Rowe Giving 100% Since His Return to Aztecs’ Lineup

He had waited for this moment, thought about it, dreamed about it. As he sat out last season, recovering from another frustrating injury, Patrick Rowe pictured himself back in the San Diego State lineup. And now, two hours before the Aztecs were to play Oregon Saturday, something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong.

“I was feeling really relaxed,” Rowe said. “I was creating so many situations and plays in my mind, and I was getting into the flow, but I didn’t feel comfortable. It was because I was so relaxed. I like being nervous, but I didn’t have any butterflies.”

He slowly put on his uniform. He wanted to make sure everything was right. Shirt tucked in. Shoulder pads down as they should be. Socks folded back. Wrist bands, gloves . . .

Patrick Rowe paused. He smiled.

“Receivers are supposed to look sweet,” he said.

After he was finished dressing, he still wasn’t comfortable.

Where were the nerves?

“I thought, ‘Maybe I feel this way because I have a couple of seasons under my belt,’ ” he said.

The best part was taking the field, running through the tunnel with the guys who have become like brothers during the long, hot practices the past few weeks.

“I really enjoyed that,” he said. “Last season, I watched it so many times. It was really good to be running out with the team again.”

Soon, things were pretty much as he remembered them. The routes, the contact, the cheering.

And then came the touchdown.

It was in the first quarter and the Aztecs were trailing, 7-0. They had the ball on the Oregon 36 and they were on the move. The call came in the huddle: Seam 8. Rowe knew it well. A post pattern.

At the line of scrimmage, when quarterback Dan McGwire gave him a slight nod, Rowe knew the ball was coming his way. Split right, he headed toward the left hash marks, raced toward the end zone, looked up and reached out. He caught the ball near the five and, with Oregon defensive back Daryle Smith hanging onto his legs, stumbled and finally pulled away from Smith and dived into the end zone.

Touchdown.

Rowe watched it again on film Monday, and he liked what he saw. Without the extra dive, he figured he probably would have gone down at the two.

“Who wants to go down at the two?” he said.

Rowe finished with two catches for 42 yards Saturday and returned two kickoffs--one for 42 yards and the other for 24.

These were flashes, flashes of what people thought he could do all along, and of what he thinks he can do on a consistent basis.

Rowe, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound junior, could do just about anything he wanted on a football field when he was at Lincoln. He was a first-team Parade All-American and ranked as the top receiver in the nation by Joe Terranova in Football News. He was a first-team all-state receiver, and his 22.2 yards-per-catch average was the nation’s best.

The big time was ahead of him. All he had to do was confirm the reservation.

Then he broke his collarbone during the Los Angeles Shrine All-Star game before his freshman season in 1987. Still, he made it back and caught nine passes for 197 yards and returned three kickoffs for 109 yards--a 36.3 average. But instead of the comeback being complete, it was only the beginning of several.

He played in 1988, returning 31 kicks for 799 yards (25.8 per return) and catching 18 passes for 267 yards and one touchdown. Until Saturday, that was the only touchdown of Patrick Rowe’s SDSU career.

There was a twisted ankle, a pulled hamstring and then arthroscopic surgery on his knee. That was his latest injury, the reason he redshirted last season.

“It’s been a disappointment,” Rowe said. “I think my college career is still ahead of me. I have a chance to make it better than what it has been in the past. That’s pretty much what I think about now.”

Rowe met with SDSU Coach Al Luginbill after practice ended last spring, and Luginbill put forth a challenge.

“I asked him how great he wanted to be,” Luginbill said. “Just because you have great ability doesn’t mean you’re a great player. A great player has great practice habits, a la Roger Craig and Jerry Rice.”

Luginbill stressed that Rowe wasn’t dogging it in practice. It was just that there were days when he did just enough to get by.

“Maybe nobody ever addressed that,” Luginbill said. “He wasn’t a malingerer. He wasn’t a bad practice player. It’s just that you can become so much better if you practice hard. That’s why I think his future is unlimited.”

Said Rowe: “He said I needed to work harder in practice. If I’m not the primary receiver, get open anyway. I thought I was working hard, but after I thought about it . . . “

He decided that maybe he could do a little more. Maybe he could run a route hard when he was a secondary receiver. Maybe he could go a little faster during sprints.

Now, the season is under way, Rowe is healthy and in the starting lineup.

“He is an extremely strong young man, with good size and speed,” Luginbill said. “He can obviously run past you at the drop of a hat. He’s an exciting player. He has caught the ball consistently and his practice habits have improved tremendously.”

There is another area in which Rowe needs to improve, but not through practice. He needs game experience, Luginbill said. Rowe needs to be out there on the field, in front of thousands of people and a mean defense, and see different types of coverages. He needs to be able to recognize them and react quickly to them. As he does, Luginbill thinks he will get better and better.

The first step is staying healthy which, so far, he has done. He has worked on his flexibility, and he made it through fall camp.

And through that tunnel in Oregon. He will run through another Saturday when SDSU opens its home schedule with a 7 p.m. game against Cal State Long Beach.

“I’m really excited,” he said. “I can’t hardly wait. I have so many family and friends who want to come out and watch me play. They said they’ve missed watching me play.”

When they do, maybe they will see a new Patrick Rowe, a player who has learned what extra effort is. They will see a player who knows what it feels like to stay on his feet and cross that goal line.

Hey. Who wants to go down at the two?