Sports

Fordham names Higgins starting QB

The Rams’ quarterback controversy is over.

Fordham head football coach Joe Moorhead told The Post he has named Ryan Higgins as his starting quarterback for the Rams’ season opener Thursday against Lock Haven.

“After our last preseason scrimmage we sat down as a staff and had our personnel discussions and went through the entire preseason camp and how the players performed, in particular the quarterbacks, at the end of the day, Ryan had the best preseason camp in terms of performance,” Moorhead told The Post “We felt he was the best guy to put us in the position to win games so we went ahead and we named him the starter and we feel very comfortable with him moving forward and he’s going to do a great job.”

Fordham entered the preseason with Higgins and sophomore Peter Maetzold fighting for the starting job. While Higgins and Maetzold had shared starting duties dating back to last season, the quarterback picture became more clouded after the arrival of Michael Nebrich, who played under Moorhead before transferring from UConn.

“I think that we have a luxury at this position, that we have three quarterbacks that we feel we can win games with,” Moorhead said. “Michael came into camp late and only had seven practices prior to the final scrimmage.”

Despite a lack of practice time and being a relatively new addition to Fordham’s offense, Moorhead said that Nebrich will be an integral part of the Rams’ passing attack.

“We’ve informed the quarterbacks that Michael is going to play some as well because he brings a different skill set to the table than Ryan,” said Moorehead, who was UConn’s QB coach last year. “Ryan is going to play in the game and Ryan is going to be the starter but Michael will come into the game.”

Higgins emerged as the Rams’ best option last season, starting the final seven contests for the Rams in 2011, including a game in which he tied Moorhead for the third-highest yard total in a single game, passing for 413 yards in Fordham’s 38-14 loss to Colgate. The Merrick, NY native led the team in yards (1,788), touchdowns (seven), completions (151) and attempts (263), with his high level of play carrying over into 2012.

“Throughout the preseason scrimmages, Ryan’s completion percentages were off the charts and I believe the last two scrimmages that he played, all of his drives ended in a touchdown,” Moorhead said. “The thing that he improved on throughout spring ball and going through preseason camp was his decision making. He has a better understanding of the offense and what we were trying to do with the run game and the pass game.”

In the end, Higgins performed where it counted, making the decision clear for Moorhead and his coaching staff.

“The other guys competed, the other guys did a great job, but at the end of the day, Ryan’s body of work was better and more complete,” Moorhead said.

asulla-heffinger@nypost.com