The Body Wreckers : Foothill Linebacker Is the Leader of the Pack

Ted Mullen, Foothill High School coach, says inside linebacker Tom Quinn is “like having a coach on the field.”

That hardly is a revelation. Quinn, a 6-foot 3-inch, 220-pound senior, spent his childhood watching football films instead of cartoons. His father, Mike, spent 13 seasons as head coach at Glendora and La Puente high schools before joining Lynn Stiles’ staff at San Jose State where he served as the linebacker coach from 1977-79.

“Tom was always a student of the game,” Mike Quinn said. “He used to come over to San Jose State with me on the weekends and watch films. He picked it up pretty easy. Both my sons were ballboys when I coached in high school, and they’ve been around football a long time.”

It’s no surprise that Tom Quinn, the youngest of Mike and Margie Quinn’s four children, is one of only two players during Mullen’s five years at Foothill to start for three seasons. Former Times’ Lineman of the Year Joe Walshe was the other.

“Tom is a quality player who I would put on top with any of the linebackers I’ve coached,” Mullen said. “He understands the game as well as any player I’ve coached. He’s a good striker who plays the run as well as the pass.”

Quinn, who started as a ballboy at age 6, began playing linebacker in Jr. All-American football when he was 9.

“I always tried to make athletics available to my children, but I never pushed them into sports,” said Mike Quinn, who retired in 1979 to follow his children’s careers. “If anything, I was concerned that they might burn out on sports.”

Tom Quinn, however, still is burning brightly with enthusiasm. He played football, basketball and baseball as a freshman at Foothill, but decided to concentrate on football in his sophomore and junior years. He plans to play baseball in the spring.

“Football is the sport I’ve always enjoyed the most,” Quinn said. “I like the contact and the atmosphere of Friday nights. I used to watch my older brother (Tim) play here and dreamed about playing varsity football at Foothill.”

But Quinn’s debut for Foothill’s varsity was less than spectacular. On his first defensive play as an inside linebacker, he was assigned to defend Capistrano Valley wide receiver Nathan Call.

“I had to cover him man-to-man and I slipped on the play,” Quinn said. “Then, I hit him late and got a 15-yard penalty for a personal foul. I was really nervous and, the game seemed to be going a lot faster than it did on the freshman level.”

Quinn and Call had a rematch last Friday night. Call caught 11 passes for 143 yards and 2 touchdowns as Capistrano Valley defeated Foothill, 26-7. Quinn & Co. will get another defensive test tonight when they face La Quinta in Bolsa Grande Stadium.

“Their quarterback (Scott Stark) was in playoff form for the season opener,” Quinn said. “We misjudged him, but I think we’ll be ready for La Quinta.

“We practice the fade for passing situations every day, but their quarterback read our defense like we played against it every day. We were in shock. It was the worst loss since I’ve been here.”

Some would expect Quinn to say that his worst loss was the 10-7 defeat against rival El Modena in the 1983 Southern Conference championship game in Anaheim Stadium. The Knights tried a 34-yard field goal with 40 seconds remaining that hooked to the left.

“That was a painful loss,” Quinn said. “But looking back, it was a great experience. We got to the final and how many teams can say they played in Anaheim Stadium? I work out in the summer with a lot of the players at El Modena, and sometimes we talk about playing against each other again. It’s a great rivalry.”

The loss to Capistrano Valley was only the second, season-opening setback for Mullen in 15 seasons at Villa Park, University and Foothill.

“Everybody in my classes on Monday kept asking me what happened,” said Quinn, who also plays tight end. “I look at that game as a learning situation.”

Quinn is involved in another learning situation at Foothill. He’s enrolled in a science fair project course in which he plans to do a study on knee injuries in sports. He plans to major in physical therapy in college.

“Physical therapy is something that’s always interested me,” he said. “The father of one of the players on our team (Adam Harrison) is a physical therapist and a neighbor in Glendora originally got me interested.

“I’ve received a lot of letters from colleges, but I’m not sure where I’m going to play.”

Quinn’s older brother, Tim, would be an ideal subject for the science project. Tim was a defensive end for the Knights, started for two seasons at Saddleback College and then earned a scholarship to the University of New Mexico.

But his career ended when he injured his knee. He has transferred to Arizona State where he no longer plays football.

“All of my kids were good athletes, but I think Tom is the best in the family,” Mike Quinn said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if someday he becomes a coach.”