Easing into his new situation wasn't an option for freshly minted Troy University quarterback Jarret Doege.
The much-traveled quarterback left Western Kentucky on Wednesday night, traveled with his new teammates at Troy on Thursday, and participated in the Trojans' fall camp scrimmage on Saturday.
It certainly wasn't what the former starter at Bowling Green and West Virginia expected when he enrolled in January at Western Kentucky.
"They kind of just went with a different guy," Doege told reporters after Saturday's scrimmage. "I felt like I put too much in the game just to sit there and not play. I'll see what I can do for the team, to make them better, and just try to learn the playbook as fast as I can, maybe give myself an opportunity later down the road. It's not the ideal situation, but I know if I get the opportunity, I could get out there and roll with it."
Doege said he'll put in extra work away from the field with offensive coordinator Joe Craddock.
"It's really complex," Doege said of the Troy offense. "I'm used to Air Raid style, really easy plays to learn. It's going to take me a while to learn the offense, staying up there late and meeting with Coach Craddock, trying to get it down."
Troy coach Jon Sumrall said Doege showed glimpses of his capability in Saturday's scrimmage.
"I think you could see Jarret when he got his shot in there, very natural," Sumrall said. "He's played a lot of football, and it shows. There's not a whole lot he's going to look at across the line of scrimmage and not seen it before."
Returning starter Gunnar Watson worked with the first offense on Saturday. Utah transfer Peter Costelli is currently running behind Watson.
"Gunnar has really got a good grasp right now of what we're trying to get done," Sumrall said. "You could tell he's banked a lot of reps in what we're doing. Peter is still new to him. He's making some strides."
Sumrall said he'll pick the starter this week with the Sept. 3 opener at Ole Miss quickly approaching. He said he might not make his decision public.
"We got good quarterbacks in that room. It's just a matter of who gives us the best chance to win right now," Sumrall said. "We got to work through it. I got a pretty good idea where we're headed there. That's not real hard to figure out."
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email steve.irvine@1819news.com.
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