Kansas defensive lineman James McClinton smiles after getting a no

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. ? Sean Glennon was the Virginia Tech football team’s quarterback for all 13 games in 2006 and figured heading into ’07 that it once again would be his job.

Not his job to lose. His job, period.

The only real threat was an athletic true freshman named Tyrod Taylor. But how often does an 18-year old prove polished enough to be a starting quarterback for a national-championship contender right out of high school?

“It’s tough for a true freshman to play this position,” Glennon said. “There’s so much to learn. Once you learn the playbooks, then you’ve got to learn how to read defenses and what’s going on on the other side of the ball. It takes a good year to really feel like you’ve got a grip on everything.”

That said, color Glennon surprised.

In a somewhat-shocking turn of events over the last couple of months, Glennon and Taylor have become co-starting quarterbacks for the Hokies, who will play Kansas University in the Orange Bowl on Thursday.

Glennon, a junior, is the veteran pocket passer. Taylor is the athletic dual-threat guy. The game plans drawn up by VT’s coaches are specific to each slinger, but mesh just enough to make things challenging for opposing defenses.

A two-quarterback system is not popular across college football, which makes Virginia Tech’s plan heading into the Orange Bowl a bit daring.

But it hasn’t broken yet, so the Hokies will assume it’s going to work well against the Jayhawks.

“Defenses are still preparing twice as much during the week than they would normally have to,” Glennon said. “Any defensive coordinator would tell you that the less you have to prepare for, the better.”

How it unfolded

Glennon was the starter for Virginia Tech in its season opener against East Carolina, an emotional game in Blacksburg, Va., as the school honored the 33 victims of an April 16 school shooting during pregame.

Virginia Tech won, 17-7, but managed just 278 total yards and had three turnovers.

The next week was a disaster, a 48-7 loss to LSU. Glennon was so bad that he was pulled in the second quarter and replaced by Taylor, who passed for 62 yards and rushed for 44.

Taylor started the next five games, all Virginia Tech victories. He then hurt his ankle against Duke on Oct. 13, and Glennon suddenly was back atop the depth chart.

By the time both were healthy again for the Florida State game on Nov. 10, Virginia Tech’s coaches couldn’t choose.

“We felt like we had two starting quarterbacks,” VT offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring said. “Each brought different things to the table, each of them gave us an opportunity to win ball games. Why not go that route?”

The coaches sat down with both players and detailed the unorthodox plan for the most important position on offense. The last three regular-season games, plus the ACC championship and the bowl game, would be played with two quarterbacks.

Playbooks were developed for each guy, both playing to individual strengths and camouflaging tendencies as much as possible.

Friday nights also got busier for Stinespring. He would sit down and write out a 25-play script of when to play which quarterback. It’s rarely, if ever, shot from the hip.

“The script the night before gets you off and running, so to speak,” Stinespring said. “It’s not an easy element to say, ‘OK, I want to put another quarterback in.’ So you go ahead and script it out a little bit so it becomes like calling a play.”

Does it work?

Virginia Tech is 4-0 under the two-quarterback system, including victories over rival Virginia and Boston College in the ACC championship.

The Hokies, at least publicly, are gushing over the advantages. VT players swear it makes things harder for defenses because it’s more to prepare for.

Many of KU’s defensive players, however, aren’t completely buying it.

“I won’t say it’s predictable, because anything goes in football,” KU linebacker Joe Mortensen said. “We don’t know who’s going to start. But when (Taylor’s) in, we’re definitely more conscious toward the run. When (Glennon’s) in, he’s not going to run the quarterback draws.”

KU defensive coordinator Bill Young agrees.

“The offense doesn’t change that much,” he said. “Maybe with Taylor, they’ll end up running the zone option and more of a quarterback run game. With Glennon, they’ll throw the ball a little bit more. We just have to be aware of who is in the game and what the possibilities are.”

Glennon said that he occasionally runs plays geared more toward Taylor, and vice versa, to keep things unpredictable.

Still, to get too off-the-wall for the sake of surprise would be counterproductive, and the Jayhawks know that.

“We kind of know what to expect,” Mortensen said, “when they both come in the game.”

Endangered species

Two-quarterback systems are not common in college football, though they have worked recently.

Florida, for example, won the national championship last year using the services of Chris Leak and Tim Tebow.

It also has been the reluctant answer for teams struggling to find a starting quarterback, such as Kansas at the beginning of 2005 (Adam Barmann, Brian Luke) and Kansas State at the beginning of 2006 (Dylan Meier, Josh Freeman).

The Hokies insist that’s not the case here, and an 11-2 record probably verifies that – even if Virginia Tech is more known for its strong defense rather than offensive firepower.

“It’s better for both of us to go out there and play than one of us sitting out,” Taylor said. “We’re just trying to go out there and make the best of it.”

KU defensive tackle James McClinton said he thinks Taylor is more dangerous because of his ability to break open a run (he has 431 yards on 97 carries this season). McClinton compared Taylor to former Virginia Tech great Michael Vick, and thought Taylor might be the most athletic quarterback KU has faced since Texas standout Vince Young in 2005.

As for the quarterbacks’ teammates, they’re learning to love – and adjust – to both. VT offensive tackle Duane Brown said that Taylor’s soft-spoken nature made snap counts a tough adjustment at the onset. It’s fixed now.

Others aren’t picking a favorite. There’s no point, since both are assured to be out there trying to win the Orange Bowl for their team Thursday.

That in mind, wide receiver Eddie Royal is giving his bias a price.

“Whoever,” he said, “is throwing me the ball the most.”