Surviving Downsizing

Austin Moherman always envisioned a day like this--sitting back in the pocket, surveying the field and completing his first 20 passes. In the dream, there were always 90,000 Ohio State Buckeye fans in “The Horseshoe” chanting his name.

Moherman never imagined such a game would take place before 2,000 fans in Terre Haute, Ind., while he was wearing the maroon and white of Southwest Missouri State, a Division I-AA school.

But it did, and Moherman is thankful he was able to experience a record-setting Saturday, regardless of the surroundings or the color of his uniform.

“It was hard, leaving Ohio State,” Moherman said. “To have all the thoughts that you envisioned about playing at a big-time school, when you realize that’s not going to happen, it takes a little getting used to.”

Judging by his record performance two Saturdays ago in a 24-7 victory at Indiana State, Moherman has moved on. Of course, he is accustomed to doing so. While in high school, Moherman spent two years at Mission Viejo, a game at Los Angeles Wilson and nearly two years at Capistrano Valley. As a collegian, he has played for Ohio State and Southwest Missouri.

“It gets old, all the transfers,” Moherman said. “But this is it for me. This is where I’m staying.”

Team of Transfers

If nothing else, Moherman should feel right at home in Springfield, Mo. He is playing on a team of transfers. Of the 43 newcomers to Southwest Missouri’s team this season, 30 are transfers. Most of them were lured to Springfield for the same reason Moherman came--playing time.

Moherman would have rather stayed in Columbus. But after three years in Coach John Cooper’s system, Moherman had had enough.

He used his first year at Ohio State as a redshirt season. In 1998, he attempted only one pass while playing behind Mark Garcia and Joe Germaine, now a backup with the St. Louis Rams. Last year, he began the season as the starter. But after playing parts of two games against Miami and UCLA, in which he was 20 of 41 for 214 yards, he was replaced by sophomore Steve Bellisari.

Was two games as a starter and sporadic play in eight others a fair shot?

“No, but I’m not whining,” Moherman said. “That’s just how the world of college football is. It was a clean break. There were no hard feelings.”

Moherman said he realized it was time to pursue other options after he led the Buckeyes to a comeback victory over Minnesota late in the year. The next week, Bellisari kept his starting job and he never lost it, even though he completed only 45% of his passes during Ohio State’s 6-6 season.

“They never told me I wasn’t going to play again, but I’m smart enough to know what was going on,” Moherman said. “There’s only 11 Saturdays in the fall that you prepare for. It’s not like baseball and basketball, where there’s 162 and 82 games. When those Saturdays are spent on the bench, you ask yourself why you’re playing the game.”

Moherman liked his coaches, teammates and the town, but that wasn’t enough to keep him in Columbus.

“There’s worse things in the world than being a backup quarterback at Ohio State,” he said. “But playing is fun and that’s what I wanted to do.”

Change in Style

When Moherman was recruited to Ohio State in the spring of 1997, he thought the Buckeye offense was suited to his skills as a drop-back passer. Walt Harris, the offensive coordinator and a West Coast passing-offense guru, had guided Bobby Hoying to a 3,200-yard passing season in 1995. But before Moherman arrived, Harris left to be head coach at Pittsburgh. Last year, Moherman realized the offense was being changed to suit the strengths of Bellisari, an athletic left-hander who played safety and on special teams as a freshman.

“The sprint outs and naked bootlegs, that wouldn’t fit me,” Moherman said. “If Walt Harris had stayed, who knows what would have happened?”

Although he’s playing at a Division I-AA school whose football stadium seats only 16,000, Moherman seems to have found the perfect offense and the perfect coach in Randy Ball.

“They did a lot more play action at Ohio State,” Ball said. “He’s in a drop-back style here and we think he’s better in the pocket.”

Ball read of Moherman’s intention to transfer on the Internet. Then he looked at some video and decided he wanted the 6-5, 215-pounder with a bit of a slingshot delivery to run the show in Springfield. Moherman visited Western Illinois, Connecticut, Murray State and Southwest Missouri. He never considered another I-A school because he would have been required to sit out another season before becoming eligible.

After the opener, Moherman wondered if he picked the right school. The Bears’ first game was a 38-0 loss to Arkansas in which Moherman passed for only 51 yards. After beating Missouri Southern, 48-3, Southwest Missouri lost to 22nd-ranked McNeese State, 26-19.

“The first games were tough,” Moherman said. “I tried to go into a program and jump right into it. At Ohio State, I had 2 1/2 years before I ever started a game. Here, I had 15 spring practices and 20-some fall practices. We had a lot transfers here and everybody was adjusting.”

It didn’t help matters that the Bears’ two starting offensive tackles were injured.

“The first few weeks, Austin never really got to set his feet,” Ball said.

In the fourth game, a 19-13 loss to second-ranked Youngstown State, Moherman began to get his feet under him.

“He threw about three passes that should have been touchdowns but were dropped,” Ball said. “Each week, he got a little more familiar with the offense and his teammates.”

And then in Terre Haute, Moherman got real familiar with his teammates, especially Jeff Hewitt, who caught 13 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns. Moherman’s 20 completions to start a game and his 20 consecutive completions are NCAA Division I-AA records.

“It didn’t feel very special,” Moherman said. “The guys were open and I was putting the ball on them. I didn’t even know what the deal was until after the game.”

Moherman finished 22 of 24 for 265 yards, two touchdown and one fluke interception.

“His 21st pass was dropped by our receiver,” Ball said. “Then it went into the hands of an Indiana State player. He should have had 21 in a row.”

Last week, Southwest Missouri dropped to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the Gateway Conference after a 14-10 loss to eighth-ranked Western Illinois. On the season, Moherman is 91 of 162 (56%) for 1,112 yards and five touchdowns with six interceptions.

By next year, Ball thinks Ohio State will be sorry it let Moherman get away.

“A lot of times, if we took these guys and sent them back to where they came from, they’d be better,” Ball said. “Usually, all they need is a little confidence and the opportunity.”