Highlights from our latest interviews following the conclusion of spring practice. (Note: We spoke with the quarterbacks before Coach Clay Helton said he could be identifying a starter Monday.)
QBs COACH TYSON HELTON
--on how the competition between Max Browne and Sam Darnold has played out from his perspective
"All spring they’ve been pretty even. Early in the spring I think Max was ahead of Sam. And then Sam started to get comfortable and started to close the gap some. I thought it was a healthy competition where you had two quarterbacks who had two different talent sets. They both had their strengths, they both had their weaknesses. But the gap was really close."
--on when a starter would be chosen if the competition is extended to the fall
"At the end of the day that’s going to be up to Coach Clay. He’s got to make the calls and decide, hey, we need to move forward with a guy. You hope it's earlier in the process because that guy can get comfortable and all that. But if it's a really close competition you have to give both guys their chance to win the job, and that’s kind of where we are. We feel really good about both of them. They’ll just get better and better and we’ll see who separates."
--on what it says about Darnold that he had just one interception in spring
"Pretty impressive. Really impressive. What I did like about Sam was he’s not afraid to pull the trigger, he gets the ball out fast. Don’t take this the wrong way, he doesn’t have a conscience about I am throwing this ball here because I now I can make it happen. And he makes the right decisions and it shows up because he doesn’t have a lot of turnovers. There’s quarterback that try to force the ball in there because they think something’s going to happen and they make the wrong decision. He has good instincts about him that he understands timing and where the ball’s supposed to be. That’s why you don’t see those interceptions happening with him."
--on both Browne and Darnold rarely throwing into double coverage
"The quarterback has enough pressure on him as it is, so we try to do things to get the ball out of their hands fairly quickly. We try to give them a lot of options of where to go with the ball that give them the ability to say, if I don’t like it I know I can always go here with the ball and get completions. And then when we’re ready to throw it vertically or hold the ball, we try to max protect or leave the pocket so they feel comfortable. So, we try to help them as much as we can to not put them into bad situations."
--on how much the possibility of Browne transferring if Darnold is chosen factors into their decision
"To be honest with you, there could only be one quarterback. I think we got a tough group. I think they want to compete. I think they all get along, there’s a lot of cohesiveness. You got to like competition as a quarterback. You can’t say, I don’t want to be somewhere if I can’t be the guy. All those guys embrace that. At the end of the day you just got to play the cards your dealt and eventually there’ll be a quarterback picked and will move forward from there. You never where the chips could fall. And I tell the guys all the time, just because you name a quarterback, how you start a season doesn’t mean that’s how you’re going to finish a season. Everybody has to prepare like you’re the starting quarterback and your turn is going to come. And when you get your tune you better be ready. And those guys take that approach and I think they do a good job with it."
QB MAX BROWNE
--on where he’s grown
“I’m one of the oldest guys here. The biggest step I took this spring is making sure I’m leading the guys and kind of being that vocal presence on the team.”
--on if he feels his performance today locked things up
“Lock it up? We’ll see. That’s a wait-and-see kind of thing, but I felt like I played well today and showed what I can do.”
--on what he showed in the spring game
“I showed that I can move the team down the field, push the ball down the field, I guess put our team in a successful position and then just manage the offense, making sure guys are lined up, making sure our tempo is right and just drive the car as coach says.”
--on his long touchdown pass to Darreus Rogers
“It was funny because it came off my hand a little funky, so I was kind of beating myself up a little bit. I made Darreus slow up a little bit. Those plays are fun and put a lot pressure on the defense, so it’s a great thing for us to implement.”
--on Helton saying he might wait until fall before choosing a starter
"It is what it is. I would have liked to have it done at the end of the spring, but at the end of the day it’s the nature of having two quarterbacks playing very good ball. But (if) it’s going into fall camp, I won't change my approach, I’ll bust my ass this summer moving into the fall and I’ll be ready to go."
