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Saturday, October 28, 2000
It's rare to see three quarterbacks from the same high school starting the same year for Division I programs.
Three St. Louis School
graduates are directing
offenses for Division I
programs this seasonBy Pat Bigold
Star-BulletinIt's even more surprising when that high school is in the country's smallest state.
That's why Sports Illustrated recently pointed out that St. Louis School grads Darnell Arceneaux (University of Utah), Jason Gesser (Washington State) and Timmy Chang (University of Hawaii) are all guiding their teams on the field.
"That just compliments the program at St. Louis," said Gesser, whose break-out year performances are starting to gain the attention of NFL scouts.
"I think our coaches there are the best in the nation."
The three -- a true freshman, a sophomore and a senior -- may be from the same school but they are studies in different styles.Arceneaux, in his final year of an injury-plagued Ute career, is still a multithreat quarterback who likes to execute the elusive runs that earned him the nickname, "Honolulu Houdini."
He's thrown for 1,250 yards this season and six touchdowns. The most adventurous of the three, he also has rushed 72 times for 242 yards and has scored twice. He leads the Mountain West Conference in total offense.
Gesser has surprised observers with his ability to nail passes on the run at WSU. He has thrown for 16 touchdowns.His quarterback rating is now 148.48, which ranks first in the Pac-10 and 13th in the nation. He also leads the conference in passing yards (1,828), completion percentage (.556) and total offense (266.3).
Chang, even though he has tossed 10 picks in 4 1/2 games, is the baby-faced first-year guy who can bring the Aloha Stadium crowd to its feet with a home-run ball.
He's thrown seven touchdown passes and has 1,250 yards.
"I think all of us being quarterbacks at this level is very cool," Chang said. "I'm the youngest of all of them. I really looked up to them when I was going to school at St. Louis."Ron Lee, often referred to as the man who installed the run-and-shoot offense at St. Louis, was offensive coordinator under head coach (younger brother) Cal Lee when the three quarterbacks played there. Now the Hawaii receivers coach, Ron Lee knows all three as well as anybody.
He breaks them down this way:
"Darnell was the better runner than all of the guys. What made Darnell good, basically, was his athletic ability. He wasn't very accurate and he didn't have a lot of support. He kind of carried us and he really played well his senior year. We didn't have a whole lot of players on offense and he kind of carried us on offense, more with his running ability than his passing.
"Jason had a tremendous work ethic. Oh, he worked so hard. He was not very talented. In fact, his father wanted him to be a receiver. He just would not give up. He's a real fighter. As a quarterback, he can kind of do everything, but I think his work ethic is his main ability.
"Timmy is probably the most talented all-around of those three guys. He has great vision. He's smart. He doesn't run like Darnell and he's a lot more accurate than Jason was. He stays in the pocket. He gets rid of the ball. He has that presence. He feels pressure and knows when to throw."
Lee's reference to Chang as the most talented of the three might surprise some who see Gesser following in the footsteps of former WSUquarterbacks Drew Bledsoe and Ryan Leaf, with Jack Thompson emerging as his mentor.
His six touchdown passes in a 53-47, three-overtime loss to No. 22 Arizona two weeks ago were a school record. Bledsoe, Thompson, Leaf and Timm Rosenbach shared the previous record of five.
"At St. Louis, Coach Vinnie (quarterbacks coach Passas) always worked with us on every aspect of the game such as staying in the pocket and throwing, throwing on the run, making the right decisions on the run," Gesser said.
While Chang might be described as the sudden-death quarterback who can break a game with one guided missile, Gesser and Arceneaux have relied more on creativity.
"I don't know how to explain it," Gesser said. "Whether it's my speed, my upper body. It's just going out there and trying to make plays when things break down."
Gesser came out on top in a face-to-face meeting with Arceneaux on Sept. 16 in Salt Lake City. The Cougars won, 38-21, as Gesser threw four touchdowns to Arceneaux's two.
Arceneaux still spooks his coaches with daredevil sprints. But he said he has worked more on his deep ball as he approaches the 2001 NFL draft. That's made him less predictable.
Against San Diego State, he threw for touchdowns of 74 and 69 yards. But the next week against Utah State, he ran in scores of 17 and 2 yards.
But Arceneaux said he doesn't necessarily expect to play quarterback in the NFL. "I'm athletic enough to play anywhere, it doesn't matter," he said.
He said Utah head coach Ron McBride will play him at receiver in one game this season. It won't be the first time he's done that but he has only one reception as a Ute.
"I have good hands," said Arceneaux. "Every quarterback has good hands."
Star-Bulletin writer Paul Arnett
contributed to this story.
Darnell Arceneaux
Height/weight: 6-1, 188
Age: 22
School: University of Utah
Class: Senior
Statistics: Seven games, 53-86-8, six touchdowns, 1,260 yards
Alma mater: St. Louis, class of 1996.
Jason Gesser
Height/weight: 6-1, 200
Age: 21
School: Washington State
Class: Sophomore
Statistics: Seven games, 207-115-7, 16 touchdowns, 128 yards
Alma mater: St. Louis, class of 1998.
Timmy Chang
Height/weight: 6-2, 190
Age: 19
School: University of Hawaii
Class: Freshman
Statistics: Five games, 204-106-10, seven touchdowns, 1,250 yards
Alma mater: St. Louis, class of 2000
