Throughout fall camp, LetsGoPeay.com will take a look at each of the position groups as the Austin Peay State University football team goes through preparations for the 2021 season. The position previews continue with the head of the Austin Peay offense – the quarterback.

Entering the spring season, Austin Peay's two-deep listed a quarterback tandem – freshman Draylen Ellis and sophomore Bryce Robinson – who combined had taken 11 snaps at Austin Peay. And all of those snaps came due to Robinson's effort at the end of the fall game at Cincinnati.

So suffice it to say, head coach Scotty Walden had the blankest of slates at quarterback when winter camp started.  

The coach speak for the situation Walden was in was simply –'I'm waiting for someone to step up and take ownership.'

And Draylen Ellis did.

After a rough start – 16-for-40 with two interceptions and touchdown in the spring's first two games – Ellis took ownership with a spectacular six-touchdown effort at Southeast Missouri. Over his final four games, including the SEMO outing, he was 88-for-161 with 13 touchdowns, three interceptions and 1,005 passing yards. Hello, OVC Freshman of the Year!

So walking into summer camp it might be easy to hand the keys of the offense over to Draylen and not think about any sort of competition… let it ride.

No so fast, my friend says Scotty Walden.

"The way I view it, if we don't win a championship there are no returning starters," said Walden. "Draylen knows he still has to work. It's not a 'Hey Draylen, everyone knows you're the guy,' but a 'Hey you slack off and you have these guys Bryce and Sheldon right behind you."

Ellis' meteoric rise to QB1 also saw his confidence grow each week. And as his confidence grew so did his output. Unfortunately, for the likes of Jacksonville State and Murray State, they saw Ellis just as he reached his peak.

"(Draylen) did a tremendous job of getting better every week," Walden said. "We always say that as coaches but he literally did that every week. You look at the Tennessee Tech film to the last drive of the Murray State game and he showed unbelievable poise. And that just comes with a young quarterback getting behind center with the reps and the experience."

So where does Ellis, who honestly is entering Game 7 of his freshman year when the Govs pull up to Finley Stadium in September, improve after such an impressive six-game run? For Walden it's taking ownership of all that comes with being the quarterback in his system and realizing the breadth of options available in a Walden-designed offense.

"Now (Draylen) feels comfortable in thinking 'Hey this is my team. I can get out there and demand this, demand that.' Little things like, we don't drill transition or we don't do something heck he makes the guys do up-downs. Stuff like that, those things lead to the maturation and leadership and taking ownership of your team and I'm starting to see that with him.

"From a playing perspective, just being to see all the options we have. I believe he was overwhelmed with that and it was 'Where do I go with the ball, I have this option, I've got that option.' I believe he's getting more comfortable with that and has to keep getting more comfortable. He's a tremendous guy and a tremendous quarterback and I believe his best days are ahead of him."

Walden had Robinson penciled in as part of the Govs quarterback tandem when the season began in Cookeville – ultimately completing 5-of-8 passes late – but Robinson moved into a key supporting role as the spring campaign progressed. Yet, the Clarksville native showed in a quick stint at Cincinnati that he was more than capable of leading the Govs down the field. And the capability he showed in Cincinnati and Cookeville comes from a work ethic that helps drive the Govs quarterback room day in and day out. 

"Bryce helps this team tremendously… he keeps everyone on their toes in the room because he is such a hard worker," Walden said. "He watches more film, he stays after practice, and he is the epitome of what you want in a quarterback. We put Bryce on scholarship in the spring not just because he's a great kid – because he is, he's first class all the way – but he also is very talented. He is so smart pre-snap on where to go with the ball. I believe if he was in the game we wouldn't miss a beat."

While Ellis and Robinson were the face of the quarterback position during the spring, Walden also brought in another arm to provide yet more competition at the quarterback position. Sheldon Layman transferred to Austin Peay in January after a fall at Memphis. He spent the spring consuming the Governors playbook and digesting all that was asked of quarterbacks in Walden's offense. But Walden is excited to have a third arm in the room.

"(Sheldon) is a guy who was a transfer in the spring and competed from day one," said Walden. "He picked up the offense but it just didn't happen fast enough with the quick turnaround (from fall to spring). This fall he is finally starting to feel like he can demand and coach other guys. In the spring he was worried about what he was doing getting the signals right, getting the protection set, getting everything right. Now that he knows where he's going with the ball his arm strength has really shown off. He can push the ball down the field and deliver it left hash to the right sideline. He's a very poised young man, nothing really rattles him."

Behind that trio of young guns – and think about it, the Govs will be led by a sophomore (Ellis), a redshirt sophomore (Robinson) and a redshirt freshman (Layman) – are three more young guys recruited by Walden to ensure the future. Tennessee products Neyland Jean, Brock Lomax and Rivers Hunt each bring their own unique style and personality to the room but also a hunger to improve the quarterback room in any way they can.

"Neyland was a guy on our board at Southern Miss, a three-star guy with a strong arm. He's the biggest guy in the room as a true freshman. He's a very intelligent young man who knows football, asks the right questions. You can tell he's really good in the meeting room. Rivers was a really good quarterback in Tennessee. He is smart and wants to learn, he's hungry and I love working with him. And Brock is just like Rivers and has one of the best personalities I've been around. I didn't get to see enough of him in the spring, but now that I'm getting to work with him I'm saying 'Hey, he's got a little bit of talent.' He has a phenomenal attitude; he brings the energy and light to the room."

So that's six young, hungry and capable quarterbacks in the room, all within two years of each other. In some circles, there might be chattering there is a quarterback controversy at Austin Peay.

Again, not so fast my friend.

"We've got a healthy quarterback room with all those guys that I believe are pushing each other to get better," said Walden. "They've done a masterful job of not walking in and feeling like 'Draylen is the guy so why should I work hard?'. They want to get better; they want to push him to get better.

"They all bounce off each other…. Draylen has the million-dollar smile and he'll joke around, Bryce brings the work ethic, Sheldon is the poised one. Rivers is the young hungry guy, Neyland is a jokester and Lomax is 'I'm about business but we're going to have a good time' so it's a great room to be in.

"The number one thing is they all care. They care deeply. If you play quarterback in our system you have to care because we put a ton of responsibility on the quarterback. If you are apathetic to that… we all will suffer. We have six guys in that room who all care and they coach each other up. If you have a group like that with the talent we've got I believe you have a shot at being pretty good."