By Glypie Grider
He can talk about football for hours on end, but if you ask him what he does in his spare time, Brian Brohm has to pause and think. After all, football is his life. The 6-foot-4, 224-pound sophomore grew up with a football in hand, and it’s hard to escape the game when Louisville fans expect him to lead the Cardinals to a BCS game this fall as the starting quarterback.
Improving on an 11-1 record and first-place finish in the Conference USA won’t be easy as the U of L football team enters the Big East Conference, but Brohm says he’s up to the challenge.
“This is my team now. I don’t have to sit back — I have to take the reins and take control of this team,” he said the first day of fall practice.
Big expectations
A former Mr. Football of Kentucky and last year’s C-USA Freshman of the Year, Brohm knows what it’s like to be in the limelight. Though he played back-up to Stefan LeFors, Brohm got his fair share of playing time as a freshman. Appearing in 11 of the 12 Louisville games last year, Brohm proved he’s capable of competing at the Division I level.
It wasn’t until the Miami game last October that everyone realized just how capable Brohm really was. He replaced an injured LeFors in the fourth quarter and led the team on a drive to retake the lead, completing all four passes on the go-ahead touchdown. Though Louisville lost the game 41-38 (the only game they lost all season), Brohm said that game marked a change in his teammates’ perception of him.
“I was kind of down because we lost the game, but [my teammates] kept coming up and congratulating me and saying encouraging words,” Brohm said.
From then on, football analysts, commentators and coaches started expecting more from the quarterback with the number 12 jersey.
Last season, Brohm threw for 819 yards and six touchdowns, completing 67.3 percent of his throws with just two interceptions.
Now, with LeFors in the NFL, it’s Brohm’s turn to take over one of the top offenses in the country. The Cardinals averaged nearly 50 points a game with two shut-out victories and four games ending in single-digit numbers for the opponent.
“Our goal each year is to be the number one offense in the nation, and it hasn’t changed this year,” Brohm said. “Week in and week out we’re going to be in some dog fights (with Big East competition), but we hope we can go out and win every game one game at a time,” he said.
His teammates’ confidence
Though their eyes gloss over when they’re asked yet another question about what it’s like to play with Brohm, his teammates have nothing but glowing praise for their new quarterback.
Senior Montrell Jones considers Brohm “a special and rare breed” who’ll be in the game a long time.
Senior Jeremy Darveau said playing in front of a quarterback of Brohm’s caliber is something every lineman lives for. “It might sound like I’m joking, but I’m very serious — he’s just that good.”
Senior Jason Spitz, a second team All Conference performer at guard last year, said, “Brian is a natural-born leader. He’s used to the media and the pressure, and he can always perform in any situation.”
The media has been following Brohm since his middle school days, and after eight years in the spotlight, Brohm hasn’t buckled under the pressure. “I think I just thrive on high expectations,” Brohm said.
He appears confident about his personal capabilities, almost as if he were born for the quarterback role. “When the lights are on, I like to show my stuff. Some people like to shy away from the attention, but if you want to be one of the great ones, you’ve got to come ready to play,” he said.
It’s in the genes
Brohm can’t remember the first time he picked up a football. His dad, Oscar, was a Louisville quarterback (class of ’69) and his two older brothers Greg (’92) and Jeff (’93) played for the Cards, so it’s not surprising that the Trinity High School graduate followed in their footsteps and chose to play at U of L.
“Growing up, I was always out at the camps while my brothers were out here playing for [Howard] Schnellenberger,” Brohm said.
But Brohm, who led Trinity to three consecutive state championships, seriously considered other programs such as Tennessee and Notre Dame before signing with the Cardinals.
“I grew up wanting to be here [at Louisville], but I had to block that out and make a business decision. [The other schools] were always considered, but Coach Petrino has an NFL-minded offense, and I liked that,” Brohm said.
He said he was surprised his brother Jeff, the Cardinals’ quarterbacks coach, didn’t push the decision. His other brother, Greg, is the team’s director of Football Operations.
Constant chatter
Brohm admits some people would be sick and tired of football if they’d been around it as long as he has, but the highly touted Cardinal shows no signs of giving up on the sport.
“Sometimes someone might want to go out and be a normal person, but I like to talk about football, so I don’t mind if people come up to me. I’ll always talk with them about it.”
And that’s just what he does.
Brian Brohm breakdown
#12
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 224 pounds
Last season:
• Played in 11 of 12 games
• Threw for 819 yards and six touchdowns
• Named C-USA Freshman of the Year
At Trinity High School:
• Threw for 10,579 yards and 119 touchdowns
• Led the Shamrocks to three consecutive state titles
• Appeared in 44 games
• Named 2003 Kentucky Mr. Football
