Paul Jockeying for Positions

The days of doing it all are in the past for Bryan Paul. Almost, anyway.

At least one more night of adventure remains for Paul, Moorpark High’s jack-of-all-trades who will play in the 23rd Ventura County East-West All-Star football game Friday night at Ventura High.

But for the most part Paul, who excelled at several positions last season and was selected player of the year among small schools by the Ventura County Coaches Assn., will from now on concentrate solely on playing quarterback.

Paul, who passed for 1,800 yards and 12 touchdowns last season while leading Moorpark to the Southern Section Division IX quarterfinals, will start at quarterback for the East.

The 6-foot-3, 185-pound senior started at quarterback and free safety for the Musketeers and still pestered coaches for an expanded role. Before the season was finished, Paul was returning punts and kickoffs and booting extra points. Not surprisingly, he was selected most valuable player of the Frontier League.

“He kept doing such good things, he put me in a situation in which I couldn’t say no,” said Rob Dearborn, who resigned as Moorpark’s coach after last season and will serve as coach of the East. “We had a lot of coaching-staff arguments over it.”

Paul this week has practiced exclusively as a quarterback and said he plans to stick to calling signals next season at Valley College.

“It’s all quarterback now,” Paul said during a break from workouts at Moorpark College. “I love playing both ways and it’s hard giving up on that. I love the action, I love playing defense and I love returning kicks. But at the next level, you just can’t do that anymore.”

Dearborn, who next season will coach Moorpark’s freshman team, said Paul is among the best all-around athletes he has witnessed.

“I would never count Bryan out at any position,” Dearborn said. “He could put on 70 pounds and play center.”

Having added 10 pounds and two inches in the past year, Paul is looking more and more like a prototype quarterback.

A handful of colleges pursued Paul, including Montana State, Utah State and Cal State Northridge, which offered him a full scholarship. But Paul decided to forgo the university route and strive to become a prolific quarterback at a junior college before transferring.

“I guess I was hoping for something better,” Paul said. “I don’t know, I just don’t think I was ready to go all the way to Montana.

“Maybe I wasn’t marketed well, but I’m not blaming anybody for anything and I don’t regret anything. I think it was more of being from a small school and not getting much attention.”

Perhaps Paul’s proficiency at doing it all clouded the issue.

On his first punt return, Paul ran 75 yards for a touchdown against Oak Park. He led Moorpark with six interceptions, including a game-clinching grab in a playoff victory over Paso Robles. He also rushed for 452 yards and a team-high five touchdowns.

By Dearborn’s estimation, Paul’s best position is free safety. And most recruiters, the coach said, expressed interest in Paul as an athlete rather than a quarterback.

“I’ve seen him do some great things at quarterback,” Dearborn said. “But I’ve seen him do some amazing things at free safety. He amazingly covers ground.”

Paul said he opted for Valley because of the school’s tradition of being a passing team. Competition for the starting job, he said, figures to be spirited. But Paul is prepared to move to the secondary. Or anywhere.

“I just want to play,” he said. “I’ll try receiver, whatever it takes to get on the field. You never know what’s going to happen.”

That includes Friday night. Paul said he would like to return a punt or two, or play a series at safety. Dearborn said Paul will play exclusively at quarterback--probably.

“If we’re winning by a lot or losing by a lot, then maybe . . .” Dearborn said.

Don’t be surprised to see Paul inserted somewhere, sometime.

“I’m going to try to sneak in a punt return,” Paul said.

“Maybe in the third or fourth quarter I’ll ask him. He’ll say no in the beginning, but I’ll just keep on nagging.”