Right Face, Right Place
10/1/2003 8:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 1, 2003
By Adam Zundell
Maryland Media Relations Staff
Think back about yourself five years ago. You probably aren't exactly where you thought you'd be-life has a funny way of getting in the way of our plans sometimes. For Maryland quarterback Scott McBrien, this isn't exactly what he had planned, but he couldn't be any happier the way it turned out.
"I couldn't imagine in a million years that I'd be here this year," McBrien says. "But it worked out for me. It's been a long, rough road with a lot of bumps. Leaving West Virginia a few years ago, I thought I was done with football. But to be the quarterback in my home state for a nationally-ranked team is a dream come true."
McBrien's journey to Maryland is familiar to Terrapin fans: toiling near the bottom of the WVU depth chart after a new coach came onto the scene, McBrien packed up and headed home. While that decision was hard, the next year would be tougher than picking up a blind-side blitz.
McBrien came to Maryland with no assurances. There was no scholarship, only an opportunity. While some would stuff their hands in their pockets and stomp off, McBrien accepted that challenge. He knew that he would get a chance to prove he was the best man for the job, which is all any competitive person really wants.
Even before he could get a chance at quarterbacking the Terps, he had to do battle on the scout squad. McBrien admits that was a tough time for him, but the carrot that kept dangling in front of him was the chance to play the next year.
"It was the first time in my life that I wasn't in any game situations, but knowing that I would have the chance to be the starting quarterback at Maryland for the next two years served as motivation for me," he says. "That year was a blessing in disguise because I was able to learn this offense and learn to manage the football team."
Learning Ralph Friedgen's massive playbook would take anyone at least a year, and sitting football's version of The Iliad was like putting a quantum physics book in front of an elementary student. McBrien, slightly overwhelmed, used that year on the scout team and he has improved his knowledge of the offense and his decision-making ever since.
"Reacting and knowing where to go with the football before the ball is ever snapped is the biggest thing," McBrien says of his improvement. "Once you know how to do that, you can be on time with your throws and really pick defenses apart. Early on, I was dropping back and trying to react to what the defense was doing. Now I read the defense before all of that happens, and I can concentrate on where the ball needs to be and make things happen."
McBrien seemingly mounted the summit last December with a triumphant performance in the Peach Bowl in which he was named MVP. That was another accomplishment that McBrien had never envisioned for himself.
"Starting off how I did last year, I never imagine that was even a possibility," McBrien admits. "It was a relaxing feeling, and I finally felt like I got that monkey off my back. I could sit back and look at that MVP trophy and know that all of that hard work had paid off."
It was a perfect ending, but it wasn't the end. With all of that success under his belt, McBrien no longer had to prove himself as worthy of the keys to the offensive Porsche. However, his plight was now similar to the one the Maryland football program has faced in that getting to the top is tough, but staying there is tougher.
Expectations and the microscope of his play are heightened. But none of that matters to McBrien.
"I just try and work and get better each day," he says. "It's not about being better than the next guy; it's about improving myself, my reads, my accuracy. My main focus is leading this offense and executing day in and day out."
No, Scott McBrien isn't exactly where he thought he'd be five years ago. But as a key cog to a team with big aspirations, Terp fans know that he is exactly where he should be.
