Advertisement
football Edit

Grant Tisdale seeing progress in backup quarterback competition

OXFORD | Grant Tisdale admits he was scrambling to pick things up mentally during spring practice, taking the crash course and trying to learn and execute Rich Rodriguez’s offense with the extra semester.

He called himself a “lost puppy,” when looking back at those weeks, but after a summer with his teammates and some time to immerse in the playbook without a plethora of other responsibilities, Tisdale sees individual progress.

“Matt (Corral) is bringing me along and all my teammates are helping me so I’m trying to learn from those guys and who has been here in the past and help the team win any way I can,” Tisdale said. “Just be ready because I’m always one snap away.”

Corral, a redshirt freshman in a room with nothing but scholarship true freshmen, is the unquestioned starter, but Tisdale, Kinkead Dent and John Rhys Plumlee are the options for the backup gig. And with Dent slowed by an injury, Tisdale and Plumlee are sorting through the practice snaps.

Plumlee, a two-sport athlete, didn’t have the benefit of a spring practice, thus allowing Tisdale to be ahead with the system.

“Dent got banged up a little bit so it’s really John Rhys Plumlee and Grant Tisdale batting for that No. 2 spot,” Rodriguez said. “Grant was here in the spring so he’s ahead mentally, but John Rhys is a really good athlete and a very smart guy. Those two and Matt are splitting rotational reps with ones and twos with Matt mostly going with the ones, of course. It’s a good group to coach. I sometimes forget they are freshmen and it’s all new to them.”

Tisdale was a four-star prospect out of Allen, Texas, where he led the Eagles to a 16-0 record and No. 4 national ranking in 2017. He put up 101 total touchdowns in his high school career. The summer work led by the players helped Tisdale acclimate, and he’s focused on attention to detail in the effort to prepare for action should it come.

“I’m coming to work every day and proving I’m one of the best options fo this team and I can help get wins here,” Tisdale said. "First day this fall I could tell I’d been in my playbook and been with Coach Rod. The chemistry we’ve built and the summer workouts, it’s great to show it’s finally coming together.”

Tisdale was no-contact during the scrimmage last Saturday, but the added element of game simulation was eye-opening for him. His focus currently is to believe in what he sees. The live action is teaching him to trust the offense and execute at a quicker pace.

“My footwork and trusting my eyes are what I’m working on,” Tisdale said. “Sometimes I overthink stuff. Sometimes I have to trust my eyes because I’ll make the right read but then I’ll second guess myself. I need to believe in what I see.”

Advertisement