By T. SCOTT BOATRIGHT, Lincoln Parish Journal
GRAMBLING — Less than two weeks before their seaso begins with the Shreveport Kickoff Classic against Langston at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30 at Independence Stadium, the Grambling State Tigers are still looking for a No. 1 quarterback – and some firepower on offense.
After watching his team go through an intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday at Eddie G. Robinson Stadium, GSU coach Mickey Joseph said it’s looking more and more likely that his Tigers will begin the season with dueling dual quarterbacks.
Joseph credited the play of his offensive linemen, under the guidance of new offensive line coach Erik Losey, who has reclaimed the same role he played at GSU from 2014-21, for their efforts in the spring game.
Grambling has a new look offense this preseason after the dismissal of former coordinator Eric Dooley at the end of the 2024 season. Joseph has taken over the offense, including play-calling duties.
During Saturday’s scrimmage, it was apparent Grambling’s offense is still in the growing process.
“The defense dominated,” Joseph said. “We’ve got to get better on offense.
“And don’t get me wrong — we have some good offensive players. But they’re young. The other side (defense) is just so deep. And all of those players are playing in sync. But the kids on the other side are still learning the rhythm of our offense.”
It didn’t help the Tigers’ offense that the big guys were in short supply.
“We had five of our linemen out,” Joseph said. “And we’re still not settled at quarterback. So, there’s more of a learning process on the side of the ball right now. But it will come together with time and reps.”
Battling for the starting quarterback role are a pair of players who saw some action last season — redshirt junior Ashton Frye and C’zavian Teasett, a transfer who received playing time for Southern in 2024.
Frye only took snaps in three games for the Tigers last season, completing four of his seven pass attempts for nine yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
That makes Teasett Grambling’s most experienced offensive signal caller, albeit experience gained at the Tigers’ arch-rival. He played in 10 games last season with the Jaguars and completed 71-of-129 pass attempts for 941 yards and six touchdowns with two interceptions,.
After the defensively-dominated scrimmage, Joseph said the battle to make the opening day start behind center is still up for grabs.
“It still looks like we’re probably going to have to play both,” Joseph said. “It could change down the line at some point, but right now that’s what it looks like. Neither one has separated from the other.
“It was one-sided today, but the offense is going to get better. And once both those guys get more experience in this system, they’ll get better and the offense as a whole will get better. It’s an ongoing process, and that’s what preseason is all about.”
GSU returns a pair of ballcarriers from last year — graduate student Tre Bradford (6-0, 225), who led Grambling with five rushing touchdowns in 2024, totaling 403 yards on 105 carries, and sophomore Tony Phillips, a 5-7, 150-pound scatback-type who didn’t have much impact: nine yards on six rushing attempts last year while adding a pair of receptions for four yards and one touchdown.
They’ll be joined by redshirt freshman Byron Eaton Jr., redshirt freshman Andre Crews, and redshirt freshman Clyde McClendon Jr.
“I thought they did a good job of running it when they had daylight,” Joseph said. “But I would like to see them kind of punch it a little more — hit those holes harder and fight for yardage — when they don’t.”
Joseph said there is no real RB 1 for the Tigers at this point but added that’s not a concern because he instead plans to use a committee approach at that position anyway.
“Tre Bradford is back and because of experience he would probably be RB 1, but we haven’t set a depth chart for the season opener yet,” Joseph said. “You don’t really need an RB 1 these days. You can only run those kids 12 to 15 times a game. Those days of a guy running 20 or 30 times a game are over.
“They (the players) aren’t going to let you do that because they want (to keep) tread on the tires. We’re going to try and give each of them 10 to 12 carries and play three or four running backs. So, Tre’s our leader, “our banger. Then you have Eaton, Tony Phillips and Crews — kids that are home run hitters. Then you have McClendon, a redshirt freshman and another banger. So, it’s a pretty good mix.
Joseph also expects his offense to step things up as preseason practices continue.
“I’m not in panic mode because I think we’re close — I told the team that before the scrimmage,” Joseph said. “We just have to keep working and getting better every day. We took a step back on offense with this scrimmage. But guess what? Our offensive unit will take that step back pretty fast.
“We threw a lot at them this early part of camp — 13 protections, 27 concepts, 15 run plays at them. Almost 30 formations. We threw all that at them within two weeks. And that’s a lot. But once we simplify and move more into game planning, they’re going to be better.”
Contact Scott at tscottboatright@gmail.com