The Oregon St. Beavers appear to be done with the two-quarterback experience. Ryan Katz is being shelved and Mike Riley is moving on with the future. Sean Mannion was named the official starter. John Hunt of the Oregonian has more.
"We're going to start Sean Mannion at quarterback,'' Beavers coach Mike Riley said after Tuesday's practice.
Mannion had been sharing those duties with incumbent Ryan Katz, but after a loss to Sacramento State of the FCS and a choppy shutout loss to Wisconsin in which the quarterback substitutions did not help, Riley decided to make the announcement now.
"This guy just kept rising and, in our mind, earned the right to be a starter,'' said Riley, who has two weeks to prepare Mannion for the Sept. 24 home game against UCLA.
Katz's wrist held him back all spring, and he had a horrible start to 2011 (perhaps one of the most horrible single game performances by any FBS quarterbacks), completing 11 of 22 passes for a wimpy 4.0 yards per attempt (with one interception too) against Sacramento State in their upset. Mannion came in and was much more effective, completing around two-thirds of his passes (and 66% through the first two games) for a better 7.7 yards per attempt. Katz and Mannion were juggled around the first two games, but it looked like Mannion ended up winning the job by hanging around as best he could against a formidable Wisconsin front.
The Beavers have the week off, but the UCLA Bruins will be Oregon State's next opponent in Corvallis. UCLA rebounded from a horrid effort defending Case Keenum by holding down anemic San Jose State, but safe to say the Bruins will be an ideal opponent for Mannion to start off his Pac-12 career.
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