Todd Brunner Is at the Top at Lehigh

Todd Brunner sat on the bench for three years waiting for his chance. Now, the Lehigh quarterback is making the most of it.

“It was tough waiting, but I knew my senior year, I’d have my shot, and I’d have to go out there and just give it my all becasue that would be the only shot I’d have,” said Brunner, son of Minnesota Vikings offensive backs coach John Brunner and a brother of former NFL quarterback Scott Brunner.

In only nine games, the 6-foot-1, 212-pound Brunner has broken 10 Lehigh passing and yardage records, and is leading the nation in total offense.

Brunner set nine of the school records last Saturday in a 46-30 Colonial League loss at Colgate, completing a record 38 of 64 passes for a record 467 yards and three touchdowns.

He has thrown for 24 touchdowns, breaking the mark of 23 set by Mike Rieker in 1977. He also has 3,264 yards total offense, breaking Marty Horn’s 1985 record of 3,040, to lead NCAA Division I-AA with 362.6 per game.

Brunner has passed for more than 300 yards seven times this season--three of them for more than 400 yards.

“I still can’t believe it,” Brunner said of his milestones and the players he has surpassed. “I still look up to all those guys and the things they’ve done. I just don’t picture myself in a class with them.”

He had entered the season wondering if he’d be playing at all.

Coach Hank Small had declared the quarterback job open during spring practice, and gave underclassmen Glenn Kempa, Al Snyder and Alan LaPoint a shot. Through the summer, the battle narrowed to Kempa and Brunner.

“Kempa came on like a house-on-fire during the summer, and that made me nervous,” Brunner said. “I had to go out there and not make any mistakes, because the littlest mistake and he could take right over.”

Small waited until the Monday before the opening game to give Brunner the job, citing his “leadership ability.”

“I think the biggest improvement in Todd since the beginning of the year has been his accuracy,” Small said. “It’s something that has improved his confidence, which, in turn, has improved his ability.”

Brunner’s attitude showed through last year when he realized he wouldn’t get much time at quarterback. He volunteered for special teams, making 11 tackles--three in one game.

“It made me feel more a part of the team,” he said.

The reckless abandon required of kickoff coverage carried over to Brunner’s style as a quarterback. Instead of sliding or sprinting out of bounds, he typically ends a scramble in a head-on crash with a defender.

He once put a Towson State player out of game, and last week made a crunching tackle on a Colgate defender who intercepted one of his passes.

“The guys know I’ll take a shot and give one if I can,” Brunner said.

That style of play led several colleges to recruit Brunner as a linebacker or defensive back out of Lawrence High School in Cranbury, N.J. Lehigh coaches told him he could compete at quarterback, which helped attract him.

Besides the NFL careers of his father and brother Scott, Brunner’s brother Jack played wide receiver at East Stroudsburg and brother Mark is a sophomore wide receiver at West Chester.

Unlike high school, Brunner rarely is reminded of his NFL connections.

“Scott went through the same high school, and I guess a lot of people felt I got things there because of him,” he said. “Here, people look at me because of my performance, not who I am.”