ROBBIE BOSCO : Now He’s No. 1 at the Quarterback Factory

And now for an encore from Brigham Young University, the maker of All-America quarterbacks and a No. 1-ranked college football team.

Meet Robbie Bosco, the talk of the town in Provo.

He’s on posters proclaiming BYU as the 1984 national champion. He’s on posters with the 1985 BYU schedule. And he’s even on a life-sized poster that sells for $4 in the BYU bookstore.

However, the monster that has been created doesn’t stop there.

A Provo radio station this week offered a $20 gift certificate toward bed sheets to the first caller who knew the page Bosco appeared on in the Utah Adventures magazine. The winning lady called almost before the question could be asked.

Everybody, it seems, is on the Bosco bandwagon . . . except Bosco.

“Robbie doesn’t like to see himself in life-sized posters,” wide receiver Glen Kozlowski said. “He’s shy and tries to stay away from people, especially reporters. In interviews, he’s like a mechanical doll.”

With that, Kozlowski went into his Bosco imitation: “Hi, I’m Robbie Bosco, I’m Robbie Bosco,” Kozlowski said, moving his arms like a robot.

Though Bosco may try to avoid the limelight, he would probably be better off trying to escape San Diego State’s defensive line Saturday without the aid of blockers. There’s just no getting away from the attention Bosco has attracted since leading BYU to the No. 1 ranking.

His 1984 postseason began with an appearance on Good Morning America. Bosco even wore a tie for the program, which isn’t the real Bosco at all.

According to Kozlowski, Bosco is still just some plain, old guy around campus. You can expect to see Bosco in jeans and T-shirts, not slacks and ties, Kozlowski said.

And so it was that when Bosco appeared for an interview earlier this week, he fit the image Kozlowski portrayed by wearing jeans, a BYU jacket and a New York Yankee cap. Bosco is not a Yankee fan, but he bought the cap before BYU played Boston College in East Rutherford, N.J., earlier this season.

Bosco’s teammates often tease him good-naturedly about his image. Wide receiver Mark Bellini said Bosco likes to stay home and watch television with his girlfriend rather than go to parties. Kozlowski said that from what he has heard, Bosco would rather stay home and eat ice cream sundaes than be on center stage.

But while Bosco’s teammates think he is trying to hide from the limelight, Bosco says that is only somewhat the case.

“I do get tired of answering the same questions,” he said. “But it’s for a good cause, and that’s us.”

At BYU, “us” begins with the quarterback. And for the last 1 1/2 seasons, the quarterback has been Bosco.

The procession of BYU quarterbacks before Bosco has been well documented. There was Gifford Nielsen, who retired from the NFL in 1983, Marc Wilson of the Raiders, Jim McMahon of the Chicago Bears and Steve Young of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

None of Bosco’s predecessors were heavily recruited out of high school.

Nielsen had to be coerced out of basketball to play football. Wilson was considered a better prep baseball player. McMahon was not recruited by any schools below 2,000 feet sea level. And Young was recruited only by BYU and North Carolina State.

Bosco came out of high school in Roseville, Calif., as a relative unknown. He was not considered among the top 50 prep quarterbacks by numerous football publications.

“I was never mentioned in any of those things,” he said. “I didn’t understand enough about it to care about it.”

Some schools cared about him. San Diego State and California tried to attract Bosco, but BYU had more to offer. Bosco, whose mother is Mormon but father is not, chose BYU because of its passing reputation. He was baptized into the Mormon church his freshman year at BYU.

On the field, Bosco received his baptism by being named the offensive MVP on BYU’s junior varsity in 1981. He redshirted in 1982 and backed up Young in 1983.

“I knew I’d still have two years to play here after Steve left,” Bosco said. “That’s all you need here. If you play here for two years, that’s enough for people to see whether you can play in the NFL.”

After one year, it was obvious to Bosco he was an NFL prospect. Before this season, Bosco purchased a $500,000 insurance policy to protect against an injury that would keep him from playing pro football.

Bosco made his mark in 1984 by passing for 3,875 yards and 33 touchdowns while finishing third in the Heisman Trophy balloting. He led the nation in total offense, finished second in passing efficiency to Doug Flutie and set an NCAA record by passing for more than 200 yards in all 12 games. He was named second-team All-American by United Press International and third-team All-American by The Associated Press.

