For the first five games of the season, the football team's offense featured a two-quarterback rotation with junior Jason Casey starting and sophomore Casey D'Annolfo taking snaps later in the game. However, after the 23-10 loss at Williams game, things changed.
Casey finished that contest 8 for 21 for 131 yards and a late game interception, with D'Annolfo finishing 0-4 with two scrambles for three net yards.
From then on, offensive coordinator Mike Daly believed the offensive unit as a whole needed consistency. Casey started and took every snap in the 24-17 overtime victory against Amherst, throwing for 227 yards and one touchdown. Last Saturday at Colby, Casey once again took every snap.
In the Jumbos' 18-0 win against the White Mules, Casey was 11 for 20 for 111 yards.
"It was not anything Casey D'Annolfo did negatively or wrong," Daly said. "We felt Jay Casey was going to give us [consistency]."
Daly feels the offense needs consistency in the huddle and on the field, and having a single quarterback, in Casey, provides that.
"Jay Casey has been our more consistent performer, that's the guy we chose to go with and has really sparked our offense," Daly said.
Interceptions are generally not a part of Casey's stat-line, though he did throw two picks against Colby. As coach Bill Samko said after the Williams game, stats can be deceiving. While Casey did throw two interceptions, Daly said only one was his fault.
"One of them was his fault, and the other the receiver ran the wrong pattern and brought an extra safety in," Daly said. "We aren't concerned about any of that stuff. He's playing his guts out and that's all we can ask."
To go with the two interceptions, Casey did throw two touchdowns, both of which came inside of the ten yard line. What is especially difficult about touchdown passes inside the 10 yard line is that defenders don't have to cover as much ground and receivers can have a difficult time getting open.
While Casey's touchdown passes were thrown to senior quad-captain Tim Mack and senior Matt Cerne, Casey's favorite target this season has been junior Kevin Holland.
Holland caught six passes for 64 yards against Colby, always providing a tall target for Casey to hit.
Holland has been coming on strong and since Casey has been the consensus starter, Holland has been getting the ball. He has been Tufts' leading receiver all season, but over the last two games he has had 13 receptions. The 13 receptions have gone for 185 yards receiving, a total of 54.7 percent of Casey's total passing yards.
"Jay Casey has confidence in [Holland]," Daly said. "They really see each other."
Splitting time
While junior running back Steve Cincotta is still not 100 percent, according to Daly, "he looked pretty good on Saturday."
Mack still received the brunt of handoffs and performed similarly to last week's game, which earned him NESCAC player of the week and the Golden Helmet. He gained 109 yards on 23 carries with one reception for ten yards and a touchdown. However, Cincotta rushed eight times in the second half for 40 yards, an average of five yards a carry.
So after the quarterback controversy was solved, is there now a running back controversy?
According to Daly, there isn't.
"Timmy has really exploded as a guy who really makes stuff happen, makes people miss," Daly said. "Steve really got some good carries in the second half."
The thunder and lightening combination of Mack's speed and Cincotta's inside toughness might make Tufts a two running back team for its last game at home against Middlebury.
"A one-two punch is how we are looking at it," Daly said.
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