Colts QB question

Being that it’s the glamour position, every junior football coach in Canada will be greeted with the same question when training camps open later this month:

“How do things stack up at quarterback?”

For the Calgary Colts the question is especially pertinent because head coach John Stevens must replace starter Derek Cooper, who had an outstanding final season in 2012.

Stevens has two quarterbacks returning for their final year of eligibility, Jeremy Long and Kiefer Olson, who will get most of the attention at the start.

“I think the main battle for our starting position at this point will be between those two guys,” Stevens said.

“But, after saying that we have two other guys who have been looking good — that is Cole Meyer, who is in his second year with us, and Brett Hunchak who won a provincial championship with Notre Dame high school.”

Long saw significant playing time in 2012 and was used to run on short yardage situations. He took over when Cooper dislocated his shoulder during the Prairie Football Conference semifinal defeat to the Regina Thunder at McMahon Stadium and threw a pair of touchdown passes. The Colts lost on a last-minute TD.

Cooper was named the PFC’s most outstanding offensive player and outsanding offensive back and was named to the all-conference team.

Meyer joined the Colts last year after a stellar high school career in White Rock, B.C. Hunchak threw a pair of touchdown passes at the Alberta Senior Bowl in the spring, leading the South to victory over the North.

“Both Cole and Brett had outstanding spring camps, so they are definitely going to be part of that mix,” said Stevens, who is also the Colts defensive coordinator, whith Adam Blasetti serving as offensive coordinator.

“The way we look at it, our training camp and exhibition game will determine who will start the season at the quarterback position.”

Two other QBs are Cole Mayberly, who is in his second year, and newcomer Jon Mataya of Welland, Ont.

Stevens is perfectly comfortable entering the season with his roster of quarterbacks.

“We’ve had a lot of extra practices on the weekend during the winter and all the quarterbacks have worked really yard,” he said.

“I think all our off-season efforts are going to pay off, especially to start the season because I think we’ll be starting at a higher level than we probably were last year.

“But, who is going to be our starting quarterback going into our first game in Regina to start the season is still to be determined.”

The Colts begin training camp July 27. They open the season on the road Aug. 18 against Regina. Calgary’s home opener is Sept. 8 against the Winnipeg Rifles at McMahon.