At one time, true freshman quarterbacks arrived on campus in August and were handed keys to their dorm room, a map of the campus and a red shirt. If they were handed keys to the offense, then the program had never gone anywhere and wasn’t planning on going anywhere until the kid could shave.
No more. Two true freshman quarterbacks have put their hype in boldface to lead storied programs toward what appears to be bright futures. Maybe USC’s Matt Barkley and Michigan’s Tate Forcier are too young to know they’re too young to lead late, game-winning drives against traditional powers.
Why else was Forcier trading jokes with tailback Brandon Minor during their last drive, a 58-yarder that culminated in Forcier’s 5-yard TD pass to Greg Mathews to beat 18th-ranked Notre Dame with 11 seconds left, 38-34?
Why would Barkley smile and joke before his game-winning, 86-yard drive? He then coolly hit 3-of-5 passes for 55 yards and ran two sneaks for first downs before Stafon Johnson’s 2-yard run with 1:05 left beat No. 8 Ohio State 18-15.
“What we’ve seen out of Tate is what we got,” Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez told reporters after the game.
With the development of sophisticated summer passing leagues in high schools over the last 10 years and early spring enrollments, preps are more college ready than ever before.
“Leading a team to a comeback victory in the last minutes against Ohio State at the Horseshoe, are you kidding me?” USC center Jeff Byers, a Loveland High graduate, asked reporters. “What kind of 19-year-old kid does that?”
Barkley and Forcier made their reps within a 90-minute drive of each. Forcier was a 4-star recruit out of Scripps Ranch High in San Diego, where last year he threw for 3,424 yards and 23 TDs but also a curious 15 interceptions. Barkley, as most know, was the nation’s top-rated quarterback out of Mater Dei High in Santa Ana, Calif.
Statistically, neither is even the best true freshman quarterback in the country. Rutgers’ Tom Savage, the nation’s No. 3 QB out of Cardinal O’Hara High in Springfield, Pa., and the only other true freshman starting, is 13th nationally in pass efficiency at 174.92. Forcier is 21st (161.69) and Barkley 55th (134.50).
Plus one more in L.A.
This week, make it four true freshman quarterbacks — and two in Los Angeles. UCLA redshirt freshman Kevin Prince broke his jaw during a safety late in the Bruins’ 19-15 win at Tennessee. Starting Saturday against Kansas State will probably be true freshman Richard Brehaut out of Los Osos High in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., and ranked the state’s No. 2 QB behind Barkley.
Tar Heel six and out.
Excuse North Carolina tight end Zack Pianalto if the end zone brings back good but painful memories. In the Tar Heels’ 12-10 win at Connecticut, the junior scored his second career touchdown — and his second career season-ending injury after a touchdown.
He scored a game-tying TD on a 2-yard touchdown pass, but when he jumped up in celebration, he wound up being carted off with an air cast on his dislocated right foot.
“Honestly, I don’t even really know what happened,” Pianalto said. “It seemed to either give out or I stepped on somebody’s foot.”
Last November against Georgia Tech he scored on an 8-yard TD reception. His foot planted into the ground at the 3, and a helmet smashed in his left fibula.
Said Tar Heels quarterback T.J. Yates, “I guess he needs to stop catching touchdown passes.”
Hot seat of the week.
Al Groh, Virginia. His reeling Cavaliers followed up their 26-14 loss to FCS William & Mary by getting booed in a 30-14 loss to TCU. Gregg Brandon, a former Colorado assistant who is now Virginia’s offensive coordinator, did not call for a pass play longer than 8 yards until trailing 30-0 in the fourth quarter.
