New QB at the helm

By Mike Condon

Correspondent

HIAWATHA - The pocket was where Willie Copeland was most comfortable.

The problem?

Cedar Rapids Titans Coach Kyle Moore-Brown and new offensive coordinator Corey Bethany envision an offense in which the quarterback can get out of the pocket and make some plays with his feet. So after a 2-4 start and an offense that is at the bottom of the Indoor Football League, Moore-Brown made a dramatic change.

The Titans released Copeland on Wednesday, turning the offense over to Kenneth Black Jr., who will make his first start Saturday night against the Omaha Beef at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.

“It was my decision to release Willie,” Moore-Brown said. “Willie gave us great effort, but we needed to be more efficient at the quarterback position.”

Copeland struggled with his accuracy, completing just 79 of 181 passes for 663 yards with 11 touchdown passes and eight interceptions. Last week's 25-19 loss at Lehigh Valley sealed Copeland's fate when the Titans failed to score an offensive touchdown.

“We just couldn't keep going with a guy completing under 50 percent of his passes,” Moore-Brown said.

So the Titans turn to Black, who had been the backup. In spot duty, Black has completed 10 of 24 passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns.

“K.J. Black has the ability to get out of the pocket and make plays,” Moore-Brown said. “I have a lot of confidence in him. He is going to make some mistakes. Our hope is that he goes in and plays consistently.”

Moore-Brown said he spent Wednesday looking for a backup for Black, and Thursday the team announced the signing of former University of Dubuque quarterback Colton Hanson to fill that role.

The Titans also made several other roster moves. They released two former Northern Iowa players - offensive lineman Adam Pickney and defensive lineman Henry Obi - along with kicker A.J. Konchar, who was signed last week to replace an injured Mike Polaski. Because he had been on the injured list once this season, Polaski was released before last week's game and re-signed Thursday.

Cedar Rapids also brought back linebacker Wes McDermott, who was released earlier this season. He signed with the Allen Wranglers and was traded back to C.R. Thursday. The Titans also signed offensive/defensive lineman James Washington.

Omaha is 2-4 and coming off a 71-60 loss last week at Wyoming.