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After years of stability under center, Jim Grobe is breaking in a new quarterback at Wake Forest.
Duke's David Cutcliffe certainly knows that feeling.
The Demon Deacons and Blue Devils, who meet this week in the first Atlantic Coast Conference game of the season, are two teams with new signal callers.
Redshirt sophomores - Wake Forest's Ted Stachitas and Duke's Sean Renfree - whose first ACC starts will come Saturday.
''The key for a quarterback ... is to perform. You've got to go get the job done,'' Grobe said Tuesday. ''As long as you're getting the job done, the players are going to follow you. (Stachitas) is just a guy that quietly goes about getting the job done, and I think he's certainly got the potential to be really, really good for us.''
Indeed, both Renfree and Stachitas showed flashes of promise in their starting debuts, though they did come in easy wins against outmanned FCS opponents. Facing improved competition this week, both are looking to keep things rolling.
''I feel like there's a lot of momentum,'' said Renfree, who threw for 350 yards and two touchdowns in his starting debut against Elon. ''There's going to be a lot of differences between Elon and Wake Forest ... but obviously, it helped get some confidence going into that first ACC game.''
The QBs have a lot more in common than just geography. Both have come back from significant injuries to replace popular, record-setting passers and four-year starters in Riley Skinner at Wake Forest and Thaddeus Lewis at Duke.
Renfree has returned after tearing knee ligaments in a November loss to Georgia Tech. Stachitas has undergone two surgeries on his throwing shoulder, and Grobe says that had a temporary effect on his accuracy and arm strength.
''He's starting to improve the long ball, and that's where I think you can notice it a little bit,'' Grobe said. Going deep ''doesn't seem to be an issue right now. The biggest issue right now is accuracy. At times, he throws passes that you're really impressed with ... but at times, we've got open receivers and we're not hitting them with the football.''
Their differences come in their styles and how they're used in their respective offenses.
The 6-foot-1 Stachitas, who replaced Tim Tebow at their Florida high school, looks like he's picked up a few of his former teammate's moves.
He's a two-way threat who seems unafraid to tuck it under and run, as he did with a 34-yard touchdown run that capped the opening drive of the Demon Deacons' rout of Presbyterian. With Grobe keeping the playbook basic, Stachitas was 7 of 13 through the air for 84 yards in two quarters of work, then watched the second half while some playing time went to promising freshman Tanner Price.
''It's a very mental game in college, so every day you go out there and stuff comes natural after you (repeat) it a hundred times,'' Stachitas said.
Cutcliffe has sent his share of quarterbacks to the pros - most notably, Peyton and Eli Manning. Like those two, the 6-3 Renfree is a pure pocket passer.
Renfree completed 13 of his first 14 attempts in the opener, including a stretch in which he hit 10 passes in a row. He finished 31 of 39, yet still saw plenty of room for improvement.
''There were certain things that people really can't see that we know there's mistakes, and many circumstances, we beat ourselves,'' Renfree said.
Grobe wasn't as convinced.
''Sean completed right at 80 percent of his throws,'' he said. ''If you're just out playing catch, you might not complete 80 percent.''
