This is the first in a series of articles previewing the 2015 football season at Missouri S&T.  The daily stories will feature one position, or a set of positions, each weekday through August 6.  The stories will be available at 11 a.m., each day, with the exception of July 31 when it will be available following the release of the GLVC pre-season poll.

Today's story features the Miner quarterbacks.

ROLLA, Mo. -- Lamar Wilkes (Maryland Heights, Mo./Pattonville) had not taken a snap in the first three games of Missouri S&T's 2014 season, but by week four, Miner head coach Tyler Fenwick was looking for a spark in an offense that had been inconsistent and turned to the true freshman in an effort to do so.

Wilkes had a spectacular debut at Southwest Baptist, earning the Great Lakes Valley Conference's "Player of the Week" award for that performance and had his share of solid performances during his first year in a Miner uniform.

With the 2015 season approaching, Wilkes heads a group of quarterbacks vying for the starting role – with plenty of competition out there according to Fenwick.  The Miners' third-year head coach mentioned that Wilkes made strides during the spring that should continue his progression at the position heading into his sophomore season.

"Lamar did well last year for a being a true freshman," Fenwick said.  "There was a lot that we threw at him last year, so going into the spring, all of that stuff really slowed down for him.  We put him into some situations in the spring where he had to make plays, control the clock, know when to run or throw the ball away.

"He has all of the tools and the thing that sets him apart from the others is that he has the athleticism to take off and run to get us some first downs and keep the chains moving," Fenwick added.  "It's a promising position for him and for us right now."

Wilkes, who completed 79-of-182 passes for 965 yards and six touchdowns a year ago, will have competition for that starting role from a number of returners.  Two others who played last season, Peter Simpson (St. Louis, Mo./Lindbergh) and Kason Key (Owasso, Okla./Owasso), figure to compete for the spot along with sophomore Tyler Swart (Dickinson, Texas/Dickinson), who saw a lot of snaps during the spring while Key was recovering from an injury and Simpson was competing in track & field at S&T, where he won the GLVC championship in the javelin throw.

"Tyler did a great job in the spring," Fenwick said.  "He came into spring ball in really good shape and handled the offense.  We had a lot of competition between the quarterbacks and Tyler handled it really well.  He had the highest completion percentage coming out the spring and took care of the ball."

Key started the first three contests and threw for 819 yards and five scores in that span, while Simpson also threw five touchdown passes and for 425 yards.  Another player in the mix is Reed Brown (Rogers, Ark./Heritage HS), who was the Miners' starter two seasons ago and saw time a year ago as S&T's quarterback in short yardage situations.

2015 MISSOURI S&T FOOTBALL PREVIEW SERIES
July 27 – Quarterbacks
July 28 – Running Backs
July 29 – Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
July 30 – Offensive Line
July 31 – GLVC Media Day/Pre-Season Poll
August 3 – Defensive Line
August 4 – Linebackers
August 5 – Defensive Backs
August 6 – Special Teams