MOORHEAD, Minn. (8/25/06)-- Horan breaks down the quarterbacks: “Obviously it is the biggest position to fill. We have some pretty big shoes to fill, but at the same time we feel that we have some very capable candidates who will be able to make their own mark. I don’t want our quarterback in 2006 to feel like he has to live up to being another Brian Schumacher. We think we have some players who can do some things better than Brian and it is up to us to bring those talents out.”

Drum roll please. And the role of starting the season as the no. 1 quarterback goes to........Eric Rodel. The senior who played wide receiver for the past two seasons will get his chance to showcase his outstanding athletic ability as he looks to take over the Cobber offense.

Rodel has always been the immediate backup to Schumacher. He has taken three years of reps at the position in practice but was moved to wide receiver to take advantage of his size and athletic skill as Horan is want to put the best athletes on the field no matter what the position. Rodel has played in 22 games the past two seasons so the pressure of being in the heat of battle late in the game will be nothing new. He possesses a strong arm and has shown that he has the character to take a fierce hit and bounce right back up. That ability will be necessary as the Cobbers’ unique system puts the quarterback at the front of the attack on a regular basis and exposes him to the hardest hitters in the league.

Like Schumacher, Rodel also has the skill to tuck the ball under his arm and head up field to slice apart an opposing team’s defense. His overall package of size and speed will allow Nick to not have to alter the Cobber offensive game plan from the past two seasons.

Sliding in behind Rodel on the depth chart will be three sophomores. The experience factor in the race for no. 2 goes to Jesse Nelson who played in eight games and completed 44.4 percent of his passes. Nelson also has the pedigree of having won the Minnesota Class AAAAA state championship as a senior at Minnetonka High School.

Scott Schumacher possesses the bloodline factor. Like his brother Brian, Scott has started to fill out from his freshman season. Having put on 20 pounds in the off season, Scott now has the size and presence to command the intricate offense.

The wild card of the three is Aron Goraczkowski. At 6-3 and 210 pounds, Goraczkowski is the biggest of the three backups and has steadily progressed in learning the new system since coming to Concordia as a freshman last year.

Like in 2005, Horan attracted another slew of blue chip signal callers. Leading the way is Matt Green who played at Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton and earned all-section honors as a senior. His 6-4 frame is ideal for the Cobber offense and will benefit from the quality of talent directly ahead of him.