Tennessee State football had no chance against No. 11 Tennessee Tech with the Tigers quarterbacks struggling.
Quarterback play for the Tennessee State football team is hindering any progress that might be made in Reggie Barlow's first year as the Tigers' coach.
The issues under center played a big factor for TSU in its 35-8 loss to No. 11 Tennessee Tech at Nissan Stadium on Sept. 27.
Any hope the Tigers (1-3, 0-1 Big South/Ohio Valley Conference) had of competing with Tech (4-0, 1-0), which extended a tie for the nation's longest winning streak to nine games with Memphis and Presbyterian, was lost when quarterback Byron McNair committed three turnovers — two interceptions and a fumble — through the first three quarters.
"There were some issues at the quarterback position and that's disappointing," Barlow said. "We still like Byron. Sometimes things just go wrong for you and today was just one of those days. He was just off."
After unseating Jonathan Palmer as the starting quarterback, McNair performed well in a Sept. 13 game against Alabama A&M. But his trouble began early against Tech when McNair committed two first-quarter turnovers — losing a fumble at midfield followed by an interception five minutes later.
After he attempted to throw the ball out of bounds on a busted play in the third quarter, which led to his second interception, Barlow replaced McNair with Palmer.
McNair finished 8-of-14 for 114 yards with no touchdowns. He was sacked twice.
Even with the dismal performance, Barlow said McNair could remain the starter when TSU plays its first away game of the season on Oct. 4 at Eastern Illinois.
"Byron's a smart quarterback and some of the mistakes that he made he panicked and made it even worse," Barlow said. "He just didn't have it today and we just figured, let's let Palmer come in and it would be a good opportunity for him to get some live reps."
Barlow said he will meet with his offensive staff before making a final decision about the starting quarterback going forward.
"I want to have an inclusive conversation with (co-offensive coordinators) Shannon Harris and Toriano (Morgan) and kind of put our minds together and think what will be best for us," Barlow said. "I still believe in Byron, but I was happy to see (Palmer) come in and move the ball for us a little bit."
McNair struggled to explain the reason for his mistakes and said he agreed with the decision to pull him.
"I believe in everything that our coaches do," he said. "I didn't do my part, so I understand the switch-up. It's back to the drawing board, back to getting better. We've got to pick this thing up. I've got to focus on doing the little things right."
Palmer also got off to a rough start. After getting the offense to the Tech 6-yard line, he was intercepted by Andrew Smith, who ran 94 yards for a touchdown that put the Golden Eagles up 35-0.
Palmer was steady after that, finishing 13-for-25 for 127 yards. He also was sacked twice.
"Palmer completed some nice passes in the second half," Barlow said. "So that was positive. Just managing the offense, he did a good job with that. He still needs to clean up some things."
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: QBs hurting Tennessee State football progress under Reggie Barlow
Category: General Sports
