Quinton Maxwell is no stranger to waiting.
After redshirting last season, Maxwell entered fall camp third on the quarterback depth chart. He became the backup by week one after JD Sprague withdrew from the program — he sat behind redshirt senior Greg Windham.
But for Maxwell, a redshirt freshman, his time of waiting might be over.
Maxwell entered Saturday's game in the second quarter by design, one set up before the game by the Ohio coaching staff. But by the end of the afternoon, Maxwell was the leader Ohio needed against Eastern Michigan.
“It’s a little weird at first," Maxwell said. "I like being in there. I like being the guy, but it’s a little nerve-wracking at first. You just get nervous with any situation like that, but you’ve gotta shake them off. You can’t have nerves. You’ve gotta just play. There’s some things I want back, a few reads, a few throws. But at the end of the day, we’ll learn from this, watch film and move on.”
Maxwell went 17-for-26 passing with 188 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
It was clear to everyone in attendance at Peden Stadium that, despite the 27-20 loss, the offense looked crisper with Maxwell at the helm than with Windham.
“I am just trying to be ready when my name is called and go in there and execute," Maxwell said. "My coaches tell us every week we don’t have to be superman. We don’t have to try to do anything extraordinary. We don’t have to win the Heisman in one play. We just got to go in there and execute the offense and play within the offense."
With the score deadlocked at three at halftime, the coaching staff made the decision to stay with Maxwell, at least for the start of the half. The job would be his for the remainder of the game as long as he continued to perform well.
He didn't give up the job.
"The decision was to start with Quinton, see if he could continue to spark the team," coach Frank Solich said. "It’s what it is, Greg has still played a lot of good football for us, that doesn’t go out the window.”
Under the leadership of Maxwell, the offense scored on three of its four second-half drives.
The freshman from Rayville, Missouri, who saw his first game action just three weeks ago, has put together a strong push for not only more playing time, but the starting gig as well.
“He’s got good speed, and he’s got good size," Solich said. "When he’s running, he’s covering a lot of ground. He can throw on the run well. He has the ability when he scrambles to be effective. He’s got a lot of pluses, some of that showed today.”
Maxwell responded well to the pressure, Solich said, a large part of the decision to keep him in the game.
“He didn’t seem to have a problem adjusting to it, if he did that would’ve caused us to re-evaluate what we were doing," Solich said. "He seemed to be able to take us on some drives, put some points on the board, he responded well.”
After the first few weeks of the season, the Bobcats thought they were sitting pretty at the quarterback spot. But after three inconsistent starts from Windham, it wouldn't be a shock to see Maxwell behind center more often.
The time might not be ideal for a quarterback change, with Mid-American Conference play reaching its mid-way point of the season. But with the way Maxwell has played, especially on Saturday, it'll be difficult to overlook him any longer.
ag079513@ohio.edu
