Brady Has Flowered After Year as Starter

A battle for the starting quarterback job that carried almost to the season’s first snap a year ago simply doesn’t exist this season at Cal State Northridge.

Sophomore Marcus Brady unmistakably will be the field general when the Matadors open the season Sept. 4 against Western Oregon at North Campus Stadium.

Brady, Big Sky Conference newcomer of the year last season, has been zipping spirals during scrimmages and displaying the footwork that earned him team MVP and second-team Big Sky Conference honors a year ago.

During practice Wednesday, Brady scrambled from the pocket and ran 75 yards for a touchdown.

Among five quarterbacks on the roster, Brady has distanced himself from the competition.

“It’s more of a relaxing feeling this year because I don’t have to worry about making mistakes so much,” Brady said. “I’m not competing for the job. Of course, I’m still competing just to make myself better and fine-tuning the details.

“That’s mainly what I’m doing in camp, working out all the little mistakes.”

Brady is the protege of assistant Aaron Flowers, promoted this season to quarterback coach.

Flowers, the Matadors’ career passing leader in completions, yards and touchdowns, was a senior in 1997 while Brady redshirted as a freshman.

“When I first came in, he was still the quarterback, so I learned a lot just watching him,” Brady said. “If I have any questions, he usually knows what the answer is and it’s not hard to explain. It’s been a transition for me to call him coach. Sometimes I still call him Aaron.”

Brady, 6 feet 1, 185 pounds, might be the most physically talented of Northridge quarterbacks. But Flowers points to his intelligence as his strength.

“He recognizes stuff on film, but it’s one thing to recognize things on film, it’s another thing to do it on the field,” Flowers said. “You need to put the two together and some guys can’t correlate the two. He points the right way on instinct.”

*

Josh Fiske, the projected starter last season, has grown accustomed to the role of Brady’s backup.

Fiske, a 6-3, 205-pound senior from Santa Ynez High, threw his first touchdown pass of the summer during a scrimmage Wednesday. But he has spent most of his time on the sidelines communicating with Flowers via headphones.

“Now that I’m on the phones, I feel more a part of the team,” Fiske said. “If I see some things Marcus doesn’t see, I can let [Flowers] know. And if I do get in, I’ll know what to do.”

Fiske knows about being summoned from the sideline. As a backup in 1997, he replaced Flowers against Azusa Pacific after Flowers broke his leg, and completed seven of 11 passes for 123 yards. Fiske started the next three games, completing 79 of 132 passes with four touchdowns.

“I’m getting more reps than last year,” Fiske said, “But it’s always been hard being a backup. I’ve always been the starter. I’ve never had to play backup to anybody before. I really can’t do much, except practice hard in case I become the No. 1 guy.”

*

Seven players projected to start against Western Oregon were starters in the opener last season against Boise State.

Brady, wide receiver Aaron Arnold and right tackle Keith Kincaid return on offense. Linebackers Cos Abercrombie and Brennen Swanson, and cornerback Chazz Moore return on defense. Ethan Beck returns as punter. . . . Junior tackle Ernie Fierro, a transfer from Mt. San Antonio College, broke a finger Wednesday but returned to practice.

*

Dick Dull, Northridge athletic director, contacted Nebraska about scheduling a football game between Northridge and the Cornhuskers within the next few years, but it probably won’t happen.

“I think it’s unlikely,” said Bill Byrne, Nebraska athletic director. “We are very reluctant to play a Division I-AA school.”

Byrne said he received a call this week from Dull, former athletic director at Nebraska Kearney, a Division II school, from 1995-98. A game against Nebraska, a perennial Division I power, would earn Northridge significant revenue.

“I said, ‘I’ll put you on the list,’ ” Byrne said. “There are a lot of teams that would like to play us.”