The offense seemed to come together during the second scrimmage of the fall, Thursday, scoring touchdowns on two of their first three drives. Redshirt-junior quarterback A.J. Toscano will be the starting quarterback against Florida.

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With A.J. Toscano taking the snaps, the offense moved down the field very methodically on the first drive, converting twice on third-down to keep the drive alive. After a third-and-nine conversion to Gerald Stevenson, Kwame Krakue got behind the defense for a 30-yard touchdown pass.

“I thought the offense looked very solid today,” said Toscano, who was named the starting quarterback for the first game of the season following the scrimmage. “We really gelled today and everyone did their job. Especially on the first few drives, it was probably the best that our offense has looked so far.

After the second-team defense forced a three-and-out, the first-teamers got their revenge as Charles James jumped a route for the interception.

Krakue again had the big play as he caught a 20-yard pass to put the offense back in scoring position. DeMarcus Moon got them inside the five with an eight-yard run up the middle before Antwan Ivey punched it in.

The other big highlight of the day was a 92-yard kickoff return by Stevenson, who proved why he is the preseason All-Big South kick returner selection.

There will be one final scrimmage on Aug. 28.

Toscano Named Starting QB

Thursday, following the second fall scrimmage, Charleston Southern Head Coach Jay Mills has announced that redshirt-junior quarterback A.J. Toscano will be the starting quarterback against the University of Florida in the first game of the season.

“I have been very pleased with A.J.’s performance, and not just during this fall camp,” said Mills. “He has steadily progressed since arriving here, and not just with his mechanics, but in establishing himself as a leader on the team.”

Toscano, who transferred to CSU during the spring of 2008, played in just over one quarter against Savannah State last year before taking a medical redshirt. He completed seven of his 11 pass attempts for 74 yards with one touchdown and one interception during his brief action.

Even though it will be the fourth starting quarterback in as many years for CSU, Toscano has been around the program for over a year and feels comfortable taking the reigns of the offensive unit.

“I feel very confident about what we are doing offensively,” said Toscano. “We had a great summer with everyone here working hard and have had a great start to our fall camp. I think we all have really high expectations this year.”

Noting the irony, Mills said that Toscano’s experience is what set him apart from transfer Andrew Trudnowski as well as Brad Taylor and Jordan Belser.

“He has a really good knowledge of our offense, probably second only to Collin Drafts in his senior year,” said Mills. “If that knowledge translates onto the field during game day, which I trust that it will, A.J. will perform very well. He has a mastery of not only his position, but everyone else on the field.”

Toscano will immediately be put to the test as the Bucs travel to Gainesville, Fla. to take on the defending BCS champions and preseason top-ranked Florida Gators on 9/5. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Net at 7 p.m.

By Charleston Southern University Sports Information