SCOOBA — The big question surrounding East Mississippi Community College football heading into the 2022 season was the competition at quarterback.

Peter Parrish won the starting job in fall camp, but he quickly gave way to freshman Eli Anderson, who threw for over 2200 yards and 15 touchdowns in 10 games.

Both have since left the program, creating another quarterback question for the Lions for 2023. Two players have emerged as candidates, with former Southern Miss quarterback Ty Keyes expected to start.

“Ty is Ty,” EMCC head coach Buddy Stephens said. “When you have all the accolades as he had coming into college and now, he’s got an opportunity to play and play healthy, I’m excited to see that. I think everyone in the state of Mississippi should be excited to see that.”

Keyes was highly recruited out of Taylorsville, the 2019 Gatorade Player of the Year, a three-time Mr. Football selection by the Mississippi Association of Coaches and a two-time state champion.

Injuries over the last two seasons, however, have derailed his chances at collegiate success, and ultimately led him to Scooba and the Lions.

While all eyes seem to be on Keyes heading into 2023, former Starkville Yellowjacket Jaquez Harris is eager to compete for the top spot on the depth chart. 

“I feel really good,” Harris said. “We put together a great team this season. This time, we’re coming for a national championship, just trying to put everything together…Me and Ty, just two guys battling it out, competing every day, trying to make each other better. The best man gets the job and we’re both here to get the job done.”

Harris has been putting in work this offseason to put himself in a position to succeed at EMCC, and if last season was any indication, he’ll likely find himself taking some snaps at quarterback, and finding other opportunities within the offense.

“I’ve been working on gaining weight, just getting stronger,” Harris said. “I’ve been trying to get into the playbook a bit more, studying defenses, footwork, mechanics, little things like that.”

Competition only makes players better and teams stronger, something EMCC will look to benefit from as it prepares for its season opener against Co-Lin CC on Sept. 7.

This season’s schedule is once again a tough one for the Lions, with Jones College headlining the opponents for 2023, but Stephens and the program are ready to roll.

“This time of year, you say, ‘Hey, I’m excited about the potential of our team,’” Stephens said. “Now will we reach that potential or not in time for our first ballgame, that’s going to be up to us as coaches and them as players to buy into that…This team is unique. It reminds me of our ‘13, ‘14, ‘15 teams…I think we can have a really good team.”