Plan B: New QB?

Junior Adam Smith is accustomed to quarterback controversy.

 When D. Bryant left the university in the summer of 2002, an immediate competition arose between Smith and then red-shirt sophomore Chris Dapolito. Head coach Carl Franks waited until the opening game of the season to announce Smith as a starter, and he and Dapolito split playing time for much of the beginning of last year. After some outstanding games, most notably against Virginia and N.C. State in 2002, the job was all Smith's, and he surprised much of the ACC with his skills.

 The California native finished fifth in the ACC in passing yards, making him the inevitable starting quarterback for 2003. Things seemed normal enough in the off-season, though redshirt freshman Mike Schneider arguably played the best of all the Duke quarterbacks in the annual Blue-White spring scrimmage. In the preseason, Franks had Schneider run plays with both the first team and the second team, and there were reports that he was outplaying Smith. But by the first press conference of the season, Smith was a lock to start.

 Then disaster struck.

 Beginning the 2003 opener against Virginia with more optimism than at any other time in the Franks era, Duke ended the 27-0 loss with more gloom than in any of the other 25 consecutive ACC losses. Much of the blame was placed on Smith's shoulders after he threw for only 47 yards on 6-for-20 passing. In contrast, Schneider went five-for-nine for 73 yards, and appeared very confident despite playing in his first collegiate game ever. Consequently, Franks made the unsurprising statement Monday that he was contemplating a quarterback change in addition to other changes to the team that returned more starters than any other squad in the country.

 "The guys that are second team, they're going to get some opportunities," Franks responded to a question about Smith's starting position. "We can't allow some of the guys to continue to play the way they've played and not give somebody else a chance. It's not really the American way of operating."

 The two quarterbacks have embraced the controversy, hoping it will make them both better players.

 "We know whoever the coaches play is just to win," Schneider said.

 "There's always competition on the field, but it's not direct competition. We want to win."

 Both said they are individually preparing to play next week, and that they do not know who Saturday's starter is. There have been no hard feelings since Franks made the decision to shake things up. "You look at the quarterbacks, we're all in it together," Smith said. "We all kind of feel like mentors to each other."

 Other players on the team feel confident in both players, and do not feel that change will cause indecisiveness on the field.

 "I think they both do a really good job," senior running back Chris Douglas said. "I couldn't really compare them. They each have different strengths and weaknesses. Overall they both are capable of leading the offense."

 It will be no shame to Smith to lose the starting job to Schneider, as the 6-foot-3 Pennsylvania native turned down scholarship opportunities at Ohio State and Maryland to become a Blue Devil. Schneider originally wanted to stay close at home, but there was a coaching change Pittsburgh.

 "I was going to a smaller school to stay close to home, but then Pitt fell through," Schneider said. "I didn't want to go to a school where I was the second quarterback coming in. You know what I'm saying? The only freshman coming in. I chose to come here."

  Although their routes greatly differ coming into Saturday's game, both Smith and Schneider want the Blue Devils to win over all other things.

 "We're both getting reps [with the first team in practice]," Smith said. "We're both trying to learn what to do against Western Carolina so we can come out firing Saturday."