HOW TO BEAT OUT THE STARTER

Below we will be discussing how you can beat our a starter if you are the back up to start the season. I hope this can help you! 

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Let’s say you are an underclassman or just simply lost a position battle this summer/fall- you should not panic. I know a lot of you worry about your future playing the game in college if you don’t start a certain amount of years in high school and that’s totally normal/justified. But I’m here to tell you that if you change your mindset and approach to being the backup, you might see the field sooner rather than later. And it’s not about the amount of games you start. It’s about the plays you make on film that you upload to your highlight tape that helps you with recruiting.  Whether it’s politics, talent, seniority etc. or whatever reason you aren’t playing… you can’t let that change your approach to the game and practice. Because the starter who is ahead of you is simply one play away from losing his spot. Whether that’s injury, poor performance, lack of preparation etc. You obviously never want to wish injury on someone but we play a very violent game and the possibility of that is real. So you need to be prepared. Don’t think “oh I’m not the starter so I don’t need to know this”. Because you absolutely do. I’ll never forget in my sophomore year of high school, I was the back up QB on varsity. I thought I should have started but that’s another story. Anyways, the starter went down with a shoulder injury in a playoff game and I was thrown in there with no warm up throws and a very unprepared mindset. I had no idea what coverage the defense was running, what our offensive game plan was etc. I mean I knew the plays but I didn’t know a lot of other things. And that was the BIGGEST nightmare I’ve ever experienced. But I had that attitude of “I didn’t need to know” those little details because I wasn’t playing. It was a terrible approach and it still haunts me to this day, that feeling of not being prepared. Not being prepared is worse than not being good enough. I was always good enough, but the preparation at the QB position gives you a major edge- this was one of the best lessons I could have learned. I tell you this, please don’t let that be you. Prepare like the starter every week so when you get an opportunity there isn’t a shred of doubt in the coaches mind that you can get the job done. And if you perform well, you can take the spot from the starter. With your preparation in practice you close the gap between second and first string. It is a very long season and you want this approach week in and week out.

Now the other thing you can do, is the obvious one. Outwork the starter in every aspect. The starter in does 3 sets in the gym, you should do 4. He stays after practice for 10 minutes, you stay after for 20. Any edge you can get on him, you should try to get. Because when you put that kind of pressure on a guy who isn’t that far in front of you, any little mistake can change the outlook of the depth chart. You have no pressure to fail as the back up. But if you keep elevating your skills every week and prepare like you should, that will put an insane amount of pressure on anybody.