Questions at quarterback begin again for Jackson State

JACKSON, Mississippi -- Jackson State may have another quarterback competition coming.

Junior Jarin Morikawa made his debut in Saturday’s 28-24 home loss to Southern after breaking his left (non-throwing) hand before the season. He completed 13 of 23 passes for 136 yards and one touchdown, a performance that buoyed the Tigers’ offense.

“I feel comfortable getting back from my injuries,” Morikawa said. “We had the bye week (two weeks ago), so I got that week to get back into the flow of things and then game week I was getting reps in practice so I felt like I was ready to go this week.”

Morikawa’s solid outing came after he replaced redshirt freshman Brent Lyles, who has struggled since taking the spot from senior LaMontiez Ivy. Lyles has completed just 47.2 percent of his passes and has thrown for just three touchdowns and four interceptions.

Morikawa, Ivy and Lyles competed with sophomore Jordan Williams and true freshman Juwan Adams during preseason camp for the starting role, which Ivy earned. Despite his experience, Ivy, a senior, struggled over the first three games after performing well last year and has completed 47.1 percent of his passes with two touchdowns and three interceptions.



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