He Could Become a Big Factor

UCLA is facing an uncertain scenario at quarterback next season with one senior (Cory Paus) who is currently in the coach’s doghouse, another senior (Ryan McCann) who has started only as a replacement for an injured regular, and freshmen who are as green as a dollar bill.

In the shadow of the Rose Bowl is a 6-foot-7, 245-pound quarterback with drop-back passing skills and the ability to run downfield. Nathan Chandler would have loved an opportunity to help out the Bruins.

“It’s not going to happen,” the Pasadena City College quarterback said. “They’re just going to go with the guys they have.”

Chandler is an interesting commodity. He has the size of a tight end yet has always wanted to play quarterback.

He helped the Lancers to a 10-1 record this season, topped off by a 38-17 victory over Grossmont Saturday in the South County Bowl at Southwestern College. Chandler was a first-team community college All-American, passing for 2,633 yards and 29 touchdowns.

He has made recruiting trips to Iowa and Mississippi State, and San Jose State has offered a scholarship.

How Chandler, a Dallas native who began his college career at Texas Tech, came to attend a community college nearly 1,500 miles away is a story in itself.

Whatever the reason, Pasadena Coach Tom Maher knows he was a lucky recipient.

“You just never know,” said Maher, in his sixth season at PCC. “You don’t know which kid will turn your program around.”

Chandler isn’t your typical community college player. He was highly recruited in Texas after earning all-state honors at Southlake Carroll High north of Dallas. He was an A student and scored over 1,200 on the SAT.

In short, he was your average top high school recruit. At Southlake Carroll in 1998, he threw for 1,638 yards as an option quarterback and led the Dragons to the state semifinals. He also accounted for 29 touchdowns.

Texas and Texas A&M; had Chandler on their shopping lists, but the Longhornslanded Chris Simms from New Jersey and the Aggies got Texas native Colby Freeman, who has since moved on to Abilene Christian.

Texas Tech then became a viable alternative. But just as he began to adorn himself in black and red, the Red Raiders threw Chandler a new look. Coach Spike Dykes retired and Mike Leach, the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, took over.

Chandler felt he’d be a natural fit in Leach’s spread offense. But after redshirting his freshman year, he emerged from a three-way battle during 2000 fall practice in third place on the depth chart, behind Kliff Kingsbury and B.J. Symons.

Days later, Chandler met with Leach to assess his options.

“Kliff was going to be the starter and I think [Nathan] saw that was the case,” Leach said.

So Chandler elected to transfer. His father and Maher were teammates at Pasadena in 1973, Chandler as a defensive lineman and Maher a receiver.

The two had spoken a year earlier when Maher was calling ex-teammates looking for help funding the PCC program.

“We were talking and [Bryan] said, ‘You know I have an all-state son who plays quarterback?”’ Maher recalled. “I didn’t even know he had kids.

“One day, he calls me up out of the blue. He said, ‘Tom, do you want my son? Things aren’t going well at Tech.’ The next thing you know, the dad and the kid flew out here and that was that.”

Maher knew Nathan Chandler was something special. “In high school, Notre Dame and Stanford were recruiting him as a tight end,” he said. “But he wants to be a quarterback.

“In my eyes, he’s an NFL prospect as a tight end.”

Major schools liked his size and 4.65 speed in the 40-yard dash, but they had already committed to their high school recruits. USC coaches visited the Pasadena campus during the spring but their interest cooled. Maher asked UCLA coaches to take a look but nothing happened.

Now, Chandler says he will choose among Iowa, Mississippi State and San Jose State, probably in January.

In the meantime, he has been enjoying the California experience, and the opportunity to lead Pasadena to its best season in years.

“I couldn’t have made a better decision,” he said.