The future is now
JCSU's Mayo takes crash-course on playing quarterback

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by Herbert L. White, THE CHARLOTTE POST
Spencer Mayo is Johnson C. Smith's quarterback of the future.

And the present.

Mayo, a redshirt freshman, was pressed into service when starter Desmond Brown left the team in September. As the Golden Bulls struggle with the loss of last year's most valuable player and a 2-7 season, Mayo's been forced to mature under pressure.

"It's helped me," he said. "It's given me an opportunity to play a lot sooner than I expected to and a lot sooner than the coaches expected, too. As for the team, at the time it happened, it kind of hurt everybody, but now we're moving on and we're not looking back at it."

Mayo's statistics aren't dazzling ­ he was 7-for-29 for 108 yards and three interceptions in a 25-6 loss to Winston-Salem State ­ but coach Tim Harkness said he's improved every week. Mayo isn't completing a lot of passes, but he's showing more command of the offense.

"That's what Spencer has been doing since he got his opportunity and he's gotten better every week," Harkness said. "I feel good about throwing the ball with him and calling in the plays.

"We gave him a lot more leeway (against Winston-Salem). He made some calls on his own out there on the field, he's making his reads properly, so he's at a point where I can let him go a little bit more. He's where I thought the quarterback position would be at the beginning of the season."

Mayo, 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, is a dropback passer who is still learning how to attack defenses with inexperienced receivers. It showed in the Winston-Salem game when the Rams intercepted Mayo twice in scoring territory.

"(Mayo) played well enough (Saturday) to win," Harkness said. "Those interceptions were throws you make, but somebody's got to go get it. One time the receiver stops, one time the receiver fell down. You've got to go get them and right now we don't have anyone to go get them."

"We wanted to take them deep a couple of times, but things didn't work out like we wanted it to," Mayo said. "It was just a step off, but we felt we could win the game."

Although Mayo's struggled at times, he's earned the starting berth ahead of true freshman Trey King, who had been alternating with him. This season may be lost, but Mayo's treating it as an opportunity to showcase his skills for the future.

"I'm gaining a whole lot of confidence and my coaches and my teammates have really been behind me," he said. "I'm starting to feel a lot more comfortable in the offense. We're just taking it one step at a time. Everybody's trying to get a lot better."

Harkness has seen enough to anoint Mayo the starter for the rest of the season. Barring injury, he'll continue to play ­ and learn ­ on the job.

"He'll be the starter unless he gets a bump or something," Harkness said.

Mayo is equally direct.

"It's my position and it's up to me to keep holding it."