Barnes, Daft Continue Their Education Abroad

For every John Elway, Dan Marino or Peyton Manning, there are many more Tommy Maddoxes, Rick Mirers and Dan McGwires.

Most NFL quarterbacks don’t come with can’t-miss, top-of-the-draft pedigrees. Most have to pay their dues, one way or another. And no matter how much time he spends cradling a clipboard and peering intently at the action from the sideline, the aspiring quarterback must pay the toll on the field, with the ball in his hands, making split-second decisions that can result in victory or defeat.

The dilemma facing the young backup who aspires to be a starter is how to prepare for the day when “The Chance” arrives.

Kevin Daft and Pat Barnes hope they have found a formula. Kurt Warner’s long road to the Super Bowl wound its way through Amsterdam, so why not Glasgow or Frankfurt? Those are the current bases for Barnes and Daft, both former Orange County high school standouts who are starting for teams in NFL Europe.

NFL Europe is pro football’s developmental league and 11 of its former players made at least one start at quarterback in the NFL last season.

Daft, a Foothill High graduate, is the top-rated passer in the six-team league and has helped the Scottish Claymores to a 6-4 record and a spot in the World Bowl, the league’s championship game, against the Rhein Fire on June 25 in Frankfurt.

Barnes, from Trabuco Hills High, helped the Frankfurt Galaxy to the World Bowl title in 1999. He is back with the Galaxy this season and is rated fourth in the league in passing efficiency.

NFL Europe’s regular season ends this weekend. Daft passed for 128 yards and two touchdowns Saturday in the Claymores’ 28-25 loss at Barcelona, and Barnes threw two touchdown passes--giving him 30 for his career, a league record--as the Galaxy beat Berlin, 24-17, to finish the season 4-6.

The two quarterbacks never played against each other in high school--Daft was a junior when Barnes was a senior leading Trabuco Hills to the Southern Section Division VIII semifinals in 1992--but there they were last month at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland, battling in overtime.

The Galaxy scored on its first overtime possession on a seven-yard pass from Barnes to wide receiver Mario Bailey, but NFL Europe doesn’t play sudden-death overtime, so the Claymores and Daft still had a chance. On the Claymores’ possession, Daft threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Donald Sellers and then gambled by attempting a two-point conversion for the victory. Daft’s pass to tight end Rickey Brady was incomplete and Frankfurt won, 31-30.

Afterward, Daft and Barnes chatted on the field--Daft reminding Barnes that the last time their paths crossed, Barnes was an assistant at a passing camp at Saddleback College that Daft attended the summer before his senior year at Foothill.

Their reminiscence was brief. Mostly they exchanged small talk about living in Scotland and Germany, then went their separate ways.

“I wished him well,” Barnes said, “and the best of luck.”

The Veteran

Barnes, of all people, knows it takes more than good fortune to make it as a quarterback in the NFL.

Picked out of California in the fourth round of the 1997 draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, Barnes has been a reserve on three different teams in three NFL seasons. He has yet to throw a pass in a regular-season game; his only action came in a single series in 1999, running out the clock for the San Francisco 49ers in a victory over the Tennessee Titans.

“I got to hand the ball off three times . . . hooray,” Barnes said. “It’s not something to hang your hat on.”

In the NFL, inexperienced reserves don’t get many snaps, even in practice, Barnes said. In Frankfurt, he has the opportunity to lead a team.

And Barnes, who is 6 feet 3, 215 pounds, has done that very well, Frankfurt Coach Dick Curl said. Although the Galaxy has struggled this year, Barnes, 25, has matured into a leader.

“Last year, he pretty much kept to himself and did his own thing,” Curl said. “This year, he’s making a real effort to help other people.”

Barnes works especially well with fellow quarterback Ted White, which says a lot for Barnes’ attitude. White, one of 152 players allocated by NFL teams to NFL Europe this season, alternates with Barnes at quarterback. Barnes isn’t an allocated player--soon he will head back to the states and seek an invitation to an NFL training camp--but says he doesn’t mind platooning with White.

Barnes says accepting the situation, along with taking the initiative to study game films on his own and self-critique his performance, is part of learning to be a good professional.

“I think Ted and I have really tried to help each other out,” Barnes said.

American football players in Europe are wise to stick together; otherwise it could be a lonely three-month season. The Galaxy coaches and players live in a Holiday Inn in Offenbach, a suburb 10 minutes by train outside Frankfurt. Players are paid from $10,000-$16,000 per season, with quarterbacks on the high end of the scale.

After practice, Barnes spends the long German dusks (sunset is at 10:30 p.m. this time of year) reading, riding his bike, sightseeing or searching for good restaurants. One recent evening he took a group of teammates to a sushi place he found in Frankfurt. “I hope the offensive linemen eat something else before we go,” Barnes said.

Barnes isn’t complaining about the food. “The asparagus here is outstanding,” he said. “That’s one thing I know I’ll miss.”

But all things considered, Barnes would prefer his next trip to Europe be as an NFL quarterback on vacation.

The Rookie

Daft’s introduction to pro football was a heady one. He didn’t see any regular-season action for the Tennessee Titans, but it doesn’t get much sweeter for a rookie reserve than being on the sidelines for the Super Bowl.

“I had a great time,” said Daft, who was drafted from UC Davis in the fifth round in 1999. “It was pretty overwhelming going that far as a rookie.

“Everything that happened, from the draft all the way to the Super Bowl, was amazing.”

Daft said he picked the brains of Titan quarterbacks Steve McNair and Neil O’Donnell as often as possible.

“I learned a lot about the game of football last season and just about life in the NFL,” Daft said. “I tried to take everything in. I just want to keep on learning and I just hope that everything works out and I’ll eventually get my shot.”

Daft, 6-1, 200 pounds, is having an outstanding season for the Claymores. He has completed more than 60% of his passes and has 19 touchdown passes. During one span he threw 147 passes without an interception and has had only three passes picked off.

“The best word I could possibly use for Kevin is he’s a very efficient quarterback,” Claymore Coach Jim Criner said. “He protects the ball, he throws a nice pass, an easy pass to catch. He has the arm strength to lead the receiver down the field. He does all of those things very well and in addition to that he’s a very tough-minded and physically tough guy.”

Daft quickly learned the Claymores’ system and took nearly every snap in the team’s first three games, Criner said. Since Marcus Crandell, allocated by the Kansas City Chiefs, caught up, the two have alternated quarters.

“Right now, Kevin is in a position with his maturity, his age and physical talent to be a better than adequate backup in the NFL,” Criner said. “With two to three more years of seasoning and experience, if he continues to improve, he’s certainly a guy who can start to make his move.”

In the meantime, Daft is enjoying his European experience with fiance Kesa Koida. Daft proposed last month in the tower of a centuries-old cathedral in St. Andrews. The couple try to take advantage of Daft’s off days, taking many train trips to the coast and the countryside. The other day, they took a boat tour on Loch Ness.

In Glasgow, Daft is less adventurous. In the evenings, he and Koida catch movies or head over to an Internet cafe to catch up with news and e-mail from the states. They mostly frequent American-style restaurants--TGI Friday’s and Burger King are popular--but Daft has cast a curious glance at haggis, Scotland’s national dish that is a concoction of sheep innards.

“It just looks like some kind of meat substance,” Daft said. “I don’t know, I’ll probably have to try it. My girlfriend wants to try it before we leave.”

However distasteful, that would be a small price to pay for the chance to see Europe and hone his quarterbacking skills.

“I’m just experiencing everything and taking it all in,” Daft said. “And getting paid while you’re over here to play football, you can’t ask for much more than that.”