Flowers Set for Return to Old Field

Shortly after taking over as football coach at Utah State early in 1995, John L. Smith pulled Aaron Flowers aside and suggested he find another school, because he would never be a starting quarterback at Utah State.

He was wrong.

Flowers will start at Utah State on Sept. 7.

For Cal State Northridge.

With the announcement this week that Flowers has beaten out Derek Brown for the Matadors’ starting quarterback job, Flowers’ college football career will soon come full circle.

After Smith told Flowers he didn’t fit in at Utah State, Flowers played a year at Valley College and transferred to Northridge this season as a junior. When he signed, he didn’t even know Utah State was on the schedule.

But it didn’t take him long to notice.

“I think about it every day and every night,” Flowers said.

While he may have been hoping to start that game, not until Monday did he know for sure. Speaking to reporters after his first practice as the No. 1 quarterback, he expressed more relief than joy at winning the job.

“The only real comment I want to make is [Coach Dave Baldwin] made the decision and now it’s up to me to prove that he made the right decision,” he said. “I don’t really want to talk about it that much. I just want to go forward from here.”

The decision came as a surprise to no one. Flowers passed for 3,135 yards last fall at Valley.

Although larger schools shied away from him because of his size--6 feet, 195 pounds--and because he wasn’t eligible to participate in spring football because he was finishing classes at Valley, he was a perfect fit in Baldwin’s pass-oriented offense.

“I think the biggest thing was Aaron’s big-play capability,” Baldwin said. “It was close. Derek Brown has done everything and more than we thought he would at this time. But the big plays, when we reviewed the films and the scrimmages, came from Aaron Flowers.

“And that’s what this offense is all about.”

Brown, who was not at practice Monday due to what Baldwin called “personal reasons,” was back on Tuesday.

Matador Notes

Ron Kopita, Northridge vice president in charge of student affairs, is reviewing the cover-up of Shayne Blakey’s gunshot wounds. Later this week, he will recommend to Blenda J. Wilson, the school president, if further disciplinary action will be taken against Athletic Director Paul Bubb, Baldwin or Blakey.

Kopita said he was shocked when he returned from his vacation Friday and learned that Baldwin had lied to reporters about Blakey’s injury, saying the running back had undergone an appendectomy.

“The philosophy . . . is that the athletic program is really in some ways a window to the campus because of the high visibility,” Kopita said. “The players and coaches have to conduct themselves at the highest level and the information we give to the public has to be honest.”

Senior receiver David Romines, who sat out Monday’s practice, was back on the field Tuesday. Romines got a day off because of the beating he took while catching nine passes during Saturday’s scrimmage.

Offensive linemen David San Vicente (broken tooth) and Sean Anderson (sprained ankle) and receiver Tim Hilton (strained hamstring) missed the scrimmage but have returned to practice. Offensive lineman Paul Sauter (sprained ankle) is listed as day-to-day.