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By DOUG ALDEN AP Sports Writer
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- After inheriting the job last season, Brett Ratliff had to earn becoming Utah's starting quarterback.
Ratliff was named the starter Wednesday, beating out transfer Tommy Grady and keeping the job Ratliff held for the last two games of 2005.
"It's been a hard competition," Ratliff said. "I love the spot I'm in and I'm way excited about it. So I definitely appreciate it."
Ratliff started the last two games last season and helped the Utes avoid finishing with a losing record just one year after going unbeaten in 2004. He led the Utes to wins over Brigham Young and Georgia Tech in the Emerald Bowl, throwing for eight touchdowns and just one interception.
The Utes finished the year 7-5, but would have been 5-6 had they lost Ratliff's first start against BYU.
But he still had to win back the job when the Utes reported for camp. Brian Johnson, who Ratliff replaced, returned to practice for a few weeks before deciding to redshirt this year, leaving Ratliff and Grady to battle and see who would start Sept. 2 when the Utes open the season at UCLA.
Ratliff and Grady got the news Tuesday night. For Ratliff, it was a relief. Grady was understanding.
Grady, who sat out last season after transferring from Oklahoma, is bigger and has a stronger arm, but Ratliff has already shown he can get the Utes to win.
"It was a close call," coach Kyle Whittingham said. "It was a great competition, but we just felt that Brett's experience last year combined with he was doing just a little bit better job with the first offense in camp was the reason for the decision."
Ratliff, voted a team captain this week, completed 48 of 77 passes last season with two interceptions. In his two starts, he was 47-for-73 for 621 yards and eight touchdowns with one interception.
If he can keep up that ratio, nobody will question the decision.
"I hope so. If he does, we've got a lot of wins ahead of us," Whittingham said.
Grady hasn't played since 2004, when he was a backup at Oklahoma. He was ineligible last year because of NCAA transfer rules and still has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
If Ratliff struggles, fans will quickly want to get a look at Grady's well-publicized arm strength.
"It's kind of hard to take him out of the streak that he's on right now. But if I get a chance, I'll be ready to go," Grady said.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APTV-08-23-06 1814MDT
