Georgia Southern football head coach Jeff Monken insists that he honestly does not know whether the Eagles’ starting quarterback will be Ezayi "Izzy" Youyoute or Jerick McKinnon.

"Whoever trots out there the first play against Jacksonville (Sept. 1) will be the starting quarterback, and I’m not sure we’ll decide until we know what play we’re going to run the first play," Monken said Saturday following a 1 hour, 45-minute spring game at Paulson Stadium that wrapped up 15 practices over four weeks. "Both of them are going to play quarterback. I don’t think we can pull either one of them off of full-time quarterback. They’re too good at that position right now."

McKinnon, 5-foot-9, 198-pound sophomore, ran for a 20-yard touchdown and threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to B.J. Johnson, both in the third quarter, to lead the Blue team to a 16-6 victory over the White in front of a crowd of about 2,500.

"Hopefully, I did a good enough job to leave an impression on the coaches," McKinnon said. "Izzy did a great job, too. He played really well. Had some good passes, great runs."

McKinnon was 1-for-3 passing for 75 yards. He ran for a team-high 83 yards on 14 carries, and was the scrimmage’s second-leading rusher behind White team B-back Seon Jones, who ran 20 times for 95 yards, including a 36-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

Youyoute, a 5-foot-11, 184-pound redshirt freshman, was 3-for-11 passing for 41 yards. He gained 63 yards on 15 carries.

"I feel great about it," Youyoute said. "We came out here. We competed on both sides of the ball, offense and defense, Blue side and White side. We competed tremendously."

Said Monken of McKinnon and Youyoute, "They both have some flexibility. I think Jerick’s probably more versatile. He’s played defense. He’s played in the backfield already, where Izzy has just played quarterback. But I think Izzy can play other positions, too, so it wouldn’t be unlikely for maybe both of them to be in the huddle at the same time on the first play of the game next year against Jacksonville.

"Nobody will know who the quarterback is. It will just be a matter of who lines up there. I couldn’t tell you who’s going to be our guy right now. They both have had a good spring, and I’m glad we’ve got both of them."

If McKinnon is the QB, Monken said Youyoute probably would move to safety or wide receiver.

"But he certainly could line up at slot and catch the toss," Monken said. "He’s athletic enough to do those things. Maybe be a corner."

Monken and his assistants selected the teams by conducting a draft Thursday morning. The scrimmage’s format featured drives starting from the 30-yard line rather than via kickoffs. There was punting but no live rush and only fair catches. Field goals and extra points were live.

Kyle Morris’ 19-yard field goal gave the Blue a 3-0 lead with 2:44 left in the first quarter. His kick capped a 14-play, 78-yard drive that consumed 8:28 off the game clock.

Jones’ 36-yard touchdown run gave the White a 6-3 lead with 13:30 left in the second quarter. Charlie Brower’s extra-point attempt was blocked by Valdon Cooper.

"It was an inside run," Jones said. "The linemen, they did good blocking and I just followed the block and I was in there, so big props to them."

With 5:54 left before halftime, Jones fumbled and free safety A.J. McCray recovered for the Blue at the Blue’s 12-yard line. The White led, 6-3, at halftime.

Monken said he is pleased with Jones’ progress but said he wants to see him run with more power, straight ahead and fall forward upon being tackled.

"He was just short of 100 yards today," Monken said. "He’d have had over 100 had he just kept his shoulders square and kept running."

At halftime, the most efficient quarterback in terms of throwing was Blue team backup Russell DeMasi, who was 2-for-4 passing for 26 yards. McKinnon was 0-for-2 passing. Youyoute was 1-for-5 passing for 6 yards in the first half.

In the third quarter, Monken, who instructed from on the field, sent White team defensive end Dion DuBose off the field for drawing a 15-yard penalty for excessive celebration.

DuBose said during his celebration he bumped into an official and saw the yellow flag come out.

"I was just excited," he said. "Overly excited."

Monken followed DuBose to the sideline. When asked what Monken said to him, DuBose laughed and said, "No comment. I can’t comment."

DuBose returned after sitting out two series.

"I’m really pleased with Dion," Monken said. "There was a time today I wasn’t too pleased. That was the celebration penalty. These guys know. They know me. He’s had a good spring. He hasn’t played any football since the 2010 Western Carolina game, and he wasn’t timid or shy. He came out and played and competed this spring. That’s not easy to do when you’ve had three ligaments repaired in your knee and been gone for more than a year. Really proud of his effort."

The Blue capitalized on the penalty, marching 90 yards on 13 plays and capping the drive with McKinnon’s 20-yard touchdown run for a 9-6 lead. Morris’ extra-point attempt was blocked by White nose tackle Korentheus Bailey.

"The first block, when the Blue team blocked it, Cooper came off the edge," Monken said. "He was standing back there and he could’ve stopped for a snack on the way. I think we were probably a little bit slow on the get-off time. And the edge might have been short a little bit from alignment. We’ll look at that.

"The second (block) just barely came right down the middle. We just didn’t do a good job of protecting, so it’s really hard to tell if there were any problems with the exchange there. The snap was a little high, but I don’t know if that would’ve made a difference. But we’ve got to improve that area."

On the next play, White backup quarterback Prince McJunkins threw a 42-yard pass to Kentrellis Showers. The Blue stopped the drive four plays later and took over at its 20-yard line.

Two plays later, the Blue took a 16-6 lead on McKinnon’s 75-yard touchdown strike to Johnson. Morris kicked the extra point.

"I was just trying to focus on catching the ball," Johnson said. "I knew once I got to the 20-yard line that I was going to score."

Noteworthy: Brent Russell led the Blue with nine tackles, including two for minus-3 yards, and he forced a fumble. DuBose led the White with eight tackles, including a sack for minus-2 yards. … The Blue’s Blake Riley forced a fumble. … Youyoute fumbled one time but his White team recovered. … Dominique Swope, Darius Eubanks, Carlos Cave, Robert Brown, Blake DeBartola, Trevor McBurnett, Tevin Thomas and Javon Mention did not play because they are recovering from injuries. … Luke Cherry punted three times for a 42.3-yard average. "I’m excited about Luke," Monken said. "He’s done a good job of leadership. Really worked hard." … Honorary captains were Frankie Johnson, James Young, Chris Chambers, Kevin Jackson and Raja Andrews. … GSU President Brooks Keel presented Southern Conference championship rings to last season’s seniors before kickoff. Current players received their rings after the scrimmage. When asked after the scrimmage how he was doing, Russell (aka ManBearPig) smiled and said, "Blinging." He was still in uniform but already wearing his ring. "Feels pretty good," he said. "A little heavy. I’ll have to wear it for a week to get used to it."

Noell Barnidge can be reached at (912) 489-9408.