--on whether he feels he’s played well enough to win the job already
"Yeah. We met with him and he said it’s the great problem he has, he’s got two NFL-worthy quarterbacks on his roster and the best guy’s going to play. It just kind of is what it is. I’ve been competing since I’ve been here and it doesn’t change moving into these next few months."
--on what it does to him to have the announcement delayed
"Fuel to the fire. It’s disappointing but it’s not like I’m down on myself. I wouldn’t say it’s a negative thing. It’s just kind of the nature of what’s going on and guys competing. That was my goal, it didn’t work out, but by no means am I down in the dumps or upset or furious over what happened."
--on how he can separate himself from Darnold
"It’s just a matter of me showing all the reps that I’ve accumulated the past three and a half years and making sure I’m managing situations well and just executing at a high level. The big thing he wants to fuel competition in the offseason, which is great and I’ll be ready come fall camp."
--on whether there was a particular area in which he feels had he done better the job would be his
"Naturally, when it's maybe not the result you may have hoped for you look back and there’s some throws and say, man, I wish I would have completed that or some situations I wish I could have handled better. But that’s football. You learn from it, and I’ll learn from it and then use that going into the season. I look back, nothing huge. But at the end of the day, when you got two good quarterbacks, the smallest thing makes a big difference. It’s just a matter of the quarterback position, making sure you move the ball down the field. It’s not one thing. When they signal a play in, I got to execute it and make sure I’m doing it a high level moving forward."
QB SAM DARNOLD
--on whether it’s a victory for him if the competition is extended
"I guess you could say that because Max has a lot of experience."
--on the impact the QB competition has on the team
"I think it’s good for the team to see that we’re competing and we’re not afraid of competition and that we’re going to keep paying our game. I think it’s an awesome opportunity for our team to learn."
--on if he feels he’s made it a competition with how he’s played in spring
"Yeah, I could definitely say that. The way I’ve played has showed the coaches my ability and that this isn’t as easy a decision as some people would have thought."
--on if he’s showed enough to win the job
“That’s a complete coach’s decision and I’m confident in myself, I thought I did a really good job.”
QBs COACH TYSON HELTON
--on how the competition between Max Browne and Sam Darnold has played out from his perspective
"All spring they’ve been pretty even. Early in the spring I think Max was ahead of Sam. And then Sam started to get comfortable and started to close the gap some. I thought it was a healthy competition where you had two quarterbacks who had two different talent sets. They both had their strengths, they both had their weaknesses. But the gap was really close."
--on when a starter would be chosen if the competition is extended to the fall
"At the end of the day that’s going to be up to Coach Clay. He’s got to make the calls and decide, hey, we need to move forward with a guy. You hope it's earlier in the process because that guy can get comfortable and all that. But if it's a really close competition you have to give both guys their chance to win the job, and that’s kind of where we are. We feel really good about both of them. They’ll just get better and better and we’ll see who separates."
--on what it says about Darnold that he had just one interception in spring
"Pretty impressive. Really impressive. What I did like about Sam was he’s not afraid to pull the trigger, he gets the ball out fast. Don’t take this the wrong way, he doesn’t have a conscience about I am throwing this ball here because I now I can make it happen. And he makes the right decisions and it shows up because he doesn’t have a lot of turnovers. There’s quarterback that try to force the ball in there because they think something’s going to happen and they make the wrong decision. He has good instincts about him that he understands timing and where the ball’s supposed to be. That’s why you don’t see those interceptions happening with him."
--on both Browne and Darnold rarely throwing into double coverage
"The quarterback has enough pressure on him as it is, so we try to do things to get the ball out of their hands fairly quickly. We try to give them a lot of options of where to go with the ball that give them the ability to say, if I don’t like it I know I can always go here with the ball and get completions. And then when we’re ready to throw it vertically or hold the ball, we try to max protect or leave the pocket so they feel comfortable. So, we try to help them as much as we can to not put them into bad situations."
