Sawyer Kollmorgen has been UNI’s starting quarterback the past two seasons but the Oklahoma native is competing with senior Brion Carnes to keep the job. Carnes started the final three games of 2013, all Panther victories, after Kollmorgen was injured in a loss to Illinois State. “We both have different skills, but at the same time we realize there can only be one quarterback on the field at a time. Whoever is on the field, we are going to support them 100 percent,” Kollmorgen says.
Quarterback controversies can harm a football team but Kollmorgen feels this competition is good for the Panthers. “You are going to get the best out of us. We are going to go out there and duke it out in every practice,” Kollmorgen says.
Whoever earns the job will lead a Panther squad that is motivated to bounce back from last year’s injury riddled 7-5 campaign. He says they had a lot of guys who stayed the summer and had to find jobs to stay and that pulled them closer together.
The Panthers open with an August 30th visit to Iowa.
By Jesse Gavin, KCNZ, Cedar Falls