Well, it looks like Pat Bostick really has taken his off-season conditioning very seriously.
Bostick was equally elated, not just because of a new streamlined body that has dropped his weight from 231 pounds (his playing weight last season) to 214 pounds and increased his mobility. But also because of a strength and flexibility program that has improved his arm strength and velocity.
Bostick said he couldn’t throw the football beyond 50 yards last season, even, he joked, if the “wind was at my back.” This year, with the help of strength coach Buddy Morris, he has increased the range of motion in his right arm and can throw the ball 61 yards in the air.
“Even today, there was one play where I was rolling out and I was thinking while I was running: ‘Man, this doesn’t seem normal,’ ” Bostick said. “When you’re lighter, you can move better.”
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“The best player will play, and that’s what I want for the team,” Bostick said. “You want the best guys out there. It’s a competition within myself right now. If it’s good enough, it’s good enough.”
Bostick saying the right things about the team and doing the right things in the offseason. That’s reassuring. Now, it becomes a question about how things are coming with his delivery. That wind-up of his has to remain a concern.
Bill Stull, was back taking snaps at long last. Predictably, he was happy to be back.
“I think it’s only going to make me mentally and physically stronger,” Stull said. “I understand what it takes to get the job done, but I also know what it takes to have it taken away, kind of.”
Stull is back to full strength after suffering a thumb injury on his right (throwing) hand, and split the majority of the snaps with Bostick yesterday. Both quarterbacks practiced with the first team while Smith and Cross’s snaps were limited. Smith saw more time than Cross, a mobile quarterback who is still learning the playbook.
The conventional wisdom is that Bostick will take the redshirt he should have had last year, this season. Then Greg Cross and Stull ultimately splitting time at QB. Hard to go against that view right now.
Stull, obviously, has the advantage of being in the system for 3 years and familiarity and comfort with the coaches. Cross has the advantage of being a more athletic QB and offering more options to run the ball. Both have maturity and are about the same size.
Still, I think Bostick will force his way into the conversation. He has the advantage, at least early, of being more familiar with the 1st team and knowing the playbook better than Cross.