--on how much the possibility of Browne transferring if Darnold is chosen factors into their decision
"To be honest with you, there could only be one quarterback. I think we got a tough group. I think they want to compete. I think they all get along, there’s a lot of cohesiveness. You got to like competition as a quarterback. You can’t say, I don’t want to be somewhere if I can’t be the guy. All those guys embrace that. At the end of the day you just got to play the cards your dealt and eventually there’ll be a quarterback picked and will move forward from there. You never where the chips could fall. And I tell the guys all the time, just because you name a quarterback, how you start a season doesn’t mean that’s how you’re going to finish a season. Everybody has to prepare like you’re the starting quarterback and your turn is going to come. And when you get your tune you better be ready. And those guys take that approach and I think they do a good job with it."
QB MAX BROWNE
--on where he’s grown
“I’m one of the oldest guys here. The biggest step I took this spring is making sure I’m leading the guys and kind of being that vocal presence on the team.”
--on if he feels his performance today locked things up
“Lock it up? We’ll see. That’s a wait-and-see kind of thing, but I felt like I played well today and showed what I can do.”
--on what he showed in the spring game
“I showed that I can move the team down the field, push the ball down the field, I guess put our team in a successful position and then just manage the offense, making sure guys are lined up, making sure our tempo is right and just drive the car as coach says.”
--on his long touchdown pass to Darreus Rogers
“It was funny because it came off my hand a little funky, so I was kind of beating myself up a little bit. I made Darreus slow up a little bit. Those plays are fun and put a lot pressure on the defense, so it’s a great thing for us to implement.”
--on Helton saying he might wait until fall before choosing a starter
"It is what it is. I would have liked to have it done at the end of the spring, but at the end of the day it’s the nature of having two quarterbacks playing very good ball. But (if) it’s going into fall camp, I won't change my approach, I’ll bust my ass this summer moving into the fall and I’ll be ready to go."
--on whether he feels he’s played well enough to win the job already
"Yeah. We met with him and he said it’s the great problem he has, he’s got two NFL-worthy quarterbacks on his roster and the best guy’s going to play. It just kind of is what it is. I’ve been competing since I’ve been here and it doesn’t change moving into these next few months."
--on what it does to him to have the announcement delayed
"Fuel to the fire. It’s disappointing but it’s not like I’m down on myself. I wouldn’t say it’s a negative thing. It’s just kind of the nature of what’s going on and guys competing. That was my goal, it didn’t work out, but by no means am I down in the dumps or upset or furious over what happened."
--on how he can separate himself from Darnold
"It’s just a matter of me showing all the reps that I’ve accumulated the past three and a half years and making sure I’m managing situations well and just executing at a high level. The big thing he wants to fuel competition in the offseason, which is great and I’ll be ready come fall camp."
--on whether there was a particular area in which he feels had he done better the job would be his
"Naturally, when it's maybe not the result you may have hoped for you look back and there’s some throws and say, man, I wish I would have completed that or some situations I wish I could have handled better. But that’s football. You learn from it, and I’ll learn from it and then use that going into the season. I look back, nothing huge. But at the end of the day, when you got two good quarterbacks, the smallest thing makes a big difference. It’s just a matter of the quarterback position, making sure you move the ball down the field. It’s not one thing. When they signal a play in, I got to execute it and make sure I’m doing it a high level moving forward."
QB SAM DARNOLD
--on whether it’s a victory for him if the competition is extended
"I guess you could say that because Max has a lot of experience."
--on the impact the QB competition has on the team
"I think it’s good for the team to see that we’re competing and we’re not afraid of competition and that we’re going to keep paying our game. I think it’s an awesome opportunity for our team to learn."
--on if he feels he’s made it a competition with how he’s played in spring
"Yeah, I could definitely say that. The way I’ve played has showed the coaches my ability and that this isn’t as easy a decision as some people would have thought."
--on if he’s showed enough to win the job
“That’s a complete coach’s decision and I’m confident in myself, I thought I did a really good job.”
