LITTLE ROCK — As freshmen, Kevin Scanlon was trying to make North Carolina State’s travel squad, Quinn Grovey was memorizing his class schedule and the playbook and Bill Montgomery was not a factor because freshmen couldn’t participate in varsity football at the time.
My, how times have changed for first-year quarterbacks since Scanlon (1978-79), Grovey (1987-90) and Montgomery (1968-70) were successful at Arkansas.
These days, talents such as Connor Noland of Greenwood play immediately for a slew of reasons, including individual quarterback gurus, the proliferation of spread offenses in high school, 7-on-7 travel squads, elite camps and technology.