TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University football team opened preseason camp at the end of July with a solid foothold on who will be under center in the season opener in Sept. 2.
 
"They are all making progress," said offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jared Ambrose.  "Three of the four guys showed up on the same day last summer and they are all so much more comfortable in their second camp.  It is a joy that we get to start working on things beyond running the procedure of the offense.  We are now working on much more big picture stuff in which they are all getting better at."
 
Junior Morgan Mahalak enters the season as the incumbent under center.  The former Oregon transfer was in a battle for the starting spot in his first camp in 2016.  He eventually won the job, but was injured on the opening series of the second game of the season.
 
Mahalak missed six games, but returned to lead the Tigers to victory in each of the last three games of the season.  In limited work last season, Mahalak went 74-for-137 for 890 yards and four touchdowns. 
 
In his return from injury, Mahalak threw a pair of touchdown passes in the victory over Elon.  He closed out the season by throwing for a career-best 353 yards and two touchdowns in the victory at Rhode Island. He led the Tigers on a pair of scoring drives in the final minutes to erase an eight-point deficit.
 
Mahalak will be backed up this season by redshirt freshman Ryan Stover.  Stover was named the offensive scout team player of the year in his redshirt season in 2016.
 
"Ryan Stover is a really bright kid who puts a lot of pressure on himself to be good," said Ambrose.  That is good, because as a coach, I don't have to do that."
 
As a senior in high school, Stover led his team to its first District 1 Quad A championship by throwing for 2,525 yards and 27 touchdowns, while adding 1,003 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns.
 
Fellow redshirt freshman Triston Harris will push Stover for the backup spot.  Harris came to Towson after earning third-team all-state honors as a senior at Dover High School.
 
True freshman Tyler Raines is the only newcomer to the stable of quarterbacks.  Raines joined the Tigers after garnering first-team all-county accolades at Long Reach High School.
 
"Triston Harris just gets better every day," said Ambrose.  "Our young pup, Tyler Raines, is trying to soak in the offense right now.  He is not getting a ton of opportunities as far as reps go, but he is learning how the younger guys do things and how he needs to fit into that."
 
Individual game tickets for the Battle for Greater Baltimore against Morgan State on Sept. 2 are now on sale.  Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the gate.  Tickets can be purchased on TowsonTigers.com, or by calling 1-855-TU-TIGER.