Air Apparent : Flowers Eager to Guide Northridge’s Pass-Happy Offense

As the Cal State Northridge’s three returning quarterbacks threw interception after interception in the Matadors’ spring football game in March, Coach Dave Baldwin’s eyes must have drifted to that other quarterback, the one who didn’t put on a helmet all spring.

It was Aaron Flowers, the undersized and overachieving passer who led Valley College to the national championship game and became the gem of Baldwin’s first full recruiting season.

Because of NCAA transfer rules, Flowers could not participate in spring football, but he was there every day to learn as much about the offense as he could.

As Flowers stood on the sidelines during the final scrimmage of the spring, watching his future competitors throw four interceptions, his football juices churned.

“I really wanted to get in there and show what I can do,” Flowers said.

He finally got his chance this week, when he and about three dozen other new players began preseason practice.

“You can see right away he’s got a cockiness and leadership,” Baldwin said. “Quarterbacks have to have that and he’s got it. He’s a definite leader.”

Though Flowers, a junior, seems to be the favorite to guide Baldwin’s pass-happy, one-back offense into the Matadors inaugural season in the Big Sky Conference, the race is still--officially, anyway--wide open.

Junior Derek Brown, last year’s backup, and Josh Fiske, a strong-armed redshirt freshman, will give Flowers the toughest competition among the returnees. Scott Swartz, a heady transfer from De Anza College, and Ryan Smith, a freshman, are the other newcomers who have impressed Baldwin.

But it’s been no secret that Flowers is one of Baldwin’s favorites.

“He does not have a cannon for an arm, but he’s got a quick release,” Baldwin said. “He’s got a real good knowledge of reading coverages and knowing when to throw.”

Last season at Valley, the 6-foot, 195-pound quarterback completed 225 of 339 passes for 3,135 yards. One of his favorite targets was receiver Cameron Perry, who is another of Northridge’s newcomers.

“He just came in knowing what the defense was going to do in certain situations,” Perry said.

“He would look at the defense and know who was going to be open, where other quarterbacks wouldn’t pick it up at the same time. He was just ahead of the game.”

Now he’s trying to catch up with Baldwin’s complicated offense, in which the quarterback often has five receivers downfield.

“It helped a lot being here in the spring, but this is the first time I’ve seen it against a defense,” he said. “I still have a lot to learn.”

While he may be a few steps behind Brown and Fiske in learning the offense, he certainly has plenty of incentive to win the starting job in time for the Matadors’ Sept. 7 opener at Utah State.

Flowers spent his first two college seasons at Utah State, one as a redshirt and one as a backup.

When current Aggie Coach John Smith was hired prior to the 1995 season, he told Flowers that he wouldn’t play quarterback for him.

So Flowers transferred to Valley.

“I learned a lot about the politics involved in Division I football,” Flowers said. “Sometimes size matters more than instincts and ability. But I got a good life lesson out of it. Sometimes things don’t go your way.”

Though Flowers said he’s not bitter, he admitted he’s happy the Aggies just happen to be Northridge’s opening opponent.

“I think it’s good because it’s going to get me more ready than if it was just a team that I didn’t have any past history with,” he said.

“I’m going to get more motivated to play. I’m not going to go into that stadium and get embarrassed.”

Matador Notes

Two-a-day practices begin Thursday, continuing until the Matadors scrimmage Aug. 24. When classes begin Aug. 26, Northridge will start holding a single practice six days a week. . . . Receiver Jason Tucker, one of the most pleasant surprises of spring football, is not with the Matadors because he is academically ineligible, Baldwin said. Tucker, a former Newbury Park High standout, transferred from Arizona and was invited try out with Northridge. At first a walk-on, he was so impressive in March that he would have earned a scholarship if he had met academic requirements. . . . Bishop Miller, a freshman defensive back from Palm Springs High, was a late addition and an even later subtraction from the Matador roster. Miller was recruited by several Division I schools before accepting a scholarship to Northridge over the summer. But Monday morning he told Baldwin that Washington came through with a scholarship, and he would be joining the Huskies instead of the Matadors. . . . Home games will begin earlier this season. Instead of 7 p.m. starts, as the Matadors had last year, they will start at 6:05 in September and October and 5:05 in November.