Peyton Ramsey, not Brandon Dawkins, named Indiana’s starting QB

Think the Wildcats could use Dawkins right now?

Brandon Dawkins left the Arizona Wildcats in hopes of becoming a starting quarterback again, leading him to join the Indiana Hoosiers as a graduate transfer.

But things haven’t gone as planned in Bloomington. IU head coach Tom Allen announced Thursday that sophomore Peyton Ramsey, not Dawkins, will be the Hoosiers’ starting quarterback in their season-opener vs. FIU.

Ramsey completed 65 percent of his passes for 1,252 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions in eight games last year.

True freshman Michael Penix was competing for the starting spot too, but Allen explained why Ramsey is IU’s top option (via HoosierSportsReport):

“First of all, a quarterback that protects the football and his decision-making — how he reads coverages, how he distributes the ball, how he protects the football. That was No. 1. No. 2 was the ability to move the team down the field consistently throughout those opportunities, whether it was scrimmages or those times throughout practice.

“And No. 3, we want a young man that the team believes in. That was very, very important to me. We we go through and we selected our leadership council earlier in fall camp, he was our leading vote-getter by a landslide.”

The Wildcats could use Dawkins right now. Yes, they have a surefire starter in Khalil Tate, but their depth behind him is questionable at best.

UA has two promising arms in Jamarye Joiner and Kevin Doyle, but both are true freshmen. Then there’s two lightly-recruited second-year players in K’Hari Lane and Rhett Rodriguez, and a pair of walk-ons in Luke Ashworth and Andrew Tovar.

None of those options are as appealing as the redshirt senior Dawkins, who had some success as a backup at the UA.

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