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Belton now confident at QB
Freshman improved at reading coverages in redshirt year, now competes for starting job with Raudabaugh.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
OXFORD — Clay Belton's powerful left arm clinched his future as a college quarterback.
But if the Miami University redshirt freshman lives up to his potential and becomes a great college quarterback, it may well be because of his eyes and the intelligent way he uses them.
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You see, Belton's father taught him well.
"He taught me quarterback fundamentals, making reads, at a young age," Belton said. "In high school I spent just as much time in the film room as I do right now."
The results were stupendous. During his junior and senior seasons at Northmont High School, he passed for more than 4,400 yards and 44 touchdowns.
This spring, the 6-foot-5, 236-pound Belton is competing with junior Daniel Raudabaugh for Miami's starting quarterback position, and his arm strength already has drawn comparisons to former RedHawk Ben Roethlisberger.
"So far everything's going well," Belton said. "I got an opportunity to redshirt last year, I got to travel to all the games and learn from Daniel Raudabaugh and Mike Kokal, learning all the different coverages, the reads. That's helped me a lot this spring.
"The biggest thing is, I can tell when I break the huddle and come up to the line of scrimmage that I feel confidence about making the reads," he added. "Last year it was like my mind was rushing, there were so many things to remember. This year it's all coming naturally."
As a youngster, Belton hadn't even considered playing quarterback, or football for that matter.
"My life until about the sixth grade was centered around basketball, said Belton, who was born in Dayton and attended St. Rita's Elementary School. "Football never really entered my mind."
That changed in the seventh grade when his family moved to Englewood and he decided to give football a shot.
His father, Craig Belton, made a startling suggestion.
"My dad said if I ever wanted to make it to the NFL, the quarterback position might be best for me," Belton said. "Since then, I've never looked back."
So why did his father suggest quarterback?
"The biggest thing is, I'm a tall southpaw (left-handed) quarterback," Belton said. "There aren't too many of them, and in baseball I was a pitcher, so he knew I had a pretty good arm.
"My father taught me a lot, and my high school quarterbacks coach, Mike Schneider, taught me so much," he said. "I dedicate much of what I've got today to each one of them."
Belton also has special praise for Raudabaugh, the 6-4 junior from Coppell, Texas, who completed 209 passes for 2,431 yards and 12 touchdowns last season after replacing the injured Kokal.
"He's done a great job for me," Belton said, "being the veteran, taking me under his wing and teaching me things I need to know."
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.
