Joe Southwick Named Boise State Starting QB

The Boise State Broncos named Joe Southwick their starting quarterback on Sunday afternoon.

Southwick is a junior who will now try to fill the enormous shoes of the legendary Kellen Moore, who finished his career with the Broncos as the winningest quarterback in NCAA history.

Southwick has limited experience, hitting 40 of 54 passes during mop-up duties for Moore. He served as the primary backup over the past two seasons, but had to beat out three others during the spring and fall camp. Mobile sophomore Grant Hedrick, redshirt freshman Jimmy Laughrea, and true freshman Nick Patti were vying for the open position. Head coach Chris Petersen said the Broncos would prefer to redshirt Patti.

While Southwick has extremely limited game-action reps, he did impress in the Spring Game and was considered the favorite to win the starting job. But there will certainly be different circumstances when he gets under center as the starter for the first time on Friday night, when Boise State travels to Michigan State for the season opener.

Petersen is considered one of the best offensive minds in the game so, while it will be impossible to match the production of Moore, he'll certainly be in good hands.

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