Young quarterbacks enjoying early success

On Thursday night at Rutgers Stadium, the two players likely to have the greatest impact on the outcome still can't walk into a 7-Eleven and buy a six-pack of beer.

If they were old enough, USF's B.J. Daniels and Rutgers' Tom Savage almost certainly would choose different brands. They are that different as first-year starting quarterbacks.

"We run a spread offense, so our quarterback is going to run and throw," USF coach Jim Leavitt said Monday. "Their quarterback can run, but that's not what they want to do. They are going to hand the ball off and let him throw to some exceptional receivers. They are totally different quarterbacks and (run) very different offensive systems."

What is similar between the two can be summed up in two words: instant success.

Daniels turned his season debut into a fairytale by leading the Bulls to a victory at Florida State in September, winning his first career start only a few miles from his family home in Tallahassee. Meanwhile, Savage has won three of four games since becoming the Scarlet Knights' full-time starter a month ago, including a win at Connecticut, making Savage the first true freshman quarterback in school history to win a Big East road game.

The similarities pretty much stop there, however.

At 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, Savage is a classic drop-back passer who was playing at Cardinal O'Hara High in Springfield, Pa., a year ago at this time. Daniels is four inches shorter and 15 pounds lighter, making him a much more dangerous threat to run.

Still, Daniels appreciates what Savage is doing as a true freshman. At this time last year, Daniels was at USF preparing to start basketball season. But the time spent on campus learning from former starter Matt Grothe paid off this season.

That's why Daniels understands how difficult it is for Savage to be doing what he's doing.

"Kudos to him for stepping in early," Daniels said. "He is really carrying his team and doing a good job with that. Being here last year actually helped me out a lot."

Rutgers coach Greg Schiano has brought Savage along slowly, rarely putting him in difficult throwing situations. The conservative approach has worked, as Savage leads all true freshman quarterbacks in touchdowns-to-interceptions ratio.

"His personality, his makeup serves him well as a quarterback." Schiano said Monday. "He doesn't get too high or too low. That's probably one of his biggest strengths. The one thing that he has been able to do that has allowed us to have a chance, he has been very good with the football. He has not turned it over."

While Daniels has thrown six interceptions - five more than Savage - he also has two more touchdowns passes (10 to 8). But the biggest advantage for USF in the battle of first-year quarterbacks is Daniels' running ability.

Daniels leads the Bulls with 519 rushing yards and is coming off his best statistical performance since replacing the injured Grothe, racking up 336 total yards (232 passing; 104 rushing) in the Bulls' 30-19 win over West Virginia 10 days ago.

"He's continued to grow each and every rep he takes," USF offensive coordinator Mike Canales said. "In terms of his progress, we're extremely happy. He's hungry. He's like a sponge. He is soaking everything up."