By Stephen Cooney
What can you do in fifteen minutes?
Take a break. That is about the only thing positive that only one can do when they have only fifteen minutes, and that is only in retail jobs.
Fifteen minutes is not a lot of time, but it is all the time Pride Starting Quarterback Cory Christopher had to prepare for his first start two weeks ago against UConn after expected Starting Quarterback Bryan Savage was held out of the game for what would ultimately be determined to be a season-ending back injury. Not a lot of time, but a whole lot of pressure.
What can you do with two weeks?
There are a lot of options with this timeframe. Thankfully, Christopher has had two weeks since the UConn loss to prepare for the home opener against Albany, and the safe bet is that this will be a whole new team on Saturday.
Yes, the safe bet. Christopher may not have a lot of in-game experience for The Pride, but he had a strong spring game and also an acceptable performance against UConn two weeks ago. Tack on to that his junior college experience and his athleticism, and it looks like you have a quarterback.
No, he didn’t throw for any touchdowns and had two interceptions, but UConn is a competitive team in the Big East and on short notice you can not ask for anything more than someone willing to compete.
Christopher did just that. He forgot the fact that he had only taken 25 percent of the teams reps in practice according to Head Coach Dave Cohen.
Of course he struggled, but most people would struggle going to work in the morning on fifteen minutes notice. On top of that, The Pride were facing their best opponent in a game that they were expected, if not guaranteed, to lose by most.
It will be hard to replace Savage’s experience and leadership, but Christopher showed accountability and courage in putting together an acceptable performance against UConn.
Nothing he did was excellent, but all things considered nothing he did was incredibly terrible. The team did not fall apart and was able to move the ball at points with some success against a talented team and can only improve on their performance.
Christopher has all the ability in his arm and also his legs to move the ball for the Pride offense. With two weeks of preparation and more reps in practice he will be able to show off his talent and ability. Having some time to prepare and get mentally ready to compete will only help.
Think about what you could do with two weeks. Now think about if you knew what you had to do with two weeks and what you could accomplish. The only difference is Christopher still has the supporting cast around him to help him out and also what appears to be a willingness to compete.