RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from Yahoo Sports — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 1 sourcesWhile the NFL world has been focused on the quarterback battle between Atlanta Falcons QBs Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa, a rookie quarterback from a small Division II college is turning heads.
Jack Strand, who has been taking the majority of the first-team snaps so far in camp, has impressed not only the Falcons front office but his new teammates as well.
Strand, who played for Minnesota State-Moorhead, has so far exceeded expectations for a rookie.
Over the first four practices, Strand is 21-of-31 passing in 11-on-11 team sessions and apparently has taken command of this offense, according to some of his teammates, including Drake London, who called Strand a "tank" cause of his size.
Strand was a standout in college. He was an All-American who passed for over 13,000 yards and left as one of the top 10 passers of all time in Division II.
"My expectations were just whatever role that I was given on the team, whether that was going to be taking a few reps in practice or I was going to be taking the majority of reps in practice," Strand said. "Wherever that fell, my mentality was not going to change. It was just going to be keep attacking, keep getting better every day."
According to Tagovailoa, who also seemed impressed with the rookie, he can "sling" the football.
Strand has also made an impression on his new head coach, Kevin Stefanski.
"It's not perfect, as you would not expect any rookie to be perfect, but I think Jack continues to impress with his ability to command the offense, the ability to get in and out of the huddle, get us in and out of run plays to pass plays," Stefanski said. "He's a very, very bright young man."
The 22-year-old may be slinging his way to a roster spot on the team if he continues to show out on the practice field, and the way the injury bug has hit the two starters ahead of him, his opportunity to start in the regular season may be closer than anyone thinks.
This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: Atlanta Falcons rookie QB turning heads at fall camp
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.