The state of Oregon is becoming a hotbed for supplying Northwest colleges with quarterbacks. In the past couple of years, there has been a steady influx of signal-callers from the Beaver State heading to Division I programs to run the offense on the field. And there doesn't appear to be much in the way of stopping the flow any time soon.
Of the six D-I universities in the Pacific Northwest, four have starting quarterbacks who played their high school ball in Oregon and another has the heir-apparent to the first team field general. The only school that does not? Washington. Go figure.
Anyway, two of the starters are continuing stellar seasons from a year ago, taking snaps for their home state colleges. Derek Anderson is playing out his final season as quarterback for Oregon State and has the Beavers playing well to start the year. Anderson, a senior from Scappoose, nearly led the Beavers to an upset victory over defending national champion LSU on the road. He entered the season with 7,634 yards passing and 50 touchdowns for his career and will probably leave OSU as their all-time leading passer. Last year, he became just the second QB in Pac-10 conference history to throw for over 4,000 yards in a season (4,058) and looks to be on his way to another 4K season with 1,300 yards in three games so far.
Waiting in the wings to take over for Anderson next year is another Oregon product, redshirt freshman Ryan Gunderson, who hasn't seen any snaps yet this year. Gunderson looks to continue the legacy of quarterbacks to come from Central Catholic HS in Portland, which includes Joey and Michael Harrington.
Joey starts for the NFL Detroit Lions, Michael for the University of Idaho. More on him later. Kellen Clemens has the starting job all to himself this year at the University of Oregon. After beginning last season by sharing time with the departed Jason Fife (another Oregon high school product), Clemens took over for good mid-way through the year and threw for 2,400 yards and 18 TDs, breaking the records of NFL Hall of Famer Dan Fouts set in 1970. Through three games this season, the junior from Burns has thrown for 653 yards and 7 touchdowns. He, too, might wind up as Oregon's all-time leading passer with another year to go in 2005.
Now back to Michael Harrington at Idaho. Also from the aforementioned Central Catholic in Portland, the junior, threw for 996 yards and 5 TDs last season as the backup quarterback, and has amassed about half those so far this year (450 yards, 2 TDs).
Harrington's backup is also an Oregon native: redshirt freshman Brian Nooy from Pendleton. Nooy, who threw passes that scored Idaho's only points against Washington State, is transitioning from running the veer option in high school to a more passing oriented offense for the Vandals. His 9-of-15, 99-yard performance against the Cougars are his only stats of the season to this point.
Another backup quarterback that hails from Oregon is the Cougars' Alex Brink from Sheldon HS in Eugene. Brink, a freshman, has thrown for 278 yards and a touchdown this season, but is probably more famous for the interception he threw against Colorado in Washington State's home opener. That pick was returned for a touchdown that gave the Buffaloes the lead and the momentum. However, as a freshman, he still has a lot of time to make a positive name for himself at WSU, especially after being recruited as the best quarterback in Oregon high school history (9,262 yards, 92 touchdowns).
The Oregon-bred quarterback that probably has had the biggest shoes to fill coming into this season is Boise State's Jared Zabransky. "Z," as he is affectionately known, has taken over for the graduated Ryan Dinwiddie, the most efficient passer in NCAA history, and has done an admirable job thus far. Zabransky, a sophomore from Hermiston, has kept the Broncos' winning streak alive, now an NCAA-best 15 games. He's the second-best of the Oregon connection so far, throwing for 1,153 yards and 7 TDs, and adding 4 rushing touchdowns, and is a threat with both his arms and legs.
One other quarterback from Oregon that isn't playing in the Northwest, but is a double-threat like Zabransky, is junior Nic Costa at Arizona. Last year, Costa threw for just 363 yards and 4 touchdowns, but also ran for over 100 yards with a score, and was the only Wildcat QB to play in more than 10 games. This year, the junior from Aloha has played sparingly as the coaching staff figures out where to play him.
The best part about all these young men making their marks at their respective colleges for me personally is that I was given the chance to see some of them play in high school. As the former radio announcer for Hermiston, I was fortunate enough to see every game Zabransky played in high school, not to mention most of his basketball and baseball games. Hermiston's archrival is Pendleton, which afforded me the ability to watch Nooy several times a year in various sports. And I was able to see Costa play when Aloha visited Hermiston a few years ago. His arm was quite impressive that day, but a corps of butter-fingered receivers prevented him from posting very impressive stats.
Most of us have seen Clemens and Anderson play on TV, so we know what they're capable of. Zabransky is quickly becoming an icon on the West Coast with all the publicity Boise State is getting for its winning streak and a ton of exposure on ESPN. I've seen both him and Nooy play in person and they're both terrific football players. "Z" is getting his chance now, and I hope Nooy gets his down the road at Idaho.
I got to see Harrington against Washington State -- he'll be good. Maybe not as good as his older and more famous brother, but good nonetheless. And, as I said before, Brink will get better with time. I'm not sure about Gunderson, not having seen him play at all, but if he can carry his success in high school over into the college game, he'll do just fine.
So, while it may not be Pennsylvania or California or Florida, Oregon quarterbacks are making their mark on the college football scene in the upper left-hand corner of the country. And, if top-notch talent continues to be cultivated in the state, that mark just might end up spreading further east.
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