SPRINGFIELD — Missouri State’s quarterback competition continues with less than 20 days until the first game of the season.
Fifth-year quarterbacks Henry Belin IV and Skyler Locklear continue to battle for the starting role. Head coach Casey Woods said neither player has pulled away from the other after the Bears’ scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 15.
“If one of them had taken the offense and ran away with it, we’d already have a starting quarterback,” Woods said. “We are in a position where that hasn’t quite happened just yet.
During the scrimmage, Locklear played the most snaps with the suspected No. 1 offensive team.
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Locklear also worked with this same team during practice on Tuesday, Aug. 18.
In the scrimmage, Locklear passed for 13-for-21 across all sorts of scenarios. The offensive drills included drives starting inside their own 5-yard line, red zone work, along with two-minute exercises.
While Locklear made some big passes, especially to the outside, he did fumble once during a scramble. Last season, Locklear threw 11 interceptions with UTEP, while completing 55.% of his passes. Protecting the football is one area Woods wants him to improve.
“He’s still a little careless with the ball,” Woods said. “He can be impatient in the pocket on occasion, but we move the ball when he is in the game.”
For Belin, he held out for the final third of the scrimmage with “arm soreness,” according to Woods. Belin threw 3-for-6 during the scrimmage.
He practiced normally on Tuesday with the same team he did during the scrimmage.
“Henry has been battling a little bit of shoulder soreness,” Woods said. “We need to see where that is at. What does that look like in the short-term future, long-term future? That will impact our decision.”
Time is ticking for Missouri State to pick a quarterback, but both signal callers provide different attributes.
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Belin, the Duke transfer, stands 6-foot-3 and has succeeded in the pocket. He has worked on read-option style plays, where he has taken the ball himself around the edge.
Locklear is more of a running-style quarterback. The team continues to run read-options, triple-options, and bootlegs with the 5-foot-11 Locklear.
It’s all up to the coaching staff to see which quarterback gives the Bears the best chance to win. But fans should expect to see both quarterbacks play at some point this season.
There is no deadline to name a starting quarterback, but Woods wants it named quickly.
“Sooner than later is kind of what I’ve listed,” Woods said. “There is some timeliness that exists here because we want to give our team an opportunity to rally behind somebody. We want to give the guy an opportunity to lead the team.”
Missouri State will have another closed-door scrimmage on Friday, Aug. 21. This is another chance for Locklear and Belin to separate and for one to take the starting role.
Liam Keating covers high school sports and Missouri State athletics for The Springfield News-Leader. Send stats or information to him at Lkeating@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State starting QB battle continues between Locklear, Belin IV