FLORENCE, Ala. (August 17, 2023) – After spending Wednesday away from the field, the University of North Alabama football team returned to the Bill Jones Athletic Complex for a Thursday afternoon practice.
Today's UNA Football Notebook spotlight shines on the quarterback position.
UNA has eight quarterbacks listed on this year's roster, including five players entering a freshman or redshirt freshman season. On the flip side, the Lions have three upperclassmen including returners
Ben Harris and
Noah Walters, as well as redshirt junior transfer
TJ Smith.
Walters played in all 11 games last season, completing 151 of 285 passes for 2,149 yards and 19 touchdowns as a freshman. Harris, a transfer from the University of Oklahoma, appeared in three games for the Lions in 2022.
Prior to UNA and FAU, Smith spent his freshman season at Upper Iowa where he completed 12-of-34 passes for 266 yards and one touchdown over two games. He is a former Riddell Florida Player of the Year out of McArthur High School.
Three quarterbacks on the roster come from within the state, including returning redshirt freshman
Brayson Edwards out of Sylacauga. He is joined by true freshmen
Carson Creehan from Madison Academy and
Cade Golden out of Thompson High School.
Colton Shaffer, a Summertown, Tenn. native, enters his first season at UNA after spending the 2022 season at Middle Tennessee State. Another quarterback on the roster, true freshman
Isaiah Tate, also comes from the Tri-Star State after a stellar career at Germantown High School near Memphis.
This group will be coached by former SEC quarterback
Jake Bentley, who threw for over 10,000 yards and 78 touchdowns in his collegiate career with stops at South Carolina, Utah and South Alabama. Bentley completed the 2022 season at Florida Atlantic as an offensive graduate assistant with Coach
Brent Dearmon.
To hear from Coach Bentley,
click here.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
