Zips Football: Williams to start at QB; Moore to transfer

Senior transfer Dalton Williams will walk into preseason camp knowing that the Akron Zips starting quarterback job is his to lose.

Williams, who came to the Zips from Stephen F. Austin, was selected to head the signal callers recently and that move by coach Terry Bowden will lead former starter Clayton Moore to transfer, the coach said.

“We let him know at this point he’d start out at No. 3 behind Dalton Williams and Kyle Pohl,” Bowden said. “I just felt it would be more unfair to him to wait two more weeks, three more weeks where he could not transfer somewhere.”

Moore’s style of play didn’t suit Bowden’s offense.  Used to using his feet more, the coach prefers pocket passers who can run his up tempo, no-huddle style. 

“There are offenses built around his style.  If he was clear No. 1 I might do some of that,” Bowden said.

Williams has the benefit of having run it for four years, albeit in a back-up role. With a year’s eligibility left, he could serve as a mentor to Pohl, who redshirted last season, for a period of time before turning the offensive reins over to him.

Bowden said that Moore had productive workouts overall.

“The competition wasn’t going to deny him the chance to take the position again, but he handled it like a man,” he said. “He took a day or two to think about what he wanted to do.”

As a sophomore, Moore started all 12 Zips games.  He completed 147-of-309 passes for 1,655 yards and nine TDs.

The 6-foot-4 Williams completed 28-of-44 passes for three scores and no interceptions last season for SFAU.