Monday, September 22, 1997 Heir Apparent? FUTURE: Freshman
Edmund Stansbury thinks he can fill Cade McNown’s shoes – but to
most coaches, he’s the perfect linebacker
By Mark Dittmer
Daily Bruin Staff
Edmund Stansbury is the third-string quarterback for UCLA this
year and is most likely to eventually succeed junior starter Cade
McNown. But of the three freshmen who hope to be McNown’s heir at
quarterback, Stansbury definitely has the upper hand when it comes
to who might eventually gain a starting spot at linebacker.
In Stansbury’s middle-school days, he did not throw passes but
rather intercepted them as a linebacker. He hasn’t played
linebacker since, but a lot of coaches across the land still see
Stansbury that way.
Stansbury got the varsity starting job at quarterback in his
sophomore year, and in three years as a starter he was named
all-district three times. Recruiting agencies began tabbing him as
one of the top seven or eight quarterbacks in the nation.
"We more or less call it the Stansbury Era at Irvin High
School," Irvin High head coach Tony Shaw said.
Colleges took notice, and the mailman started bringing mail to
the Stansbury household in shoeboxes.
But about half of the colleges interested in Stansbury were
looking for a linebacker.
* * *
Those who would have him play linebacker cite Stansbury’s size
(he’s listed at 6-2, 225). When it was first suggested that he play
quarterback at the high school, some coaches balked.
"When the coach first looked at him, (the coach) said
(Stansbury) was too big for a quarterback," Stansbury’s father,
also named Edmund, said.
The younger Stansbury didn’t care at the time; he said he’d play
whatever the coaches told him to play.
"It wasn’t even really my choice," Stansbury, the younger, said.
"Coach started telling me to throw the ball. That’s how it all got
started. It’s not like I wanted to change (positions)."
In fact, the foray into passing started rather innocently.
"One Saturday afternoon he and his younger brother Don told me
they wanted to enter in the punt, pass and kick competition and
they both entered in their age group," the elder Stansbury
recalls.
The competition took place at halftime of an NFL game, and as
the results were announced on television, Stansbury’s middle school
coach was impressed. So impressed that he paid a visit to Irvin
High School, to recommend that Stansbury get a shot at
quarterback.
In the middle of his freshman season, Stansbury caught another
break. Grades came out late in the football season, and the Irvin
High School quarterbacks had some bad grades. Failing a class at
Irvin makes athletes ineligible to play sports.
When Irvin assessed its damages, both varsity quarterback J.J.
McCloud and junior varsity quarterback Alex Duran had failed
classes and were ineligible. Stansbury, meanwhile, got all As that
semester. The Irvin varsity football team headed to its first
playoff game with a 14-year-old freshman at quarterback.
"It was nerve-racking," Stansbury says. "To this day I still
remember that game like it was yesterday. I remember coach telling
me I was going to start. I remember hearing my teeth chatter. I was
nervous all the way up until I got my first hit. (By then) it was
just too late to worry about the situation."
Stansbury was impressive, albeit in a loss. He passed for over
200 yards and two touchdowns.
"Everything just started falling into place. After I first got
hit, then I just couldn’t feel nervous anymore.
"I was very happy with the game. That’s when all the hype about
me started. Ever since then it’s just escalated from there."
Four years, 5,595 passing yards, 49 touchdowns and countless
awards later, many colleges still wanted to add Stansbury as a
linebacker. He was not interested.
"I wanted to come in and play quarterback in college," Stansbury
says. "I didn’t even look hard at the schools that wanted me at
different positions. I want to be a quarterback."
UCLA head coach Bob Toledo knows that his new quarterback came
to UCLA in large part because he was recruited to pass the
ball.
"I know a lot of people – Texas, Notre Dame, those kind of
people – recruited him to be a linebacker and that’s one of the
reasons he didn’t go there," Toledo says.
Now Toledo still could elect to move Stansbury to linebacker,
but Stansbury wants a chance to play quarterback, and Toledo knows
his new recruit would not be happy to make the switch.
"If they do try to change me (into a linebacker), I can’t do
anything about it," Stansbury says. "As long as they give me that
opportunity to show what I can do (at quarterback) … I have no
problem with it."
"He probably could play some other positions but we recruited
him to be a quarterback and so at this point we’re going to give
him a chance to be a quarterback," Toledo says. "And the great
thing about him is that if he can’t play that position – (then) yes
he could play something else."
Shaw speculates that Stansbury will handle passing duties in
college with the greatest of ease.
"There’s no doubt in my mind that some day we’re going to be
watching him on Sunday," Shaw says. "Of course with his size and
speed there’s a lot of positions he can play. But if you look at
all the quarterbacks in the pros, they’re all that size."
Shaw goes as far as to say that Stansbury "epitomizes everything
good in the youth of today."
It will take Stansbury a bit longer to convince his college
coaches of his many virtues. For now, Toledo is giving him his
chance to play quarterback, and that is all he asks.
"Hopefully he won’t have to play this year," Toledo says. "We
want to redshirt him. He’ll get an opportunity in spring practice
to prove more of what he can do. Unless something happens to Cade
or to Drew Bennett he won’t play a football game."
That’s probably what Tony Shaw was thinking in 1993, when his
14-year-old freshman quarterback was the only one not to flunk a
class.
AARON TOUT/Daily Bruin
Freshman Edmund Stansbury will probably redshirt as quarterback
for the Bruins despite being aggressively recruited by other
schools as a linebacker.