Football: An interesting summer dynamic is taking place

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Maybe it’s just a cynical sportswriter making something out of nothing, but my impression this summer is that coaches are being far less decisive in naming a starting quarterback or starters, period.

Could it be that they don’t want the No. 2 guy to suddenly leave and become eligible on Oct. 1 at a rival school under the new CIF transfer policy?

I’m getting vibes that there are definite concerns come August, when practice officially begins, on how to keep everyone happy, because there’s still time for players to bolt before the start of school and gain eligibility without moving.

The speculation centers on public schools being the beneficiary in August, because private schools are unlikely to have openings for players who suddenly decide to switch schools.

So if you show up to a summer passing competition and ask, ‘Who’s the starting quarterback?’ and the answer is, ‘We don’t know yet,’ it might be because coaches want to use all summer to create competition. And they don’t want players abandoning their program for rivals, either.

At least that’s my observation.

-- Eric Sondheimer