Timing Pattern

The pass and tackler sped from opposite directions toward David Romines, bound for simultaneous impact. The fans winced at the jarring collision, which sent something flying from the Cal State Northridge receiver’s body.

Must have been the football, knocked loose by the charging linebacker, right?

Nope, that was Romines’ helmet, which popped off his head like a champagne cork. The ball was clutched tightly in his arms. He stood, showed it to the crowd, flipped it to the official and jogged after his helmet.

“That’s probably the hardest I’ve ever been hit,” Romines said. “I was pretty surprised that I caught it.”

That catch, a SportsCenter highlight had it happened anywhere but media-barren North Campus Stadium, was made last month against UC Davis. It is Romines’ favorite of his Division I-AA-leading 54 receptions in five games. In fact, it’s at the top of his all-time list.

It was a catch that exemplifies the great hands and fearless attitude that make Romines one of the best receivers in Division I-AA, even though he’s officially listed at 5-feet-10, 167 pounds and is a longshot to play football beyond his final six games at Northridge.

It was also a catch he couldn’t have made two years ago, when he likely would have avoided such collisions for fear that his left arm might come flying off, not just his helmet.

Romines played gingerly during his junior season in 1994 after suffering a dislocated left shoulder that spring. Last year, not wanting to play what would have been his senior season with a vulnerable shoulder, Romines decided to redshirt and have surgery.

So the player Northridge’s new coaching staff expected to be their top offensive weapon sat in the stands during practice and read textbooks, occasionally looking up to see a bumbling team that would lose eight of 10 games.

Today, everyone around the Northridge program agrees it was a blessing in disguise.

“We still would have been 2-8 with him, and now he’d be gone,” receivers coach Jeff Kearin said. “Now this year he has a chance to do some pretty good things.”

Such as put his name in the record books. Romines’ 54 catches for 769 yards and six touchdowns put him on pace to break Northridge records in all three categories. The records may start falling this week, with Romines only 10 receptions behind the mark teammate Tim Hilton set last year.

Romines also could break the Big Sky Conference records for receptions (96 by Idaho State’s Eddie Bell in 1969) or yardage (1,522 by Bell in 1969). Also within reach are the Division I-AA records for catches (115 by Brian Forster at Rhode Island in 1985) or yardage (1,682 by Jerry Rice for Mississippi Valley State in 1984).

The marks are attainable if Romines maintains his current pace--10.8 catches and 154.8 yards per game. And there is reason to believe he can do it. In Coach Dave Baldwin’s pass-oriented offense, Romines’ position is designed to be a frequent target.

Romines often lines up alone on one side of the formation, with three receivers spread on the other side. Defenses rarely can afford to assign more than one defensive back to cover him, meaning it’s up to a linebacker to help double-team him.

Romines runs routes with precision, then he spins and catches the ball in those suction cups he calls hands--never against his chest--chalking up another eight or 10 yards each time. Moving the chains.

Just when a cornerback thinks all he has to do is cover Romines for 10 yards, the receiver has gone deep.

Northridge quarterback Aaron Flowers said Romines is the best receiver he’s played with. When a play is called for him to throw to Romines, “I basically know that we are going to have a good play,” he said. “Nothing is going to go wrong. All I have to do is deliver the ball and it’s going to be caught. And good things are going to happen after he catches it.”

Northern Arizona secondary coach Bill Busch thought his team had done a good job of stopping Romines a couple of weeks ago, but Romines still caught 11 passes.

“You can’t make any mistake on him coverage-wise,” Busch said. “He still has enough ability when people are pressing him to get off the press and hurt you [deep].”

Kearin’s description: “We suck ‘em in and then fly right by.”

The stopwatch doesn’t do Romines justice. Even though he’d finish behind several teammates in a 40-yard dash, few can catch him when he’s chasing a deep pass.

“He plays the game as fast as he is,” Kearin said. “There are some 4.4 guys who play at 4.7. Well, he’s a 4.5 guy who plays 4.5. He plays the game very fast.”

Romines also plays very smart. Smarter than he used to.

As a freshman recruited by former Northridge Coach Bob Burt out of Simi Valley High in 1992, Romines was as raw as sushi. He was used mostly on punt returns, and in his first game as a Matador dropped two punts, earning a spot on the bench for much of his first two seasons.

It wasn’t until his junior year that he finally became a significant part of the offense, catching 44 passes for 870 yards in 1994.

But it took last year’s redshirt season, during which he was a detached observer, for Romines to understand what it would take to reach his potential.

“He matured and realized there is more to it than just on the field,” Baldwin said. “You’ve got to do the other things,” which include spending hours in the weight room and watching film.

Romines was one of the most frequent visitors to Northridge’s weight room during the off-season. He committed himself to regaining strength in his surgically repaired shoulder so he could endure hits going over the middle.

“He worked his butt off in there,” said Northridge offensive line coach Bob Bostad, also the strength coach. “He never missed a session and he improved tremendously.”

Romines also spends a couple of hours each week watching film by himself. He’ll pop into the coaches’ office and watch a tape of the upcoming opponent, focusing on the cornerback he’ll be dragging around, or the linebacker who may be double-teaming him.

“I think my work habits are a lot better in terms of knowing the game more,” Romines said. “I know a lot more about what I have to do to take a guy on.”

Despite his size, Romines has drawn the interest of a dozen professional scouts, Kearin said. Kearin, who acknowledges Romines is still unlikely to make it to the next level, expects Romines to at least be invited to some free-agent camps.

Romines, a criminology major, said he’s prepared to go into law enforcement if this is the end of his football career.

“If someone [in pro football] wants to give me a chance, I’ll do the best I can,” he said. “If not, I feel I’ve gotten the most out of what I have.”