Mims preparing for first start as ETSU quarterback

Mason Mims has been making progress since he was announced as East Tennessee State's starting quarterback nine days ago. ETSU coach Will Healy, speaking to local media Monday at Greene Stadium, talked about how important it was to get the news of a starting quarterback out of the way well before Saturday's season opener against Campbell. Mims, a redshirt freshman, is more reserved than the typical quarterback, but he has the respect of his teammates. "With Mason's personality, I thought instead of going another two weeks where you kind of left your team wondering who's going to call the shots, it was important that we eliminated some of that indecision and put him in a leadership role," Healy said. "I think he's responded really well. You've watched him come out of the shell at times, and be vulnerable." That included singing karaoke in front of his Buccaneer teammates. While the Louisville transfer is comfortable behind center, he's not one always looking to be the center of attention. Even with a quieter demeanor, the coach has seen though how Mims' teammates have embraced him as the starter. "Our team has rallied around him and enjoyed his personality," Healy said. He has a quiet to himself personality. But, he's understanding with his position that he's going to have to be a little bit more vocal. I think he communicates really well." Healy added that Mims has at a really high level, and he's extremely talented. The numbers back up those claims as Mims threw for over 8,400 yards and 89 touchdowns in high school in Alabama. He chose Louisville over offers from Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, West Virginia and Pitt. Still, he hasn't been in front of a college media press conference before. So, Healy has been protective steering him away from questions and keeping the focus on preparing for Saturday's on-field action. "It's not necessarily Mason's forte in that putting him behind the microphone," Healy said. "I wanted him to be able to come out of his shell a little bit more before he's going to have to be behind the mic on Saturday after this game's over. He'll be prepared for it. I wanted him to be able to just worry about the things like know our offense, develop a relationship with our players. Lead your offense first, and then we'll make you the face of the program, and you can go behind the cameras." Healy explained he has protected Mims to some degree. It was different last season with Cade McNamara, who had started at Michigan and Iowa, and Jacolby Criswell, who had been in front of media similarly at North Carolina and Arkansas. The coach, who is starting his second season with the Bucs after going 7-5 last year, added it's up to the other players on the offense to help make Mims a success. That includes good blocking from the offensive line, a strong effort from the running backs and sure-handed receivers. Mims needs to be more a game manager than a superstar performance. "Everybody around him has got to step up on Saturday," Healy said. "We're not going to ask him to be Joe Montana in week one, but I think he's got a tremendous skill set. You just see him get better with each and every rep. I think you're going to see him a much better quarterback in week 12 than he is week one. That's the goal for our entire team, and it's no different for Mason." There have been some changes behind Mims. After battling for the starting job throughout the spring and summer, Jake McNamara is currently sidelined with an injury. Jadyn Davis, the Michigan transfer, is No. 2 on the depth chart with Jackson Byrd, moved up to third string. Healy doesn't want to be in a position of playing more quarterbacks due to injuries like last season. But, he wants the team and players prepared just in case. "Jaden is the backup. Jake has been injured and we'll see what his timeline is with returning," Healy said. "There's some luxuries for sure of having Jadyn, who's an experienced guy that you felt like at any point in time could come in and you could win games with. That moves Jackson back up to you know to the third team as we speak, and then you got a young buck like Kaleb Narcisse. You saw what happened last year. He's got to be ready."