Brent Rausch is the starter
Yup , Not going to lie ,,,, this shocked me ...
Posted on: Friday, August 15, 2008
<!--headline-->Rausch expected to be No. 1 at QB<!--endheadline-->
By
Stephen Tsai
HawaiiWarriorBeat.com Editor
The ballots have been counted, and all signs point to Brent Rausch being named the University of Hawai'i football team's No. 1 quarterback.
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Head coach Greg McMackin said he, offensive coordinator Ron Lee and quarterbacks coach Nick Rolovich made their joint decision at the end of yesterday's practice. Last night, McMackin said, the choice would be revealed during today's practice.
But the signs point to Rausch, who threw 48 percent of the passes in 7-on-7, team and red-zone drills yesterday. In addition, he was the quarterback on two of the four two-minute-drive series. Until yesterday, the snaps were spread evenly among Rausch, Greg Alexander and Inoke Funaki. "(Rausch) did great," Rolovich said of yesterday's workout. "He made some great throws. He knows where to go with the ball. The guys buy into his personality. He's vocal. He's confident. He wanted it."
Rausch, a transfer from College of the Desert, was third on the depth chart behind Alexander and Funaki last week. But since Saturday, he has received the highest scores every day. The coaches rate every pass of every drill of every practice.
"Brent keeps going like this," said Rolovich, raising his left hand in an upward-step motion. "When you look at it day by day, the graph goes (up)."
Yesterday morning, Rolovich told McMackin: "Let's see what he's got. Let's give him a chance."
It was agreed that Rausch, for the first time in training camp, would be the leadoff quarterback in the passing drills.
On Wednesday, Rausch did not participate in the afternoon drills because of tightness in his right (throwing) elbow.
"Nothing to worry about," Rausch said.
Indeed, he came out firing yesterday, lasering completion after completion in the red-zone drill.
He also excelled in the two-minute drill. To add to the drama, the defense was allowed to blitz and the offense was told it had to use silent counts. Against an aggressive defense and the clock — graduate assistant Craig Stutzmann would yell out the dwindling time — Rausch remained poised, completing passes to the flats and downfield.
"I love the way he throws," Rolovich said. "He's very accurate. He has a strong arm. He throws a pretty ball. He controls it. He knows where he wants it, and he puts it there."
Rolovich also is impressed with Rausch's U-turn in attitude. Entering training camp last week, it was decided the rotation would go like this: Funaki, a fourth-year junior who exited spring training as the co-No. 1 quarterback; Alexander, a junior-college transfer who has only two years to play two seasons; and then Rausch, who has three years to play three seasons.
Working with inexperienced receivers, Rausch had fallen behind Alexander and Funaki. Rausch became visibly discouraged.
"He was upset about it," Rolovich said. "I told him: 'What are you getting upset about? You're getting reps. You're in Hawai'i.' I want to see how tough people are.
"In the first few days," Rolovich added, "he struggled. I think it was his mindset, 'Oh, they've got me out of the competition. I'm just taking reps to take reps.' (After) the first two days, he was low on the grading. He was low on body language. He wasn't a good teammate as far as getting people going. He was quiet. He was kind of going in the tank. I said, 'Look, if you want to go in the tank, go in the tank. This isn't over for you.' "
Recalling the conversation, Rausch said: "I had to suck it up, quit being a little baby. I'm glad he put it on me like that."
First, Rausch focused on gaining composure.
"I was stressing too hard about making my throws," Rausch said. "I couldn't relax. ... I was down on myself. I definitely was. I thought I was going to be third string. Then stuff started coming together. I came out of my shell. Now, I can relax, look around and make my throws."
For Rausch, it has been a remarkable ascent.
When he was young, his father gave him two extra-curricular options: football or boxing. Rausch's grandfather, Hank Rausch, was a Wisconsin champion boxer.
Rausch picked Option A.
His neighborhood high school football team was led by a 5-foot-7, 220-pound quarterback who was the head coach's son. Figuring he would not play much at that school, he instead enrolled at Desert Chapel High in Palm Springs, Calif. That school competed in an eight-man-on-a-side football league.
The offense did not have tackles or a fullback. When four receivers were used, Rausch was alone in the backfield, with little protection.
"It was pretty fun," Rausch said. "I was a running back and quarterback in high school."
He then attended College of the Desert for two years, playing football — 11-on-11 for the first time in years — for one season.
Dan Morrison, who was UH's quarterbacks coach last year, spoke highly of Rausch to Rolovich, who was an assistant coach at City College of San Francisco. After Morrison left UH to join June Jones' new coaching staff at Southern Methodist, Rolovich was hired as the Warriors' quarterbacks coach in January. Rolovich remembered Rausch, and made the recommendation to Lee and McMackin. Rausch had visited UH on a family vacation the week before receiving the scholarship offer.
"It's a good school," said Rausch, who quickly accepted. "I watched them a lot (on television) last year. I love their offense. It's a good place for me, being a passing quarterback. I'm not much of a runner."
Soon after, UH also offered a scholarship to Alexander.
"It's always good to have a challenge," Rausch said. "It makes everyone better."
In the final twist, SMU made a scholarship offer — the day Rausch signed a national letter of intent with UH.
The offer was made through Rausch's junior-college coach. "He didn't even tell me about it until the day I signed," Rausch said. "It didn't get to me. But I didn't even consider going to Texas."
Rausch, if chosen, will be stepping into the scrutiny. The last two UH starting quarterbacks — Tim Chang and Colt Brennan — are in the NCAA record book. Brennan finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting last December.
At 6 feet 4 and 190 pounds, Rausch has drawn comparisons to the lanky Brennan. Rausch dismisses such talk.
"I don't want to be compared to him," Rausch said. "He's a great quarterback. He definitely has a different style. He's definitely better than me."
Rolovich, who was UH's starting quarterback in 2001, understands the pressure of being the quarterback of the state's only Division I football team.
"Texas Tech wants to call itself Quarterback U or whatever, but coming after Colt Brennan is not the easiest job in the world," Rolovich said. "(The successor) needs to understand the importance in this state. That is a lot of pressure. Somebody has to handle it."
Rolovich was in the Denver Broncos' training camp soon after John Elway retired.
"(Brian) Griese struggled with it in Denver," Rolovich said. "Those are the experiences that I can vocalize. The people of this state have a passion for this football team, especially for this position."
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