Sports News
A Lot Riding on BCS Quarterbacks
In every BCS conference, there's a less-than-a-sure-thing team that has an awful lot riding on the arm of its QB.
BIG TEN: Curtis Painter, Sr., Purdue
Curtis Painter sat alone in the ballroom with his dreams spread before him on a table. Boilermakers athletic officials had laid out their early Heisman Trophy campaign for the fifth-year senior: a calendar full of action photos and a highlight DVD entitled Painting a Masterpiece.
"I watched it on a plane, and I thought it was pretty cool," Painter says. "But I think my mom is going to enjoy it even more than me."
Painter is the latest in a string of successful Boilermakers quarterbacks. There's Bob Griese, who is now an analyst for ABC. Drew Brees swings through town at least once a year and chats with Painter each time. Painter's closest connection is with Kyle Orton, the Chicago Bear who preceded him as Purdue's starter. And the legacy's current watchman says he doesn't hesitate to talk to those who have gone before him.
"It's great to know a lot of those guys," Painter says. "To get to talk with Drew and get his advice, and to just call up Kyle and know how much he helps me out -- it's really a great thing."
As a kid in Vincennes, Ind., Painter watched Brees and Orton turn the Boilers into a perennial bowl team and occasional conference title contender. Now, with Painter near the end of a career in the same Joe Tiller-conceived spread offense Brees and Orton once led, comparisons are valid. With the help of some extra regular-season games, Painter seems a sure bet to break several of Brees' career passing records if he stays healthy in 2008.
But Painter is keeping his view more big-picture and hopes any sort of Heisman run coincides with at least a 10 win season. Purdue will make trips to Notre Dame, Ohio State and Michigan State, but skipping Illinois and Wisconsin in the Big Ten will be an advantage.
Regardless of the schedule, Painter appears to possess the physical skills to fulfill the masterpiece expectations his school has set.
"First time we were just throwing it around, the first pass I caught, it tore my glove," senior receiver Greg Orton says. "I was like, 'Wow, this guy is for real.' And all he has done since then is work hard and get better."
After going 8-5 last season, Purdue hopes its record will get better -- and those hopes rest squarely on Painter's right shoulder.
BIG 12: Todd Reesing, Jr., Kansas
Todd Reesing's dream season ended in the Orange Bowl, when he and his teammates celebrated a victory over ACC champ Virginia Tech. He led the previously irrelevant Jayhawks to 12 wins with 33 touchdown passes against only seven interceptions -- not bad for a guy who didn't own the starting job when practices began.
Now, with the core of that Kansas squad gone, Reesing is back to try for a suitable encore. Running back Brandon McAnderson is gone, as are deep threat Marcus Henry and defensive leader Aqib Talib. Another BCS trip will be impossible without an even more staggering season from Reesing.
"The offense is going to depend on his leadership," KU coach Mark Mangino says. "He'll be able to handle that pretty well."
Tiny as quarterbacks go (5-11, 200), Reesing will spend the season facing defenses focused on slowing him and favorite wideout Dexton Fields. And Reesing will need to succeed under that pressure to keep Kansas among college football's elite.
"It's awesome to see," Reesing says, "that people aren't looking at us as the doormat in the Big 12 anymore, that we're going to compete for a championship."
SEC: John Parker Wilson, Sr., Alabama
Another football season, another new offensive coordinator for Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson. After learning Dave Rader's plays as a freshman backup and running them as a sophomore starter, he spent a season under Major Applewhite. Now, Wilson must adjust to Jim McElwain, imported from Fresno State to spice up the Crimson Tide's schemes.
"There's a little more diversity," Alabama coach Nick Saban says of the new looks. "(The offense is) a little more quarterback-friendly."
Saban insisted this offseason that the offense would look similar to the one Alabama ran in 2007. Wilson knows there will be an adjustment, though -- he has a new package, reads and terminology dancing through his head again.
It figures that Wilson's career is concluding with more inconsistency. He has started 26 consecutive games for Alabama and has 13 victories and 13 losses. His 35 touchdown passes and 22 interceptions over that time are further evidence of uneven play.
Wilson has plenty of help this season. Alabama returns its top three rushers, including 800-yard back Terry Grant. And although top target D.J. Hall has gone to the NFL, freshman Julio Jones could emerge as one of the nation's top young receivers. That leaves Wilson to make the right choices and lift the Tide, and his legacy, above simply average.
ACC: Riley Skinner, Jr., Wake Forest
Half of Riley Skinner's college career lies in front of him, yet he has already built one of the best resumes in school history. No Deacons starting quarterback has won more games than Skinner's 18. And nobody has come close to the success he shepherded in 2006, when Wake won the ACC title and faced Louisville in the Orange Bowl.
Yet Skinner's reputation is more game manager than game-breaker, and his accomplishments seem overshadowed by his league's lack of success and his program's lack of tradition. That reality has his teammates stumped.
"Man, he gets no respect," Wake cornerback Alphonso Smith says. "We hear people say all the time that he's not this or not that. You know what he is? He's a winner. How about that?"
How about this -- a big year from Skinner could lift the Deacons back to the top of a wide-open ACC. Sure, he'll never be as talented or loved as the other Jacksonville-reared quarterback in major-college football (see: Tebow, Timothy). But more steady play will take pressure of stud tailback Josh Adams and might bring Skinner some overdue respect.
BIG EAST: Tyler Lorenzen, Sr., Connecticut
On the sideline, in the huddle and at the line, Tyler Lorenzen, a junior college transfer, spent parts of last preseason lost in the UConn offense. He needed a guide, yielding at times to receiver and former QB D.J. Hernandez for in-the-moment assistance.
The confusion helped lead to a mess on offense in the fall. Opponents stacked the line every Saturday, and the Huskies averaged 185.8 passing yards per game, good for 97th in the nation. But teammates and coach Randy Edsall insist things have changed.
"Last summer, going into seven-on-seven, D.J. pretty much helped him out, calling the plays," cornerback Darius Butler says. "Now, Tyler calls the plays. He does everything."
A spring strengthening his arm and studying film with offensive coordinator Rob Ambrose has left Lorenzen much more confident.
"I just feel like I have a better grasp of the offense," he says. "I think I can offer something to it this year."
Edsall says the Huskies will remain a run-first outfit, a nod to his team's lack of flashy playmakers and the cold weather they play in late in the year. Still, UConn's hopes for a second straight bowl appearance, something the young program has never accomplished, rest on Lorenzen's ability to balance the offense.
"We'll be fine," Edsall says. "When we need to throw it, we can throw it."
PAC-10: Nate Longshore, Sr., California
When Nate Longshore's ankle buckled at Oregon last September, Cal's hopes for a national championship crumbled with it. Longshore returned two games later, but the Bears, once ranked No. 2 in the nation, bumbled through the rest of the regular season, finishing 1-6 and fading to the Armed Forces Bowl. The low point came in the game after Longshore was hurt, when the Bears melted down late against Oregon State with Longshore watching from the sideline.
Longshore is healthy again, but there's a different Cal team around him. Playmakers DeSean Jackson and Lavelle Hawkins are gone, and Kevin Riley, who led the Bears to a bowl victory over Air Force, will challenge for Longshore's job in training camp. Coach Jeff Tedford is expected to name a starter on the eve of the opener against Michigan State.
"Nate has played in a lot of games and won a lot of games for us," Tedford told reporters at Pac-10 media days. "Kevin Riley had a couple opportunities last season. It's going to be very competitive."
But for Cal to contend in the conference, it must be Longshore who elevates his play. Three starters return on the offensive line, but a slew of young skill players makes the fifth-year senior vital to the Bears.
College Football
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