Football not worthy of race card

By Joe McAdory

Published: October 20, 2009

I have seen comments from the outside suggesting that race played a part in Chris Todd being named Auburn’s starting quarterback this year. It’s sad when the race card must be played for everything. There are many instances when the race card deservedly should be played, but when it becomes a constant drum beat then things that really matter in life get overshadowed.

Why is Todd the QB? From what I’ve seen over the past two years, he has a greater grasp of the offense than Kodi Burns and his passes have been more accurate than Burns. His passes the last two games were well off the mark, however. No arguing that. I thought Burns had his audition last year and he impressed me more when he ran than when he passed. The dude’s got wheels. He could be a dual threat if his accuracy was better, like Steve Young or Michael Vick. It seemed that Burns overthrows receivers. He’s got a cannon for an arm, that’s for sure. One thing I like about watching Burns is it appears he’s really having fun on the football field, much like Carnell Williams. He loves the game.

I don’t believe either quarterback is All-SEC caliber and quarterback play has been an issue since Brandon Cox’s senior year.

But the race card? Last I checked, Auburn has an outstanding record of black quarterbacks. Pat Washington helped Auburn to the Cotton Bowl in 1985. Reggie Slack was outstanding from 1988-89 and helped the Tigers to two SEC titles. Remember Dameyune Craig? Probably the best dual-threat QB on the Plains. He quarterbacked Auburn to the SEC crown in 1997 with monster numbers. Jason Campbell was a work in progress, but once he took charge and proved to the world that he could be the man behind center, the job was his for three years.

And then there’s Tyrick Rollison, the redshirt freshman. If race is an issue at Auburn, then the coaches would not have made such a recruiting push for him last winter. He appears to be the program’s quarterback of the future. At least it appears he’s being molded as such.

Football coaches want to win games, period. They do not care if a quarterback is black, white, purple or green with yellow polka dots. They will play the QB they believe gives them the best chance to win. They know their jobs are on the line. If they play the wrong quarterback, then I would say that fault lies more on a poor judge of talent rather than anything else.

Play the race card for something meaningful in life like unfair taxation or job discrimination. Football is a game.