Kurt Benkert named East Carolina's starting quarterback
East Carolina has named a successor to Shane Carden at quarterback.
The school said Wednesday that Kurt Benkert would start against Towson on September 5. Benkert had been competing with three other quarterbacks for the job and Blake Kemp will serve as the team's No. 2 quarterback.
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"We've had great competition at that position so far, but we felt it was time to name a starter to move forward with our preparations for the season," East Carolina coach Ruffin McNeill said in a statement. "While Kurt will have the first opportunity, we feel very good about the capabilities of [quarterbacks] Blake [Kemp], Cody [Keith] and John [Jacobs]. Like anyone else in our program at all other positions, Kurt will need to keep progressing and continue to earn the job throughout the year."
Benkert, a sophomore, was a three-star recruit as a pro-style quarterback from Cape Coral, Florida, in the class of 2013. He saw time in three games last year and attempted 10 passes.
Not only is Benkert replacing Carden, who set career records at East Carolina, he's got a new offensive coordinator too. Lincoln Riley, who was ECU's OC in 2014, is now with Oklahoma. Dave Nichol, who previously served as East Carolina's outside receivers coach, is now the team's offensive coordinator.
East Carolina went 8-5 in 2014 and finished the season with a loss to Florida in the Birmingham Bowl.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
