With the college football season right around the corner and Delta State looking to make its third consecutive Division II playoffs appearance, a lot of fans have been asking: Who is the starting quarterback?
It’s a fair question, too, considering the Statesmen are losing arguably the best signal-caller in program history with Patrick Shegog graduating last December. Over five seasons at Delta State, Shegog threw for 9,095 yards, added 2,399 more on the ground, and totaled 112 touchdowns. He also was the first Division II player in over two decades to win the Conerly Trophy for Mississippi’s best player while subsequently becoming a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy, known as the division’s equivalent to the Heisman.
So, yes; it’s a very fair question to ask. And head coach Todd Cooley answered it during an appearance on SportsTalk Mississippi on Monday. According to him, two players are currently in the running to take the first snap when the season begins on Aug. 29 against Mars Hill with one slightly ahead of the other after a good spring showing.
“We’ve got a young man here who we were actually able to redshirt last year that’s got two years remaining. A young man named Cole Kirk,” Cooley said. “He knows what we expect. You know, he’s very athletic. I think he’s got a high, high ceiling. I think coming out of spring ball, he’s No. 1 on the depth chart.
“We’ve also got a young man from Mississippi that transferred up here from Southern Miss named Jake Lange. I’ve been really impressed with Jake. During the spring, he came a long way, and he had a phenomenal summer. I think those two guys are going to compete really well.”
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Kirk, a native of Selmer, Tenn., came to Cleveland as a freshman when the crux of the COVID-19 pandemic was setting in. Unfortunately for him and his teammates, the 2020 season was canceled. In 2021, he settled into a backup role and threw for 981 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. In 2022, he earned the starting nod going into the year and led Delta State to a 33-10 win over Kentucky State. However, the very next game is when Cooley decided to put Shegog back in, and well, the rest is history.
On the other hand, Lange went from Jackson Prep in Flowood to being a walk-on who didn’t go unused at Southern Miss. As a freshman in 2021, amid a quarterback crisis for head coach Will Hall and company, Lange was called into action and eventually appeared in seven games with four starts. That season, he totaled 843 passing yards with five touchdowns and six interceptions. For the rest of his time in Hattiesburg, he was primarily used as a field goal holder before deciding to transfer to Delta State this offseason.
Cooley went on to tout the quarterback room as a whole, saying the current depth chart is rounded out by true freshman Garrett Haynes and Yazoo City sophomore Reed Miller. Comfortable with the guys ready to line up behind center, he did issue one word of advice to whoever will become the eventual starter.
“Like we told them, man, whoever is our starter, they’re not going to be Patrick Shegog. Just be yourself. Let’s go have fun and be as good as we can be.”
