Spencer Whipple knows the outcome of any Miami game this season could be in his hands.
Which is true, even though Whipple -- a backup quarterback and son of Miami offensive coordinator Mark Whipple -- might not attempt a pass for the Hurricanes in 2010. Instead of throwing footballs, Whipple will be holding them, assigned to get snaps down for kicker Matt Bosher on field goals and extra points.
It's an often-overlooked role, yet is especially important at Miami this season, considering that Bosher had been with now-graduated holder Matt Perrelli since their days in high school together.
"You think that every hold is going to be important at the final outcome,"
Whipple said. "You just go back to each rep, make sure you set up and have the same approach to each rep. Whether it's an extra point or the game-winning field goal, everything should be the same."
Until now, Whipple has been a holder only once, as a high school junior.
Whipple is a left-handed quarterback, but does just about everything else right-handed, so there's been no tough adjustment trying to get used to getting the ball down with either hand. He, long snapper Chris Ivory and Bosher have logged countless hours together since the spring to get their timing down, and Bosher -- projected to be one of the best kickers in the Atlantic Coast Conference -- has plenty of confidence in his new guy.
"Spencer's a great athlete,"
Bosher said. "He's done a great job learning the trade. He's done a really great job getting his speed down and getting his confidence down. It's just going to be a matter of timing with him, myself and Chris Ivory. That's all that's left, getting the final timing down. He's done a great job. He picked it up really quickly."
It's common for quarterbacks to double as holders, especially since most are blessed with great hands and able to get the laces turned the right way quickly after catching snaps. And if Miami ever wants to try some special-teams trickery, having a quarterback on the field in those sneaky situations is another clear plus.
