The tough competition between the two possible starting quarterbacks came to a close when the coach made it clear who his choice was at the scrimmage on August 23.

As everyone saw at the first game, sophomore Jason Smith will be the starting quarterback for the second season in a row. It was a difficult decision for head coach Marshall Sperbeck, but it came down to who had the most experience.

“He was better in the fall camp and more ready with more experience than Mcleod,” Sperbeck said.

Although he is not the starting quarterback, sophomore Mcleod Bethel-Thompson still saw playing time in the fourth quarter of the first game.

“He did a nice job and managed the game well, but didn’t get too much throwing time,” Sperbeck said.

When asked about the decision made, Bethel-Thompson supported the coach’s decision and will continue to work hard. But he was a little disappointed that he may not see too much playing time.

“I’ve been in the back up position at my last school, but I never thought I’d be in the back up position here. I just need to adjust and still be prepared to play in every game,” he said.

With all this going on, Bethel-Thompson still backed up Smith and described him as “savvy”.

“He finds a way to get stuff done and drives the offense,” Bethel-Thompson said.

Smith said he decided to play football because of the camaraderie, competitiveness and the atmosphere.

“Some of my best friends are on the football team,” Smith said.

He seemed to love getting together with his friends and just playing football.

Smith explained, “All of the guys are coming together for one common goal.”

This season the main goal has been to improve from last season and focus on the team as a whole. Smith sees potential in this team and hopes they will go far.

“Our biggest goals are to get to the playoffs this year and possibly go to the Big Sky Tournament,” Smith said.

When it comes to inspiration and motivation to do better, Smith looks to his older brother. He described it as a competition between him and his brother to outdo each other.

“Growing up I watched him play and he always pushed me to do better than him,” he said.

Many athletes usually have traditions they follow before the game and have superstitions they try not to break. For Smith, he chooses to get his head in the game and tries to focus by relaxing.

“I’m usually quiet before the games and I listen to music to get focused,” Smith said.

He said that he doesn’t have one certain type of music he listens to or any special theme song.

Smith said, “I just listen to whatever is on the radio at that time and try to relax.”

He does have one routine though that he said he has been doing since he was 8 years old. This superstition is that he always gets dressed the same way.

“I always try to keep the same routine,” he said.

Growing up Smith said he always looked up to Steve Young and is a true 49er’s fan. But, right now he’s been watching quarterback Peyton Manning from the Indianapolis Colts.

“He plays smart and I try to imitate him as much as I can,” he said

Since Smith’s back injury last season, he needs to stay healthy throughout the season. He said he tries to stay in shape by getting a good sleep schedule down and resting as well as always stretching before and after practice. To stay in shape, Smith mentioned the team does have a weight lifting program that they follow, which Sperbeck has set up for them. On different days the team will work on different areas of the body and build muscle. Also, Smith tries to eat healthy and stay away from the tempting junk food that most college students fall for.

Besides studying, eating, sleeping and football; Smith enjoys playing a few rounds of golf with his friends as well as keeping his mind sharp by reading. His favorite books lately have been by author John Grisham.

When he’s not playing football or training, which is one month out of the year, he is recovering from the season.

“I try to relax and get away from football. I just go back to being a college student and a normal 20-year-old guy,” said Smith.

His goals in life seem to be themed around just being happy with what he does and education is an important key.

Smith said,” Football is a good excuse to come to school, but a good education is necessary. I hope to just be successful and happy in the future and have a family.”

The coach has been very pleased with his decision to choose Smith and was impressed by his performance in the first game.

“He executed things well and had no mental errors,” Sperbeck said.

Taylor Collis can be reached at [email protected]