Samford Keeps Quarterback Choice Under Wraps
By Steve Irvine
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - August 25, 2026
Samford head coach John Grass had the chance on Tuesday morning to clear up what’s going on with his team’s quarterback rotation heading into Saturday’s season opener. Instead, Grass chose to muddy the waters just a little bit more to keep the UNA coaching staff from getting too clear of a picture of what quarterback takes the Bulldogs’ first snap on Saturday night in the Story Financial Partners Bowl at Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville.
“Well, I say now it got a little more confusing,” Grass said during his game week press conference. “We've got a young freshman chasing them older guys, man, and he's nipping at their heels. That window between the older guys and the young guy is really, really close. We really hit on a freshman there. I think Will Shields is the future of Samford football, man. I think he's gonna be an excellent player. So that's kind of the update.”
The update didn’t clear up the matter. As of now, we still know that returnee Charlie Gilliam and transfer portal additions Coulter Cleland (Davidson) and Gabarri Johnson (Oregon State) are the veterans in the thick of the battle to take the first snap of the season for the Bulldogs. Gilliam, who began his college career at Wake Forest, played in five games last season for the Bulldogs and threw for 258 yards with a touchdowns. Cleland is the most experienced option after playing four seasons at Davidson and throwing for 2,117 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2025. Johnson played in 17 games with three starts over two seasons at Oregon State, compiling 503 passing yards with two touchdowns and 119 rushing yards with another score. Shields is a 6-foot-2, 175-pound Centreville, Va. native, who threw for 5,561 yards and 51 touchdowns in high school.
Grass is confident with what his team has at that position.
“I feel like we got four guys now that can go in and win a game for us and that's a good thing,” Grass said. “They all are doing some really good stuff and they all had really solid camps. About all that scouting stuff, I'm gonna keep that under my hat. When the first one runs out there, you'll know who that guy's gonna be. But an update on that is the freshman's really good.”
Grass added that if the projected starters are put up on the scoreboard before the game it will include slashes at the Samford quarterback position.
Ultimately, though, that is just part of what should be an intriguing opener against a pair of teams coming off disappointing seasons.
“You got a historic program in UNA, rich in football tradition,” Grass said. “They’ve won several national championship at the D2 level and moving up they're doing it the right way, man. They've invested. They got a new on-campus stadium and are pouring a lot of money into it. They got the right coach (Brent Dearmon), who does a great job. I mean they were close last year. Everybody's gonna look and go, ‘Ok, it's a 2-10 team playing a 1-11 team.’ I don't think either one of our teams are indicated right now by our record last year.”
Grass used UNA’s 38-36 loss at Illinois State in the fourth game of the 2025 seasons as an example. The Lions missed a potential game-winning extra point after scoring with 33 seconds left in regulation and then lost in two overtime periods. Illinois State went on to play in the FCS National Championship game where they dropped a 35-34 decision to Montana State in overtime.
“I think the parity is at an all-time high at this level,” Grass said. “It just shows you that a 2-10 should have beat the team that went and played in the national championship game. That's how close it is. UNA is gonna be locked and loaded. They're going to be ready to play. They got a good football team. They got a talented football team.”