Jordan McCloud’s performance against East Carolina on Saturday has done its part in solidifying him as the starter.

Coach Jeff Scott on Tuesday announced that McCloud will be the starting quarterback for the rest of the season.

McCloud’s career-high 298 passing yards impressed Scott during the game, but he was given a different perspective when reviewing the tape.

“I thought he did a really, really good job with a lot of things last week and, and I saw him obviously, during the game make plays, but I gained even more respect for his performance on Sunday, Saturday night and Sunday morning watching the video,” Scott said. 

“There’s about five or six pictures where he’s got a guy coming right down the middle of it, he stood in there and delivered a strike and took the hit, and it showed some toughness and that’s something that you don’t really see until you get in the game.”

Going forward, McCloud will be the starter, but of course his role isn’t guaranteed, and Scott said no one is untouchable, even the quarterbacks.

“I don’t think I have anyone on my team that’s staying in regardless,” Scott said.

Scott expects McCloud to continue to do his job well, but if his performance dips significantly or there are signs that he’s struggling, Scott won’t be averse to pulling him.

“I expect him to play well, but if it’s this game [Temple] or any game in the future, if he plays poorly for a long enough time then obviously, I reserve the right to put another guy in,” he said.

“It’s not a season-long contract.”

Ideally, if McCloud continues to play similar to how he did against the Pirates on Saturday, then he’ll stay as the starter all season.

McCloud’s role as the No. 1 is conditional and based on performance, Scott said. There’s plenty of competition ready to assume the role if necessary.

“It’s not a ‘this is our starting for this week,’ mindset it’s a ‘this is our starter moving forward,’” Scott said. “Obviously there’s always a caveat that if we don’t perform well enough … we have other guys that are training and right on his heels.”

Now that McCloud will take most, if not all, of USF’s snaps, then deciding who will fill the No. 2 and 3 roles will be based mostly off practice reps.

Of the four quarterbacks who have played so far — McCloud, Noah Johnson, Katravis Marsh and Cade Fortin — McCloud has played the most and made the biggest impact.

In four games, he is 57-of-86 for 567 yards. He has accounted for 77% of USF’s passing offense.