Jacob Phillips and Jeff Highfill will each begin this season in a different role than he had entering last season.

Starting quarterback.

Phillips, a Bath County graduate, earned the starting job at Division I-AA William and Mary midway through last season. Highfill, a William Byrd graduate, got the nod at Bridgewater for the Division III playoffs.

Now they get to start the season as No. 1.

“I’m way more comfortable with the offense,” Phillips said. “Having a year of experience is a big help.”

“Things are coming a lot easier,” Highfill said.

Highfill started four games for the 10-2 Eagles as a sophomore last year, and this season will be a big part of their quest to win their sixth straight ODAC crown. BC is ranked 19th in Division III in Street & Smith’s preseason magazine.

Highfill was pressed into service last year when Jacob Lewis suffered a concussion late in the first half at Washington and Lee on Oct. 29. Highfill helped BC rally for a 17-13 win. With Lewis still sidelined, Highfill made his starting debut in a 53-20 win over Randolph-Macon the following week.

Lewis returned a week later to start the regular-season finale. But the Cave Spring graduate hurt his thumb in practice two days before BC’s playoff opener, so Highfill started in the 30-21 win over Washington and Jefferson. BC coach Mike Clark decided to stick with Highfill in a second-round win over Thiel and a quarterfinal loss to Wesley.

There was no QB competition in spring practice this year because Lewis opted to graduate instead of using his final season of eligibility.

Highfill completed 61 of 108 passes (56.5 percent) for 713 yards and seven TDs with six interceptions last year.

“He can beat you with his arm, his brain and his feet,” Clark said.

Highfill also ran for 293 yards and five TDs on 74 carries last year.

“We did a lot of that in high school, sprint-outs and throwing on the run and just taking off,” said Highfill, whose father is William Byrd coach Jeff Highfill. “Last year, especially when I got in at first, I had a tendency to take off too quick. I’d get a little antsy back in the pocket and have doubts flying around and I’d just take off because that running instinct came in.

“Hopefully I can sit in here [in the pocket] a little more this year and get the passing game down.”

Clark said Highfill’s ability to spread the field will be critical to BC’s success. Clark doesn’t want defenses to focus on stopping tailback Winston Young.

BC runs the ball more than the other ODAC teams, but that doesn’t mean Highfill has an easy job.

“More than most people realize, we’re checking at the line, whether it’s switching which way I’m going to run the play or switching from a run to a pass or a pass to a run,” Highfill said. “I tell these freshmen coming in, 'It’s a little mind-boggling at first.’ ”

Highfill will be a tri-captain this season. Clark said Highfill can be “principled without being prudish.”

“He’s never touched alcohol,” Clark said. “He entertains himself by reading books; that doesn’t happen a lot anymore. He has the respect of the kids.”

Phillips started six games for Willam and Mary as a redshirt freshman in 2005. He started the second game of the season, a 41-7 win at VMI, because Mike Potts was injured.

But he made a bigger splash in an Oct. 15 win at Northeastern, when he replaced Potts with the Tribe down 31-10 with less than six minutes left in the third quarter.

Phillips completed 18 of 20 passes for 256 yards and four touchdowns. He capped off the day by scoring on an 8-yard run to give the Tribe a 44-41, double-overtime win. He set W&M records for best completion percentage in a game and most passing yards in a quarter (231).

Two days later, Phillips was named the starter.

Phillips started the final five games of the season, but the Tribe finished on a four-game skid. Two of those defeats were by one point.

“Those losses are just going to push me to work harder,” he said.

William and Mary finished 5-6, its first losing season since 2000. Phillips, who led Bath County to three appearances in the Group A Division I finals, said it was the first losing season he has ever experienced.

Phillips completed 123 of 192 passes (64.1 percent) for 1,564 yards and 12 touchdowns with seven interceptions. He led all I-AA freshmen in passing efficiency.

Phillips said he is a better passer than he was at Bath County.

“I didn’t really have to read defenses in high school — not multiple defenses, different kinds of defenses,” said Phillips, who was the 2003 Group A player of the year. “I didn’t really know that much in high school.”

Phillips also rushed for 183 yards and eight TDs on 71 carries last fall.

“He’s got the ability to move,” Tribe coach Jimmye Laycock said. “He can improvise.”

The Tribe has been picked to finish fourth out of six teams in the Atlantic 10’s South Division in the league’s preseason poll.