Viks’ Kuresa ready to do QB scramble

Published 12:00 am Thursday, April 21, 2016

Alex Kuresa 101 was last year. It began as a crash course and resulted in far more than a passing grade.

Alex Kuresa 202 starts in September. It will have more advanced material, with the promise of further honors.

Portland State University football coach Bruce Barnum has coined those phrases, saying last year was Kuresa 101, because the quarterback with that name was a new arrival via transfer from Snow College in Utah. This year, Barnum says, will be Kuresa 202, because his signal-caller has gained a lot of experience, can do more things and can do them better.

“My game has evolved,” agrees Kuresa, a senior who led the Viks to the second round of the FCS playoffs in a magical, 9-3 2015 season. “I’m the same player, the same play-maker I was last year, but I understand more. I’m more confident in recognizing defenses and in knowing different aspects of our offense.”

He’s also a little bigger, stronger and faster.

“I’ve put on 10 to 15 pounds. I’m up to 200 to 205. So I can put a little more zip on the ball and get it downfield farther,” the 6-footer says. “I’ll be a little faster, as well. People will have to chase me longer, and I might be able to break one or two more runs than last year.”

The physical changes are by design and based on orders from on high; Barnum wanted his whole team to bulk up and be more physical. The changes also should help Kuresa meet some specific goals he has for playing his position.

“I want to throw the ball better,” he says. “My completion percentage (54.4 percent) wasn’t what it had been previously in my career. I wasn’t efficient enough.”

He wants to make all kinds of throws better in 2016.

“I’ve been working really hard on staying comfortable in the pocket, ready to get rid of the football, and not just get rid of it but get rid of it accurately,” he says.

Expect Kuresa, a mobile QB with a Houdini nature, to continue to scramble, though.

“That’s my game,” he says. “I will scramble around as much as I need to, and I’ll be able to sit back and throw when I need to.”

He still loves to escape the pass rush and improvise.

“When you’re scrambling, the defense is kind of in chaos, they don’t know what you’re going to do,” he says. “Scrambling plays are one-play touchdowns; people come open downfield. This year, I’ll just be looking to get my feet set more and make a throw. If I can do that, there’s going to be some bigger plays this year.”

The PSU offense will have some new wrinkles, as it’s Year 2 with Barnum as the head coach.

“It’s really Barney Ball 202,” Kuresa says.

Among what’s new as the Vikings prepare to close spring ball with a 2 p.m. Saturday game at Stott Community Field: Kuresa as the No. 1 guy from the get-go, and almost exclusively. Last year, he came in as one of four or more QB candidates, and the Vikings used the likes of Paris Penn, Kieran McDonagh and Josh Kraght at times as more of a running threat from the QB spot or in a wildcat formation, with Kuresa flanked wide or on the bench.

This year, it’s Kuresa at the controls, backed by redshirt freshman Thomas Hamilton. Penn and Kraght are slated for almost full-time duty at wide receiver.

“I was the new guy here last spring, starting at the back of the line,” Kuresa recalls. “Now I’m getting all the (first-string) reps. The first half of last season, I felt somewhat limited, and I’m sure the coaches felt limited in the play-calling. Halfway through the season, I started to feel real comfortable. The experience I got last year is huge for me, and it’s going to be deadly come next season.

“As an offense, we’re a lot more crisp than we were at this time last year. We’ve been able to add some things to our arsenal.”

One thing Kuresa didn’t need to add was confidence.

“I pride myself on my swagger,” he says. “That’s a big part in how I play. And this year, it’s elevated. I know I’m the guy. That doesn’t mean I get to take stuff off, though. I’m hungrier than ever and eager to prove myself.”

The season starts Sept. 3 with a home game against Central Washington.

“We’re going to come to play,” Kuresa says.

Then come big tests against FBS San Jose on Sept. 10 and Washington on Sept. 17, both away games for Portland State. A year ago, the Vikings shocked everyone in college football by knocking off Washington State and then routing North Texas, two FBS schools.

“We’re not sneaking up on anybody this year, nor do we expect to,” Kuresa says. “If people do sleep on us a little, it’s not going to take them long to realize we strap it up just like everybody else.”

sbrandon@portlandtribune.com