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Smith a big surprise, LoVecchio just big
Associated Press
TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Fiesta Bowl quarterbacks are as
different as the programs they represent.
|  | | QB Matt LoVecchio has been the leader on offense. |
Matt LoVecchio, the freshman who is 7-0 as a Notre Dame starter,
stands 6-foot-2, weighs 200 pounds and looks every inch a
quarterback.
Jonathan Smith, the junior starter for 10-1 Oregon State, is
5-10 and looks, well, like the team manager.
That's exactly who Beavers coach Dennis Erickson thought he was
the first time the two met.
"It's true. When he walked in I didn't know who he was. I
really didn't," Erickson said. "He's the only quarterback that's
my size. He says he's taller than I am, but I disagree."
Smith, the quarterback who ended his team's NCAA record of 28
consecutive losing seasons, wasn't wanted at Oregon State even when
the Beavers were losers.
He was a walk-on as a freshman in 1997, Mike Riley's first year
as coach, and spent the season running the scout team.
Smith entered spring practice in 1998 as the No. 3 quarterback,
but he moved up to the backup behind junior-college All-American
Terrance Bryant. Against Washington, in his third game ever, Smith
came off the bench to set a school record with 469 passing yards.
He's been the starter ever since.
But when Riley left to coach the San Diego Chargers and Erickson
was hired, Smith had to battle for the job again. He beat out
Bryant in spring practice, and has became the No. 2 passer, behind
Erik Wilhelm, in Oregon State history.
"I never really got down," Smith said. "I continued to get
encouragement from family and friends. I don't need the limelight.
I like to sit in the film room and watch by myself. I just enjoy
the game. I think that's what kept me going a lot. I never gave up
total hope. I held on to that light that maybe I can do it."
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“ |
When he walked in I didn't know who
he was. I really didn't. He's the only quarterback that's my size. He says he's taller than
I am, but I disagree. ” |
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— OSU coach Dennis Erickson on his quarterback, Jonathan
Smith |
The Beavers are 18-8 with Smith as a starter. Last year, he set
a school record with 3,053 passing yards. This year he ranked
second in the Pac-10 in passing efficiency, throwing for 2,468
yards and 17 touchdowns.
Smith is the easygoing leader on a team loaded with brash trash
talkers. He plays golf with Erickson and said the best thing about
being in Arizona for 10 days has been the money he's won from his
teammates playing pool at the resort where the Beavers are staying.
Erickson said Smith's intelligence is his biggest asset.
"He knows the offense as well as we know it," Erickson said.
"He is 5-10. That's a deficiency to some people. But he's smart,
he understands what's going on, he knows where to go with the ball,
he knows exactly what we want. That makes him very efficient."
LoVecchio is one of three talented freshman quarterbacks who coach Bob Davie recruited this season. Just 18 years old, he is
quiet, calm and confident.
All three freshmen were supposed to sit out this season as
redshirts. LoVecchio was running the scout team.
But when Arnaz Battle broke his wrist in the second game of the
season, an overtime defeat against Nebraska, the Irish needed a new
quarterback.
Sophomore Gary Godsey got the next two starts. But with his team
2-2 after Godsey completed four of 15 passes in a defeat against Michigan
State, Davie gave LoVecchio the job over the other two freshmen
contenders -- Carlyle Holiday and Jared Clark.
"He was probably a little more advanced in football, just X and
O's," Davie said. "He was a guy who proved to us right off the
bat that he was unflappable, much more mature than the other two at
that point."
The Irish players and coaches were a little worried about
turning the offense over to such an inexperienced quarterback.
"You are going to have a little concern," flanker Joey
Getherall said. "The coaches were a little concerned. I don't
think they knew how good he was going to be, how great he was going
to lead this team, how much confidence he was going to have out
there on the field."
Davie has been careful not to ask his young quarterback to do
too much, instead relying on the running game, defense and special
teams.
"He hasn't had to do it by himself," Davie said. "Because of
that, we haven't asked him to just make unbelievable plays. As he
gets more comfortable, as he matures, we'll probably put more on
his plate."
LoVecchio completed 58 percent of his passes for 980 yards and
11 touchdowns. He's thrown 125 passes and only been intercepted
once.
When he was at Bergen Catholic High School in Franklin Lakes,
N.J., he lived just down the street from Chris Sims, a close friend
and now the starter at Texas. Both were highly recruited.
A walk through the famous South Bend campus made LoVecchio's
choice of schools an easy one.
"I visited a lot of different schools, and I just got a
different feeling on campus, a feeling I couldn't describe,"
LoVecchio said. "I think Notre Dame is the pinnacle of college
football. Just to play here and be a part of this university is an
extreme honor."
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