Army quarterback Schurr prepares the same, starter or not

If senior quarterback A.J. Schurr is frustrated over his lack of playing time this season with Army West Point, he's not letting it show, or affect his performance when he does enter the game.

With sophomore starter Ahmad Bradshaw getting knocked out of last week's game against Eastern Michigan with an ankle injury, the 6-foot, 209-pound Schurr kept the offense moving and rushed for 67 yards and two touchdowns in a 58-36 victory over the Eagles, the first win of the season for the Black Knights.

Even though the status of Bradshaw, the Black Knights' leading rusher with 341 yards and a 5.0-yard average, is unsettled for Saturday's game at Penn State, Schurr is practicing as if he expects to start. Then again, he does the same routine every week.

"In college football, in a combative sport, if you're a second-stringer, you're one play away from being the starter," Schurr said. "Some people say one play, other people say four seconds, or how long it takes one thing to happen. I don't think you prepare any differently than if you were a starter or if you're third string.

"Even if no one gets hurt, a guy can just be having an off day and you see that sometimes when coaches go into the locker room at halftime and say, 'We didn't do anything in the first half, we're going to change it up and give this guy some reps and see if anything happens.' So I don't change the way I prepare."

Schurr, who set passing records his senior year at Libertyville (Ill.) High School, has played in 24 games during his Army career but has started just three. One of those starts came in the 2013 Army-Navy game at Lincoln Financial Field.

"It was awesome," he said. "Something I'll probably never forget, when we were running out of the tunnel, I ran into the opposite end zone and said a quick prayer, and the Apaches flew in just over our heads. It was deafening. At that moment in time, it was like nothing else mattered or nothing else was going on."

Saturday's victory over Eastern Michigan broke a 21-game regular-season road losing streak for Army (1-3) and boosted its morale after three losses by a total of 10 points, one on a last-second field goal. Schurr said he was happy to contribute.

"The guys around you make it fun when they're carrying out their assignments," he said. "All you've got to do is your job and everything else will fall into place. It was a great team effort. It wasn't one person doing it all."

The Black Knights hope to carry that momentum into Saturday's game at Beaver Stadium. Schurr respects the Penn State defense but he admits he'll be excited to see the stadium, which is sold out for this game although a forecast of rain could keep people away.

"My cousin plays for Nebraska and his mom told my mom is the coolest place she's been," he said. "I think that's what excites me the most."

E-mail: jjuliano@phillynews.com

Twitter: @joejulesinq