RUSTON, La. -- Heading into spring practice, Louisiana Tech Head Coach Jack Bicknell said the Bulldogs starting quarterback battle was a three-headed monster as Luke McCown, Brian Stallworth and Maxie Causey would all vie for the position.
On Saturday at Joe Aillet Stadium, McCown beheaded the other two signal callers by completing 20 of 29 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns while leading the Tech first team offense to all four of the game's touchdowns. The Jacksonville, Texas, native - who had not been sharp in the previous two Bulldog scrimmages - started strong by orchestrating touchdown drives on the first two possessions.
"I consider the whole spring as kind of up and down," McCown said. "I needed to come out today and be consistent with my play. I hadn't been worried enough about the small things. I needed to use my eyes on the field ..."
Junior running back Joe Smith - who led all rushers with 68 yards on 12 carries on the day - found the endzone from a yard out, capping a 12 play 70 yard opening drive. "I'm trying to move up on the depth chart," Smith said. "I'm hoping so ... it's looking good."
It was Smith who looked good for the second weekend in a row after rushing for 93 yards and a touchdown in last Saturday's scrimmage. On the day the Tech offense rushed for 141 yards and 46 carries as Danny Wilson added 22 yards on eight carries and John Simo 22 yards on six rushes.
After a three and out by the second team offense, McCown and company methodically marched down the field and struck paydirt again when the sophomore quarterback hit D. J. Curry on a 15-yard strike. McCown's other two scoring tosses were a 30-yarder to Delwyn Daigre and a nine-yarder to redshirt freshman tight end Aaron Capps.
"I don't think (Luke) ever did poorly (this spring)," Bicknel said. "You have to be careful not to expect too much. He's a great player who did a great job today."
The Bulldogs defense, which has dominated all spring, eventually settled down and didn't allow a touchdown for 10 straight series. Redshirt freshman John Nash was arguably the biggest pleasant surprise as the Mangum, La., native recorded six tackles and two and a half sacks on the afternoon.
"Johnathan Nash is a man," McCown said. "He squats 600 pounds. I don't know how fast he runs, but he's real fast."
In addition to Nash's big day, other defensive stars included Curtis Randall (one forced fumble, one sack, seven tackles), Chris Van Hoy (one and a half sacks), Jerron Wishom (one interception) and A.D. Vitto (one interception, three tackles). Michael John Lenard and Quincy Davis each recorded seven tackles.
"I was pleased overall with everything I saw," Bicknell said. "As I've said before, it is so hard because you want both sides of the football to do well. When the offense started strong, I was concerned about the defense. And then when the defense started controlling things, I was worried about the offense."
Tommy Hebert handled the place kicking duties on the day, converting all four extra points while hitting 26 and 42 yard field goals.
Tech wraps up spring practice with evening sessions Monday and Tuesday.
