Where have all the quarterbacks gone?

For the past several seasons at Duke it has been commonplace to see more than one quarterback taking the field during games. Anthony Boone registered snaps behind Sean Renfree throughout the 2012 campaign en route to bowl eligibility. Boone was pulled from under center periodically in favor of Brandon “The Phantom” Connette and current starter Thomas “The Menace” Sirk. But for the first time in several years in Durham, only one quarterback took the field against Northwestern Saturday.

Due to injuries at the running back position in the offseason, third-string quarterback Nicodem Pierre transitioned from signal caller to fill the holes left by Jela Duncan and Joseph Ajeigbe. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, this has left the depth at quarterback thin.

“We’re generally three-deep or whatever, [so this year] we’re a little thinner,” Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said in a teleconference Sunday. “Parker Boehme really [is] our only other quarterback with any kind of experience we want to play right now so it’s a little different role.”

Boehme is not like other quarterbacks that have usually been the backup for Cutcliffe though. The redshirt sophomore is more of a pocket passer that has not demonstrated the bruiser mentality once possessed by Boone, Connette and Sirk. In the first two games of the season Boehme registered minutes, contributing 87 yards on 6-for-8 passing and 36 yards and a touchdown on 10 rushes, but has not played in the traditional goal line package common to Blue Devil backups.

As the season progresses, a role could open up for the Jacksonville Beach, Fla., native as the next piece in the two quarterback system for Duke. But as long as injuries persist and the Blue Devils have to maintain a true backup in the event that Sirk struggles with injuries, Boehme’s role in Durham may remain undefined.

“[We have to] evaluate where Parker can help us win games—we’ve got to look at all of that,” Cutcliffe said. “These games are precious. Any way and any thing that we can do to help us win games, we’ve got to look at.”