaps with the unit during practices. Although the decision was a long time in the making, head coach Jerome Souers said that was due to the quality of each of the signal-callers.
"You want it to be the right guy and we've got some really good quarterbacks in the system, so it's not an easy decision at this point," Souers said. "We're really excited with how guys have improved in that position. Cary's been here and one of the things that separated him from some of the other guys was his rapport with the seniors. It was really obvious in the way they responded to him."
While Stangel served as Herrick's backup during 2010, both Grossart and Cartwright surpassed him after improving during spring and fall drills. The Jacks responded to Grossart's leadership throughout the offseason, while Cartwright displayed plenty of poise as well in his second year with the program.
"I built a lot of relationships with these guys and now I get to be in the (No. 1) huddle," Grossart said. "It's a big boost and I'm ready to go."
Still, both Grossart and Cartwright remain untested. Cartwright worked with the scout team last season while Grossart only saw action in one game, completing 3 of 4 passes for 58 yards in the opener against Western New Mexico.
Regardless of who is under center, Souers has been outspoken about the Jacks' running game over the past few months. Sophomore Zach Bauman returns from a freshman season in which he posted 1,059 rushing yards and 16 all-purpose touchdowns. Along with junior Giovannie Dixon and redshirt freshman Jamaal Perkins, the Jacks have a stable of backs to keep opponents on their heels. And with two fullback transfers from FBS programs, NAU is building a power running game.
"We have three quality running backs," Souers said. "We picked up some personnel to get bigger when we need to in regards to fullback-tight end personnel, but I think we'll always have balance within our offense.
"We'll always seek to throw it and run it but with guys like those in the backfield, if (opponents) aren't paying attention to the run, we're going to run the football."
Jacob May can be reached at jmay@azdailysun.com or 556-2257. Follow him on Twitter @JacobBMay.
