NEWARK – Of course Ryan O’Connor enjoys watching the highlights.
But the Delaware quarterback knows he can improve by studying the games in which he didn’t perform so well.
O’Connor spends most of his time on these performances.
“To figure out why that game was more inefficient, why I got sacked more in that game,” he said of what he’s investigating. “Why were the turnovers bad or whatever it may have been.”
O’Connor enters his second season as the Blue Hens’ best quarterback and has clearly proven that he is capable of delivering great passing numbers.
Now the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Easton, Maryland native wants to show he’s capable of playing that way most of the time.
Last season, O’Connor threw 14 of his 19 total touchdown passes in just four games. He also had five games in which he completed at least 19 attempts.
“I just want to make that my baseline,” he said of his peak performances. “It has to be like that every week.”
“I’m not interested in going out and (just) doing well. I want to go out and dominate every single week. I’m going to do my best to maintain that standard. … It’s great to know I’ve done that before.”
UD quarterback coach Sean Goldrich agrees that increased consistency is one of the next big steps in O’Connor’s development as a quarterback.
O’Connor completed 55.1 percent of his passes for 210.4 yards per game in 10 games last fall. He had eight interceptions to his 19 touchdown passes.
O’Connor, who missed three games due to injury, was also sacked 20 times in his first seven appearances.
Goldrich said O’Connor is clearly a talented passer who works hard and pays attention to details.
“He knows he still has a lot of room to grow,” Goldrich said. “He has to show the world what he can achieve on a long-term basis.”
“Last year was a great time for him to find his feet, become a leader on this football team and show everyone he has the potential to do that. … Now it’s just about playing at a high level every day.”
“He wants to be great at everything he does,” Goldrich added. “Now it’s just a matter of putting it all together and stacking days to get a chance to show how good he can be.”
Markers back
Delaware’s other veteran quarterback, Ryan Marker, also had his moments last season.
In a win at Towson, the former junior college transfer from Iowa set a school record by completing his first 16 passes for 307 yards and two touchdowns, and also ran the ball nine times for 44 yards.
However, Marker was also injured in this game and did not return until the last game of the regular season against Villanova. In that game, he suffered a serious knee injury.
Although Marker has been training in preseason, there is at least some question as to how far his recovery has progressed following last year’s knee surgery.
Marker dodged questions about his recovery when asked by reporters on Wednesday.
“That’s a Coach Carty question,” he replied.
“I’m doing better than I was eight months ago,” Marker added. “I’m doing really well.”
Marker has a redshirt season available.
Goldrich talked about how Marker’s running ability gives the Hens a different perspective on the quarterback.
“Zach, the way he does things with his feet makes him very dynamic and hard to stop,” Goldrich said.
“When he’s in the game, in any situation, we’re probably going to do some things that allow him to be athletic and get out of the pocket. He’s one of the fastest players we have on the field.”
Crowded room
In addition to O’Connor and Marker, Delaware also has sophomore Nick Minicucci, who led the Hens to a comeback victory over Lafayette in last year’s NCAA Division I FCS playoffs.
Another second-year quarterback, Daniel Lipovsky, also played last season.
Goldrich said it remains to be seen how Delaware will ultimately use all four quarterbacks.
“We don’t want to leave talent on the bench,” he said. “But at the end of the day, it’s a little tricky at the quarterback position too. You have to make sure you find the guy that can control our offense, be a leader and all that stuff.”
“We hope every day that they will continue to pull away and become a clear starter. But right now they are pushing each other every day. They are making it very competitive.”
Goldrich said a player’s remaining eligibility is probably not a factor in who ends up behind center.
“I think we’re always going to have the best player playing,” he said. “I think that’s what it has to be. I think the expectations for quarterback at the University of Delaware are so high that it doesn’t matter if a kid is a freshman or a senior. You have to prove it every day.”
O’Connor said he hasn’t yet thought about who will be in the starting lineup or how the quarterback’s playing time might be divided.
He said he learned not to worry about things that were beyond his control.
“It will take care of itself,” O’Connor said. “We haven’t really talked about it. It’s not something I’m worried about or really thinking about.”
“I just go to training every day and make the most of every rep I get. I just go from there.”
