No Snap Decision

This marks the 14th consecutive fall Marcus Brady has played quarterback. Wearing helmet and pads. Spreading himself and the football all over the field.

He took his first snap at 8. He was calling audibles at 11. He was quite a show from the start.

Marcus Sr. has videotape to prove it.

“On BETA,” he says with a laugh. “Marcus was spreading the ball all over the field. He was like. . . . “

Sweet memories cause him to pause.

“He’s played quarterback every year since he was 8. Every year. Everywhere.”

Fast-forward 14 years and Brady is calling signals for Cal State Northridge, though few cameras point his way. But for one evening, at least, Brady and the Matadors will be the show, making a rare televised appearance tonight on Fox Sports Net with a Big Sky Conference game at Weber State.

It’s one of those Thursday night treats college football couch potatoes eat up. And a good excuse to tune in and see Southern California’s unheard of college quarterback, the one determined to stay a quarterback.

Then you decide whether Brady--a 6-foot, 195-pound, superbly conditioned, remarkably versatile, exceptionally gifted student-athlete--should be QB or not QB. That seems to be the question.

Opinions vary regarding the 21-year-old former three-sport athlete from San Diego Morse High, a junior in his third season as a starter and Northridge’s career passing leader in five categories. College scouts envisioned Brady as everything from shortstop to shooting guard to safety--but seldom a quarterback.

There is no doubting his athleticism and Brady is hoping VCRs are whirring tonight. His talent is certain to land him an NFL tryout.

As always, it’s Brady’s call.

“I want to play quarterback,” he said. “I love playing quarterback, being the center of attention, all eyes on you pretty much. I’ve always played quarterback. Since Mighty Mites.”

Which brings us back to the Matadors (1-3, 0-2 in conference play), hardly blockbuster material this season. After blowing two consecutive home games, Northridge plays its first conference road game against the Wildcats (2-3, 1-2) with the toughest part of the schedule ahead.

Northridge, picked to finish sixth in its final season in the Big Sky, appears to be measuring up to preseason forecasts as dreams of a conference title slip away.

Still, Brady continues to impress at the Division I-AA level.

Northridge’s mediocrity sometimes makes it difficult to assess the ability of Brady, often forced to improvise because of porous protection.

Big Sky coaches praise Brady’s athleticism and field generalship, considering him among the best athletes in the conference and beyond. His quick-strike ability and accuracy throwing on the run keep spectators entertained and opposing coaches scrutinizing video until the wee hours.

“Marcus Brady scares the . . . out of me,” Coach Mike Kramer of Montana State said.

Three weeks ago, Brady scrambled for electrifying gains of 50 and 51 yards against Northern Arizona, displaying speed and cutback ability rarely seen in the Big Sky.

Even Coach Jeff Kearin of Northridge, who recruited Brady out of high school, was impressed.

“That was a gear I hadn’t seen before,” Kearin said.

Professional scouts have taken notice.

“The guy from Jacksonville talked about how impressed he was with his quick release,” Kearin said. “Scouts are saying how there is a marketability for an athletic quarterback.”

Brady hopes they see what he sees.

“I think once I get into a combine or a camp or a tryout, they’ll like what they see,” Brady said. “I think I throw the deep ball pretty well and I read defenses really well.”

Brady is playing in obscurity at Northridge largely because it is among the few schools that wanted him as a quarterback. After a brief and unhappy stint at the Naval Academy, Brady and his father, a former San Jose State defensive back, contacted Kearin.

Kearin, a former Matador assistant, figured he didn’t have a chance signing Brady out of high school, considering he was being courted by Cal and Stanford. Brady scored 1,150 on the SAT was also considering Ivy League schools.

“I thought he was too big for us, and he probably is,” Kearin said. “I think he was being pigeon-holed as an athlete playing quarterback a lot, probably like they did with Randall Cunningham and Michael Vick. I know what I thought of him. I thought of him as a quarterback.”

Brady did too. But after attending a camp at Stanford while in high school, he learned he was among the few.

“Marcus keeps a lot to himself,” his father said. “But I think deep inside that hurt him because he really wanted to go to Stanford. He knew at a very young age he wanted to play quarterback.”

Brady passed for 2,983 yards and 26 touchdowns as a freshman and was Big Sky newcomer of the year. Three weeks ago against Northern Arizona, Brady became the Matadors’ career leader in passing yards.

His grasp of the game is his most underrated quality, Kearin said. Three years of experience have not gone to waste. Brady is a quick study and student of the game, as well as the football marketplace.

He notes that there is unprecedented opportunity for players of his caliber and he is willing to play pro anywhere from Canada to Europe, even the Arena League.

“Any deficiency he has in size he makes up for in the way he moves around, the way he delivers the ball and how he reads defenses,” Kearin said. “He looked incredibly polished when he came to camp, which is what I was most impressed with because he was pretty darned polished before.”

A veteran of countless camps, Brady spent two weeks last summer attending a facility in Florida promoted by receiver Cris Carter of the Minnesota Vikings.

Bill Welle, the camp’s owner, helped Brady improve his velocity and hone his mechanics. Brady has the goods, he said. Exposure will be a big help.

“That’s why playing on TV will help him,” Welle said. “The Division I-AA guys have to do double the stuff of I-A guys to stand out and even then it’s hard.”

Only two Northridge players have ever been drafted by an NFL team, and only a few former Matadors turned up in the NFL.

“It gives me a little incentive to work harder,” Brady said. “I want everybody in the world to know what my capabilities are.”

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BRADY BY THE NUMBERS

3 -- Seasons as Northridge starting quarterback

5 -- School career passing records

7,121 -- Career passing yards

56 -- Career touchdown passes

618 -- Career completions

8 -- Come-from-behind victories

299 -- Completions last season, a school record