Among the family members, media personnel and fans dispersed near the Bruin football team’s field tunnel exit following Saturday’s Spring Showcase, a father reels his son in, wrapping his arm around him.
The teaching begins slowly, first in words, then in hand motions. Jerry Neuheisel listens to the advice from Rick Neuheisel, his father and the Bruins’ last football coach.
Undoubtably the talk is of the redshirt sophomore quarterback’s two misfires on the field. He threw two interceptions between the three touchdown drives he led, of the game’s four total.
Still, Neuheisel’s performance is a positive sign in his development. As it stands, he is battling – and appearing even to lead – the race for the backup quarterback position.
More importantly, the winner of that position may even have a shot at challenging Josh Rosen – the No. 1 quarterback prospect of his class and a UCLA commit – in 2015 as redshirt junior quarterback Brett Hundley’s heir apparent. It may seem unlikely for Neuheisel, but stranger things have happened. Just ask his father, because in this case, fathers do indeed know best.
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The year was 1984, and the Neuheisel name had just etched itself into Bruin lore. That particular season ended with Rick Neuheisel walking off the field amid the falling confetti, a Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl victory in hand.
Though the starting quarterback for the Bruins, Neuheisel claimed fame as an unlikely hero for the Bruins. Prior to that season, he had not had a single rep in practice in his first two years, let alone played a second of game action at quarterback for his first three. Instead, he waited patiently on the sidelines, learning.
Just like his father did for much of his career, Jerry Neuheisel, though having taking some meaningless game snaps under center, has never played a prominent role for the Bruins at quarterback. He’s gone from grayshirt to scout team quarterback to backup quarterback last season. Often, he can, and does, turn to a man who has experienced such a long road.
“(My dad) says it sucks. Quarterback’s one of those position where only one guy gets to play and it’s hard,” Neuheisel said. “You know with one guy getting to play, you sit a lot and you see plays where you’re like, ‘Oh I could make that.’ And that’s just the competitor in you.”
So like his father once did too, Neuheisel spends games under the radar. The young man can often be seen on the sidelines, raising cards and shouting instructions.
When called upon, he takes the snap, being careful the ball is placed perfectly; after all, that is the place-kick holder’s job. Fittingly, his dad too was a place-kick holder for the Bruins.
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In one particular instance Saturday, Rick Neuheisel, now a Pac-12 broadcast announcer, interviews his son, Jerry Neuheisel, postgame. The two talk and banter, their undeniable chemistry bringing chuckles to the spectators.
The strength of their relationship, in part, was what made it so difficult for Jerry Neuheisel when his father was dismissed as the Bruins’ coach in 2011.
“It was really hard. … You get angry all the time and you hate how things change,” Neuheisel said. “It’s hard ’cause it’s your family, and you wish it happened to you, but it happened to him.”
The transition from his dad as coach to coach Jim Mora was hardly an easy one for Neuheisel. But ironically it was Mora himself who understood better than others. After all, he was a coach’s kid too. Mora let Neuheisel stay on as a Bruin, and left him with some heartfelt words.
“(Mora) said he’d always have my back and he’d always give me a chance,” Neuheisel said. “As a quarterback, that’s all you can ask for.”
This spring, Neuheisel has made the most of that opportunity. He’s often been awarded the same number of practice reps as Hundley, and his play as he competes with his much-heralded rival for the backup job, redshirt freshman Asiantii Woulard, has turned heads of many key members of the program.
“I think he’s one of the most improved guys we’ve had this spring,” said offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone. “We’re really happy with how he’s running the offense. … He’s throwing the ball better than (any time) he’s been here.”
Mora has taken notice as well, saying Neuheisel “catches his eye”, while Woulard has “stalled” in his development.
Next season’s starting quarterback is all but chained up in favor of Hundley. So Neuheisel knows he is fighting for the backup job this year, and maybe even a slim shot at the starting spot whenever Hundley chooses to opt for the NFL.
It is a wild dream, perhaps, to imagine a similar outcome of Bruin football fame for Jerry Neuheisel. Yet, he and his father are so much alike, who knows?