Aztecs May Be Ready to Pick a Quarterback : College football: Scrimmage could give Luginbill enough to make a call.

They are Exhibit A, marked like rats in a laboratory. Right now the practice field may as well be a cage in the zoo.

Please do not hit the quarterbacks.

Please do not annoy, cajole, bug, touch or feed the quarterbacks.

Leave them alone! Can’t you see they are trying to win a job here?

Twice daily, Cree Morris and David Lowery trudge out to the practice field and step into the spotlight. Is there any place but the spotlight for a quarterback? They run drills and throw passes. All the while, onlookers keep their eyes glued to the guys in the red jerseys.

They are filmed, watched, listened to and talked about.

And the defense continually is told not to hit them.

Morris and Lowery. Lowery and Morris. A couple of sophomores counting down the days until Saturday, the day the Aztecs will have their first intrasquad scrimmage. It also is the day on which Coach Al Luginbill hopes to name the 1991 SDSU starting quarterback.

They also know Luginbill has said that if he doesn’t feel comfortable naming a quarterback on Saturday, he will push the decision into next week.

Until a starter is announced, Morris and Lowery are frozen like animals caught in the glare of car headlights.

“No, I don’t like it,” Morris said. “I wish it was different, but there is nothing I can do about it. I just have to go out and play the best I can.

“I wish they would name me. It’s a hard situation. I just have to try and get through it.”

There is a long shadow over the position. It is that of Dan McGwire, SDSU’s quarterback in 1989 and 1990 and a first-round NFL draft pick last April. McGwire set an NCAA record last year for lowest interception percentage in a single season. Only seven of his 449 pass attempts were intercepted.

“The public might have expectations that we need another Dan McGwire, but you can’t replace a guy like that,” Lowery said. “We’ll get the ball there, hopefully.

“I see myself as filling the position of quarterback at San Diego State, not filling Dan McGwire’s position. It’s not a matter of not being able to do it. He did something special here. He was talented and had everything going for him. He was a great guy.

“Hopefully, when Cree and I leave, people will be worried about replacing us.”

There are plenty of fringe benefits to the victor. One luxury is throwing to Patrick Rowe, All-American wide receiver. The protection of an offensive line featuring four returning players is another.

“There will be so much talent around me,” Morris said. “I think if I’m just consistent and can get them the ball, they can make me look awfully good.”

Last year’s Aztec offense finished third in the nation in passing (371.5 yards a game), total offense (527.9) and scoring (41.7 points a game).

The orchestra already is in place. All it needs is a conductor.

“It’s going to be interesting to watch how this week ends up,” Luginbill said. “The quarterbacks have gotten better. They have really started focusing.”

The person who wins, Luginbill said, will be the one who remains the most consistent. Rather than glitz, SDSU coaches are looking for someone who can move the ball and avoid mistakes. The thing that most impressed Luginbill about McGwire was the low number of interceptions.

But time is not on SDSU’s side, not with less than three weeks to go until the Sept. 8 season-opener against Cal State Long Beach.

“We would like to make a decision as soon as possible and get the kids used to it and give that kid most of the reps,” said Dave Lay, SDSU offensive coordinator. “I’m concerned. It’s getting too close to the game without somebody being the guy.”

A scouting report?

“They both have decent arms,” Lay said. “Cree has the advantage in height. Both need to be more consistent as far as accuracy. A lot of that comes from understanding where the ball should be on certain plays.

“The big decision as to who the guy will be is who we think will be the most consistent throughout the game.”

Morris was the leader coming out of spring ball. But then, he also got a head start. Lowery broke his jaw in a fraternity brawl last winter and could only throw on the side during the first two weeks of spring practice. He wasn’t cleared to get hit until the third week.

Now Lowery has his strength back. He is up to 190 pounds from 175.

“I feel that in the spring, I didn’t show myself what kind of quarterback I can be,” Lowery said. “I didn’t have the confidence I needed. I didn’t have my strength.

“I know I can do a lot better than I have in the past. Hopefully, I can do that.”

Lowery is a 6-foot sophomore from Trabuco Hills High School. Morris is a 6-7 sophomore from Orange Glen. Both are familiar with the offense because each redshirted a year. Lowery sat out last season and Morris sat out two years ago.

Essentially, all they have done is caddy for McGwire.

At SDSU, Lowery has completed four of only nine pass attempts for 46 yards. One pass was intercepted. Morris has completed 17 of 36 passes for 253 yards. He has thrown two touchdown passes and one interception.

This summer, Morris’ biggest problem has been trying to be too perfect. He will see a receiver open downfield, for example, and he sometimes holds the ball a second or two too long to make the perfect play.

“He tries to go for something when it looks like the smart thing to do, and it can get him in trouble,” Lay said.

Lowery’s biggest problem has been inconsistency.

“He can really look good for a practice and then lose it,” Lay said.

On the surface, Morris would seem to have a couple of advantages.

First, since Lay was the Orange Glen coach when Morris was the quarterback there, it seems he would be more comfortable with Morris.

Not true, Lay said.

“The first year more so, but this is the third year here for Dave,” Lay said. “I don’t think that’s a factor. I like the hell out of Dave. Both are great kids.”

And there is the height thing. At 6-7, Morris is cut out of the McGwire (6-8) mold. It is a comparison Morris hears often.

“Always,” he said. “I hope my own play will make a name for myself.”

But Luginbill insists that, McGwire notwithstanding, height is not a prerequisite for an SDSU quarterback.

“We’ve got to change that perception,” Luginbill said. “If David gets it, he can run the offense. The same with Cree. . . .

“They both have the talent to run the offense. It’s a good problem to have. Both are extremely aware, both understand the game and both have a great amount of confidence in their ability.

“They get upset when things aren’t going right. I like to see that.”

So far, neither Lowery nor Morris have been upset that often. But then, a starting quarterback has not been picked.

“I know it’s a big deal to be the quarterback and all that,” Lay said. “But the back-up guy is very important.

“The one who ends up second has got to realize, ‘Hey, this is a team.’ ”

Please, do not soothe the quarterbacks. Let them work. Time is running short.

Aztec Notes

Linebacker Andy Coviello will not have surgery on his ailing left knee, but his practice time will likely be modified all season. A magnetic resonance imaging test Thursday confirmed that he is suffering from inflamed scar tissue. . . . SDSU’s Fill the Murph campaign continues. School officials announced Thursday that, so far, 10,022 new season tickets have been sold--more than double the best total of 4,106 new season tickets in 1987. . . . SDSU will hold its first intrasquad scrimmage Saturday at 4 p.m. on the campus practice field. . . . Tight end Marc Ziegler will be out four to six weeks with a medial collateral ligament sprain in the right knee.