But Pickett displayed a much better grasp for the offense this fall and cemented his backup role with a solid effort against the No. 1 defensive unit in the final scrimmage. Not even Pickett knows for sure. But it's hard. Cody is behind Marques. He doesn't have the experience or reps or been in the program as long.
Marques is a real special athlete.
Some day, in the next years, he's going to be the lead dog. I've got a lot of confidence in the guy. In terms of size and arm strength, Gilbertson favorably compares Pickett to his former Idaho quarterback, John Friesz, who went on to play for the Seahawks and now with the Patriots. That doesn't put Pickett in the same mold as Tuiasosopo, since Pickett is more of the classic drop-back passer. But he says he'll run the option if asked and Gilbertson indicated the playbook wouldn't be rewritten should Tuiasosopo go out.