By T. SCOTT BOATRIGHT, Lincoln Parish Journal
GRAMBLING — Coming off an unlikely win — stunning for many — Grambling State will start its fourth different quarterback of the season when the Tigers kick off against Bethune Cookman Saturday at 2 p.m. inside Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium.
Grambling (6-3 overall and 3-2 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference) will lean on its defense again when Bethune-Cookman rolls in with a 5-4 record that includes a 4-1 SWAC worksheet.
With No. 1 quarterback C’zavian Teasett and No. 2 quarterback Ashton Frye both out with injuries, the Tigers turned to third-stringer A’Myne Darensbourg, a true freshman, to start last week’s game against Alabama A&M.
When Darensbourg went down with a leg injury and had to be helped off the field late the opening stanza, Joseph was forced to turn to fourth-string quarterback Hayden Benoit, another true freshman.
And somehow, the Tigers managed to earn a 13-10 win despite totaling only 175 yards of offense and converting only one third down attempt.
If not for a pair of Josh McCormick field goals and a 64-yard punt return to paydirt by Delano Franklin, GSU would have been shut out.
“It was an ugly win,” Joseph said. “Ugly offense. Very ugly. It had a lot to do with trying to protect the quarterback and trying to make sure every position ended with a kick, either an extra point, a field goal or a punt. We were bad on third down. Our defense was awesome on third down — 0 out of 11. But we were trying to protect this kid (Benoit).
“Hayden is in a better place now knowing what we’re asking him to do. During the game when he had to go in, we had to ask him what he understood. He was a really good quarterback in high school, so we’re going to look at what he did then and try to get him comfortable. He’s a very confident kid. We’ll be better.
“We’re talking about a kid that didn’t get any reps in September or October and now he’s the guy. So we’re piecing it together. It is what it is. We’ve got to get it out of the mud. Everybody’s got to step their game up and really around this kid.”
Joseph knows Bethune-Cookman will present an even bigger challenge this week after winning five out of their last six games, including the last three, after a 0-3 start to the season.
“It’s a tough matchup,” Joseph said. “It’s a tough matchup for our defense and a tough matchup for our offense because they’re really athletic on defense also.
“It’s a really good football team. We’re catching them at a bad time. It’s not good for us. They’re hot.”
The Tigers have moved true freshman wide receiver Isiah Coleman, who played quarterback in Jasper, Texas, back to his high school position behind center to back up Benoit, and Joseph said running back Bryron Eaton, Jr. will also once against get some snaps behind center out of the Wildcat formation.
Joseph said he’s been focused on putting last week’s offensive performance in the past and to continue the resilience they showed in that win.
“I’m telling them to not overthink it,” Joseph said. “We’re playing with our fourth quarterback.”
Contact Scott at tscottboatright@gmail.com