Perhaps his most memorable moment was in leading BYU past Michigan in the Holiday Bowl, 21-14, after suffering a sprained ankle early in the game. While some marveled at Bosco’s quick recovery, he said it was nothing. After all, he said, he suffered a more severe groin injury earlier in the season against Hawaii but came back later in that game.

If he could come back against Hawaii, he certainly could come back in a game that secured the national championship.

The 1985 Bosco has returned with even better statistics than last year. Through five games, Bosco has passed for 1,865 yards and 12 touchdowns. Through five games in 1984, he had passed for 1,512 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Such statistics have come to be expected from BYU quarterbacks. And such quarterbacks have come to expect the comparisons.

“There is an inordinate amount of scrutiny by fans and the press,” Coach LaVell Edwards said. “People are always wanting comparisons with the quarterbacks. Whoever the quarterback is, he has to learn to deal with that. I think Robbie has handled it well. He was a kid who didn’t appear to have all that much confidence when he was younger. Once he got on the field, he took right over and grew with the job.”

Bosco, who stands 6-foot 3-inches, thinks he is more like Wilson than any other former BYU quarterback.

“He’s probably the tallest,” Bosco said. “That’s why I compare myself with him.”

How do others compare Bosco with previous BYU quarterbacks?

Edwards: “He’s kind of quiet like Marc Wilson. He has the same alertness as a guy like Jim McMahon. McMahon had a tremendous alertness and sense of presence on the field. Robbie is probably about as accurate of a passer as any of them.”

Bellini: “Steve Young was the kind of guy who would do anything to win. He’d run and dive for extra yardage and sell his body to win. Robbie is the type who wins by throwing. I think his best asset is that he has great zip on the ball. He can throw off his back foot and zing the ball between defenders.”

Kozlowski: “I think Robbie is from the same mold as Jim McMahon. He is able to throw deep and read coverages well. He might be better than Jim was when he leaves here. Of course, I don’t know if you can get much better than Jim McMahon.”

McMahon also was outspoken, which Bosco is not. However, both have a sense of humor.

One day in practice last season, Kozlowski had the receivers play a joke on Bosco. Each time Bosco threw a pass, receivers intentionally missed the ball and blamed it on Bosco. Whenever backup Blaine Fowler threw a pass, the receivers caught the ball if possible and applauded Fowler.

Sensing what was going on--and that Kozlowski had started the joke--Bosco eventually turned the tables. For the remainder of practice, Bosco neglected to throw the ball to Kozlowski, even if Kozlowski was open and others were not.

“I was so mad that I about killed him,” Kozlowski said. “The joke that started out on him ended out on me.”

However, playing quarterback in game situations for BYU is no joking matter.

“Each year, the quarterback has done something better,” Bosco said. “It’s like a monster now. I feel sorry for the guy next year.”

Considering that BYU quarterbacks have a habit of becoming millionaires, Bosco can’t feel too sorry for himself--or his successor.

Aztec Notes Nose guard Levi Esene was not included on San Diego State’s traveling squad as of Thursday afternoon. Esene has missed the last two games with a dislocated elbow. However, defensive tackle Mike Stevens, who because of various injuries has missed all but a few plays in the last two games, is expected to start Saturday. . . . Glen Kozlowski, a Carlsbad High graduate, is not expected to play for BYU. Kozlowski had arthroscopic knee surgery three weeks ago for torn ligaments. “I said last year that I would play against San Diego State with a broken leg,” Kozlowski said. “I didn’t say I would play with a broken knee.” . . . LaVell Edwards on his 14-year career as BYU’s head coach: “When I get through coaching and look back, the one thing that will stand out other than the national championship is our level of consistency. You don’t always play your best, but we really haven’t played any bad games.” . . . In a college football newsletter, Paul Richards, BYU’s public communications director, recently discussed the impact of being No. 1: “If we had developed the perfect artificial heart, discovered a cure for cancer or managed a diplomatic coup that settled all the ills of the world, there might have been an impact comparable to winning the national football title,” Richards said. “But nothing in the realm of reality could match it. It gave us immediate recognition nation-wide. We were no longer that obscure school somewhere near Salt Lake City.”