Aztecs Quarterbacks Miss Their Marks in Scrimmage : College football: Luginbill says signal-callers have been ‘too sporadic.’

If the 600 or so people who attended the San Diego State Red/Black spring scrimmage Friday night at Aztec Bowl were looking for an offensive showcase, they probably would have been better off watching the Holyfield-Foreman fight.

The passing shows to which Aztec fans have become accustomed were replaced by dropped passes, overthrown passes, interceptions and misreads by the three quarterbacks. The only two offensive touchdowns scored came in the last two series of the nearly two-hour-long scrimmage.

As a result, the quarterback job that Cree Morris had hoped to secure by Wednesday, the last day of spring drills, apparently is still up for grabs heading into the fall.

“Something would have to change drastically Wednesday,” San Diego State Coach Al Luginbill said. “We’ve been too sporadic.”

Morris, who completed 11 of 23 passes for 133 yards with a touchdown and an interception, agreed with Luginbill’s assessment.

“We just weren’t hitting on all 11 cylinders,” said Morris, a sophomore-to-be. “This is our third scrimmage. And we were much too sloppy for a third scrimmage.”

At one point, Morris misfired on seven consectutive passes. But to his credit, at least two of those passes were dropped--one by Patrick Rowe.

Sophomore David Lowery, Morris’ main competition, was not flashy, but he was a bit more consistent. Lowery completed 10 of 21 passes for 100 yards and an interception.

“Dave did some nice things out there tonight,” Morris said.

Morris seemed more disappointed in his play than he was impressed by Lowery’s.

“I wanted to wrap things up in the spring,” he said. “I didn’t want them lingering. I’m just going to have to keep working hard. I could have played better in the scrimmages, but I didn’t.”

Morris said part of reason he hasn’t played better is because of the defense’s improvement.

“They’re just a lot quicker than they were last year,” he said. “They’re a lot better off the ball and they are a much better coverage team. They come at you from all angles.”

Nickelback Robert Griffith may have been the most impressive of the defensive players. In addition to scoring a touchdown on a 46-yard return of a Rowe fumble, Griffith also had a sack and a tackle behind the line of scrimmage. Junior safety Marcus Preciado had the other interception and returned it 32 yards.

Senior linebacker Andy Coviello led everyone in tackles with six.

Luginbill said he likes what he’s seen of the defense.

“If our offense was like a machine right now, I’d be worried,” he said, “because that would mean we haven’t improved defensively. If you’re playing decent defense, your offense should have a tough time.”

Sophomore cornerback Darrell Lewis, who strained a hamstring in the first week of practice, was in for six plays until he was injured again. Lewis is a transfer from Ohio State.

Senior T.C. Wright led the Aztec running backs with 103 yards in 13 carries, including a 64-yard burst off of right tackle early in the scrimmage. Curtis Butts carried eight times for 83 yards, including a 46-yard touchdown run. Larry Maxey ran for 32 yards in 11 carries.

“I was pleased with the way the running backs took it up into the line,” Luginbill said.

Rowe finished with four catches for 71 yards, including a 46-yard touchdown from Morris on the scrimmage’s final play. Sophomore Jake Nyberg caught four passes for 59 yards.

Tight end Marc Ziegler, who redshirted last year with an injury, caught two passes for 20 yards, including a one-handed grab on a pass thrown behind him.

“Marc’s gotten better week after week,” Luginbill said. “He’s coming along like we thought he would. He’s going to be a good player by the time we play our first game.”