​Starter Nick Minicucci didn’t take part in pregame warmups and will not play quarterback for Delaware against Liberty in its football game Oct. 2.Blue Hens coach Ryan Carty, who has frequently lauded Delaware’s talent at the position, must dip into that precious depth.Delaware (2-2) and Liberty (3-1) kick off at 7 p.m. in the Conference USA opener for each.Delaware Stadium is sold out for the Parents and Family Weekend game. It is being televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network.Minicucci suffered a knee injury in the second period of last week’s 42-3 loss at Virginia and didn’t return. Delaware refused to address his status or any pending changes and closed practice to the media this week in an effort to keep the situation secret.Braden Streeter stepped in at Virginia, completing just 2 of 16 passes, and No. 3 quarterback Riley Trujillo played the last series. Each is in his third college football season, though Trujillo spent his first at Central Florida.Carty, who runs the offense and calls the plays, also has sophomore E.J. Archield Jr. and freshman Tyler Bell at the position. Neither has appeared in a college game. But Archield was taking snaps from starting center Steven Demboski in pregame, a possible hint of what was to come.Carty has at times shuffled quarterbacks, or had more than one on the field for certain plays, during his stints as offensive coordinator at New Hampshire and Sam Houston and while coaching the Blue Hens since 2022.Minicucci has been Delaware’s No. 1 quarterback since Zach Marker suffered a season-ending knee injury on the first play of the second series in the 2025 opener against Delaware State. He was among the nation’s leading passers last year.The Blue Hens must contend with a Liberty defense that is second best in CUSA in points allowed (18.8 per game) and total defense (287 yards per game).Carty said Delaware, and its quarterback especially, must be wary of how many pass rushers are coming because it varies.He added that it benefits the UD offense that it’ll likely see some similarities between Liberty’s defense and the Blue Hens’ defensive unit regularly seen in practice involving “weird coverages” with the three-safety look in which “they can kind of move, manipulate and maneuver people around.”“What’s going to be important for our offense is staying on track,” Carty said. “It’s making sure we’re not in third-and-longs. They have a really good pass rush so when they know it’s a pass they can pin their ears back.“That’s going to be a struggle for us. So we have to make sure to stay on schedule. We got to do better on first and second downs, and when we take our shots, we have to we have to hit them.”Friday night college football 🏈 in Newark #BlueHens vs. @LibertFootball in @ConferenceUSA at 7 pic.twitter.com/3En4y6N3X8— kevin tresolini (@kevintresolini) October 2, 2026Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Suppor