Smith goes in-depth on 2-QB system; how has Gebbia looked in practice?

Jake Luton was the outright starter out of fall camp. Head coach Jonathan Smith may have had in the back of his mind that he'd play Conor Blount if Luton struggled at any point, but at least publicly, the two-quarterback system wasn't ever talked about before the Ohio State game.

Blount got the start in the Southern Utah game and played well. Luton played the second half in that game and played decently with the big lead. Heading into week three at Nevada, Blount earned the starting job with his play.

He was replaced by Luton, who had his best game in a Beaver uniform, in the second quarter, but then Luton hurt his ankle in the fourth quarter, and Blount nearly led the team to a comeback victory.

So heading into game four versus Arizona, Oregon State is in a familiar situation from just a couple of weeks ago. Luton is injured, we don't know if he'll be ready to play for this Saturday, and we don't know who will start on Saturday.

Even if Luton was ready though, Smith wouldn't name a starter. Over the course of Smith's coaching career, he's always had one starting quarterback in the traditional sense. But not anymore.

I don't think Smith has actually used the term "two-quarterback system" this season, but let's be honest, that's what's going on here.

There's the phrase "If you have two quarterbacks, you have none," but that's not how Smith feels.

"What I've done before is had one guy, but I'm not against what we're doing," Smith told BeaversEdge.com on Tuesday. "I feel good that we have two quarterbacks that we can move the ball with, and we've needed both of them.The competition in practice steps up because they're knowing the other guy is getting reps and he could be in the game.

"They do bring a little bit different things to the table. They have some of the same skill sets that we don't call particularly different plays, but they are a little bit different. I feel good the way it's gone; we've needed both of them. Both of them have done some good things. Like I said, I'm comfortable with where it's at."