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TOP STORIESHoly Cross' Brady wonders where are the offers11:53 AM CST on Monday, February 4, 2008With 3,249 yards, Chris Brady owns the school record for single-season passing yards at Holy Cross.
File Photo Holy Cross senior quarterback Chris Brady set school records for touchdowns in season, touchdown passes in a season and yards passing in a season, but no colleges have offered him a scholarship. His name tops the list of single-season touchdown passes (30), as well as single-season touchdowns (36).
He had a nearly 4-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio as a senior, leading the Tigers to a 10-3 season and a Class 4A quarterfinal berth.
But the two things that seem to matter most with national signing day on Wednesday are the numbers six and two.
That would be Brady’s listed height, and at 6-foot-2, apparently it’s his downfall.
“That’s what we hear from Northern Illinois,” said Barry Wilson, Brady’s high school coach. “They came down and it looked real good. We felt like this was going to be the spot for him. The coach went back and, I think, the offensive coordinator turned him down. He said he’s a little too short.
“They all want that big guy, 6-4 to 6-6 and can run a 4.4 40. He doesn’t. He runs a 4.6 40. He’s, at best, 6-2.”
This isn’t how it was supposed to be for Brady.
Even before he was named all-district 9-4A MVP, even before he earned all-metro honors, even before he became the Orleans Parish quarterback and athlete of the year, Brady thought he had a good chance to become a college QB.
“I was expecting to get a lot of offers early,” Brady said. “I got a few calls my junior year. I was expecting to get offers before the season.”
And now, fewer than 48 hours before signing day, Brady awaits an offer. For now, Louisiana College, an NCAA Division III school is the only school that wants Brady, who said that if it comes down to it, that’s where he’ll go.
But truth be told, Brady thinks he’s more of a fit at a Southern Miss or a Troy University. He thinks he can help a Louisiana Tech or a Louisiana-Monroe.
“It’s very frustrating,” he said. “All I want is opportunity. Nobody is giving me that opportunity.”
Wilson, at least, has positive thoughts of Brady, no matter what his height turns out to be. As a college coach for more than 30 years, Wilson knows what goes into recruiting.
“Recruiting is really strange,” Wilson said. “I was in it for 32 years and this doesn’t really surprise me. It just shocks me as a coach, knowing what kind of athlete he is.”
Wilson has seen this before, though.
He remembers when, at USL, his staff was recruiting a high school standout named Brett Favre. But USL wasn’t looking for Favre to be a quarterback. It needed a tight end.
Favre ended up at Southern Mississippi and now is a Hall of Fame caliber NFL player.
“Nobody wanted Brett,” Wilson said. “Everybody wanted him as a tight end, not a quarterback. He couldn’t run very good. He went to Southern. They took him. They ran out of quarterbacks. He turned out to be a pretty good quarterback.”
So, it appears Brady might have to walk-on somewhere. Wilson doesn’t necessarily see that as a bad thing.
“Whatever the situation occurs for him, I would tell him that’s what he should do,” Wilson said. “He wants to play. He doesn’t feel like it’s time to end his career after high school. He thinks he can play at the next level. That is good. If you have that kind of desire, walk on. A lot of walk-ons have made it at a lot of places.”
Added Brady, “It really doesn’t matter where I play as long as I’m playing football. That’s what makes the difference.” |
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