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Jeff Lebby talks QB battle

Will it be Brandon Wimbush, Quadry Jones or Dillon Gabriel?

UCF's quarterback battle is just beginning, but Thursday's upcoming scrimmage will go a long way to making that determination. Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks Jeff Lebby spoke earlier this week about the three primary competitors and what he wants to see as camp progresses.

You've got an open competition this camp, guys trying to win the job every day. How fun has it been as a coach just coming out and seeing the guys compete?

"It's been good. Competition is always great at any position and having it at the quarterback position has been really good. Guys have done a good job working every day and fighting to get better every day. We've got to continue that trend."

What have you seen from Brandon Wimbush? We saw a glimpse of him in the spring. I know running is a big part of his ability and working on his accuracy and footwork was a goal coming in. How is he looking early on?

"Brandon is night and day different from the spring game to today. He's done a good job. He's put in a ton of time since the end of the spring all the way through the summer. He's done a nice job these first five days. Got to find ways to get a lot better between now and tomorrow morning. That's the goal for all of us, getting better in the next eight hours while we're in the building."

Having that experience at Notre Dame, does in that some ways give him an edge?

"You can't buy experience. You've got to live it. That's the biggest thing. He's got it. That's a big part of it. There's no doubt about it, but it's not something, at the end of the day, make the decision. He's played in some big games. He's won a bunch of big games, but again, he's got to continue to get better every day right now."

How has Dillon Gabriel looked? All the guys say he's very accurate.

"Dillon has done a good job. He's another guy that's spent a ton of time in here this summer. Has worked at a high level. He's competed his butt off every single day. He's had five good days."

What has impressed you the most about Dillon? He's a true freshman that got here in January, but for him to be squarely in the mix competing as a true freshman, that's got to be impressive?

"He's just got it. He's got great confidence in himself. He's got great leadership ability without having to say a whole lot. That's something, for an 18-year-old, to be able to come in and jump in with a bunch of older guys and be able to fit in immediately. It speaks volumes about who he is, what he is and how he plays."

Where is Quadry in his development? He's been here for a year. I know he's changed his body.

"Quad has done a really good job. He's another guy that had a great summer in the weight room. He's done a good job holding weight. All those things, so physically he's in a really good spot. Mentally, he's in a good spot. He's a guy that's going to continue to make it hard on us."

Is there a way when you will know when a guy has taken hold of the job?

"I think we'll take it day by day. As we get through the first scrimmage on Thursday, that will be a big part of it. Being able to put them in game situations for all those snaps. I think that will be very important. That will be the thing, through these first two scrimmages, to kind of tell us where we're at from a situational standpoint."

Talk more about how important Thursday will be with the scrimmage.

"It'll be big for the quarterbacks, but also big for us offensively and as a football team. We need guys to get the game situations and get out there and get a good feel for it so we can understand what we're going to get every single game day."


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