Prep football: No revolving quarterbacks for Palmetto

photo by Grant Jefferies

Palmetto's quarterback for the 2012 football season will be either Chris Tuten or Spencer Atkins.
It won't be Chris Tuten AND Spencer Atkins.
"We don't want to have a revolving door at quarterback," coach Dave Marino said following Thursday's spring game with Booker, which was cancelled after a half because of lightning. "Somebody will be our guy, and that's who we're going to hang our hat on until something arises that we can't."
Tuten is a freshman who quarterbacked Palmetto's JV team last fall, while Atkins, who moved into the area from Illinois, worked out at IMG's football academy.
Both are vying to replace Trent Miller, who threw for 2,449 yards and 30 touchdowns in the fall.
Tuten and Atkins are lefties who have tall and slender body types. Each saw limited action Thursday, when Palmetto took a 34-0 lead into halftime, but both appeared comfortable throwing and running the football.
"I went back a lot and looked at where Trent was at this point last year," Marino said. "Trent's first pass was in the dirt, his second pass sailed over Cory's (Crawford) head by 15 yards...So the fact that Spencer was able to make those throws, and Chris, as well, is a plus."
Marino and his staff have all summer to make a decision, and will probably wait until after the Kickoff Classic with Venice to do so. Whomever it is will have plenty at this disposal - Palmetto has two good backs in Josh Hicks and Leon Gilbert, and a solid stable of receivers that includes Crawford, Shaquille Harris and Pat Green.
"All of them equally are talented and have playmaking capabilities," Marino said of his receivers. "It gives us a lot of diversity in the passing game, which doesn't put a lot of pressure on the quarterbacks."