photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas linebacker Keith Loneker Jr. (47) eyes Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer (12) during the first quarter on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2017 at Memorial Stadium.

As a freshman last season, Charlie Brewer lit up Kansas for 315 yards and three touchdowns in his first start, leading Baylor to its first and only victory of the 2017 season.

But Brewer hasn’t won the job outright. Bears coach Matt Rhule has been using North Carolina State graduate transfer Jalan McClendon a lot as well.

Their statistics are quite similar. Brewer has completed 46 of 76 and thrown for 641 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He has a 60.5 completion percentage and averages 8.4 yards per throw. McClendon, 4 inches taller at 6-foot-5, is 23 of 25 for 307 yards, three touchdowns and one interception and is averaging 8.7 yards per throw.

Rhule shared a glimpse of how he evaluates his decisions.

“I do it all from numbers. Charlie has played 138 snaps and completed 60 percent of his passes and he has led us to eight touchdowns, four field goals, and seven punts,” Rhule said. “Jalan has played 78 total snaps and has led us to six touchdowns and is converting third downs at 58 percent. Those are good numbers for both. To try and make the decision off a gut feeling is hard when both guys are producing. I wish both guys could take back their picks, but when you play quarterback that’s just what happens. Both guys made good plays and both guys have some plays they wish they could take back.”

Rhule didn’t tip his hand.

“We feel good about both guys. Both guys made big plays in the game the other day, so it’s not an easy decision to say, ‘Hey let’s settle on one guy,’ just because of the different skills each guy brings,” Rhule said. “I think that’s sort of day by day process for us as we go through this week putting the game plan together to get ready for Kansas. We’ll see if we’re going to eliminate it and get down to one guy each day as we go through the week. … If we were to play today I think we’d probably play both.”

Given how successful he was last season vs. Kansas and that he has played more to this point, Brewer likely will get the nod if Rhule decides to go with just one quarterback. Kansas? Best guess: Miles Kendrick makes his first start, but it’s just a guess.