Source: Taylor Cornelius to be Named Backup Quarterback

According to a reliable source, redshirt sophomore quarterback Taylor Cornelius, a walk-on from Bushland, Texas, is expected to be named the backup quarterback when the Cowboys start the season on September 3 against Southeastern Louisiana.

The 6-foot-6 quarterback is the only player with game experience in the QB position group, minus Mason Rudolph.

In high school, Cornelius passed for 9,147 yards and 88 touchdowns over three seasons.

A few months ago, offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich had praise for Cornelius following the spring, telling the O’Colly that, “He’s had a great spring. He’s a young man that’s very capable of leading our offense, and we feel really good about his progress.”

He echoed that earlier this fall.

“[He’s] is a guy that has really good arm strength,” said Yurcich. “His feet in the pocket are very good. He’s a pocket passer guy. He’s a guy that understands the system very well, and he’s getting better. He needs more game experience to really find out how good he can be, but he does really well in our drills and what we set up in 7-on-7 and team.”

Cornelius appeared in two games last season, completing 2 of 5 passes on the season.

And as far as the timing, Gundy hinted this spring that the decision to name a QB2 would be…right about now.

“I mentioned to the staff that after the first week in August we need to establish who our No. 2 quarterback is, just from the standpoint that it’s really difficult to get three guys ready to play in a game,”said Gundy following the spring game.

He reiterated this last Saturday at fan appreciation day.

“By the end of next week, we should have a plan for what we’re going to do with our backup quarterback,” said Gundy. “We have a couple of guys that are improving each day. There are only so many reps, so by that time, we need to come up with a plan.”