Behind Smith, true freshmen QB Charlie Brewer is the next man up

When asked, Matt Rhule said he didn't know when Anu Solomon would return to the lineup for the Bears after going into concussion protocol following Baylor's game against UTSA on Saturday.

Though the move was inevitable even without the injury, Zach Smith was announced as the starter on Monday, leaving true freshman Charlie Brewer out of Lake Travis as the quarterback to be slotted as the backup for a game at Duke on Saturday.

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Redshirting Brewer could be the best for the long-term future of the program, but Rhule noted that the Bears aren't exactly in an ideal situation.

"I don’t think we’re in that position and Charlie is in my office saying ‘Hey, I’m ready to play.’" Rhule said. "Would I have liked to? Sure. But, I mean, to have two scholarship quarterbacks, we should be at five. Four or five. To be at two, both guys have to be ready to play."

Brewer, who earned praise from fellow Lake Travis alum and current Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield for his accomplishments in high school, enrolled at Baylor in January and went through spring drills.

Brewer completed a national record 78% of his passes as a senior while leading Lake Travis to a state championship. He threw for 3,923 yards and 54 passing touchdowns with only three interceptions while rushing for 746 yards and nine touchdowns on 88 carries. In his high school career, Brewer completed 600-of-851 passes (70.5%) for 8,363 yards, 107 touchdowns to 11 interceptions, and rushed for 1,442 yards and 19 touchdowns on 215 carries.

So, while he is still a freshman, he's not your typical freshman strolling in and out of his first round of fall classes and studying on the thin side of the playbook. He's on equal playing ground as both Solomon and Smith as far as exposure to the offense.

It wouldn't change things heading into Saturday if he had only arrived in June, but it does make the prospects at least a little more comforting.

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"If I get a chance to play Charlie I’m going to just for his development," Rhule said. "Obviously, in the future, we will figure things out. I just think with where we are right now, all the young kids have basically said, ‘Hey, coach, I’m ready to play if you need me.’  That’s why they came here."

The Bears have played a total of 14 true freshman of the 27 that were signed in Rhule's first class. Brewer would make No. 15. 

For now, Brewer would just be the backup, but like the Bears have experienced in three consecutive seasons, quarterbacks getting injured is more likely than not.

With 10 games to go, the odds are that Smith misses time at least once, and with the status of Solomon up in the air, Brewer has to be ready.

"He’d be the backup and a perfect world he wouldn’t go in the game unless we got a lead on somebody, but he’s a competitive guy and so he’s fighting to get on the field," Rhule said.

"He and Zach are both really close and both working really hard."