ESPN Independents and Others Blog

Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson

	Otto Greule Jr./Getty Images
	Tom Brandstater threw for 2,654 yards and 15 TDs a year ago.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- As Tom Brandstater opens his final season as Fresno State's quarterback against Rutgers this evening, he knows he's come a long way.

From backing up Paul Pinegar in 2005 to a disastrous 2006 to rebounding and rebuilding in 2007, Brandstater has ridden the rollercoaster of being a Division I quarterback, but almost didn't stick around to tell the tale.

He admits that in 2006, while the Bulldogs were going through a 4-8 campaign, he thought about quitting the team and questioned whether he was even good enough to play the game.

"There were times when I wanted just to say, 'This is not worth it,'" Brandstater said. "I was going out there and putting my body on the line and getting killed and I'm getting nothing but criticism for it... There definitely was a time in '06 where I wasn't as confident as I am now in my ability to be a good football player at the Division I level."

The 2006 campaigns was one of the worst seasons in recent Fresno State history, and Brandstater, who was supposed to be the quarterback to lead Fresno State to both the WAC championship and BCS promise land, was falling short in his first try.

Both Pinegar and coach Pat Hill said they tried to prepare Brandstater for the wrath of Fresno State fans while he was a redshirt freshman. Hill recalls grabbing Brandstater during a game and having him listen to the boos that rang out from Fresno State fans every time Pinegar took the field.

"Paul Pinegar, who is the second-winningest quarterback in the history of Fresno State, was literally booed a lot in his senior year even though he was winning games and everyone was cheering for Tom Brandstater, the freshman, to come into the game," Hill recalled. "I used to stand there with Tommy on the sideline and I said, 'Tom, you hear all those cheers for you right now? Someday, you're going to go through those same things Paul goes through, win or lose.'"

Brandstater recalls walking with Pinegar up the tunnel to the locker room during the 2005 season and a fan tried to reach over the fence and grab Pinegar. He told Pinegar that he was the worst quarterback he'd ever seen and told Brandstater that he should be starting.

"I felt horrible," Brandstater said. "I'm a freshman, not knowing what to think, and Paul's an established senior. We got to the ramp and he just said quietly, 'Hey, this is what you've got to look forward to.' I never really understood it until it was the other way around and I was the guy walking up the ramp getting yelled at.

"I think I definitely saw it from both sides and it didn't really sink in until I was the guy who was going through the hard times."

Brandstater led Fresno State to a 28-19 win over Nevada to start the 2006 season, but one week's worth of elation turned to seven straight weeks of misery. The Bulldogs didn't win another game until beating New Mexico State during the ninth week of their season.

"I was a disaster," Brandstater said. "It wasn't that I was playing so bad, but the team, we just couldn't get a break. One thing would lead to another and we started losing games for ourselves instead of winning them and we started playing scared."

Hill was so outraged by his team's play that he had the Bulldog logos removed from their helmets, telling his team that they weren't playing like a Fresno State team so they didn't deserve to have the Fresno State logo. That's when, Brandstater said, the enormity of his role in Fresno State football finally hit home.

He was humbled. He had come in a cocky quarterback and couldn't get the job done. He heaped all the criticism on himself, kept his teammates out of the spotlight and took the bulk of the punishment Fresno State fans were more than happy to dish out.

"He handled it like a man, and he didn't let it get to him. He just kept on truckin'," tight end Bear Pascoe said. "We all respected that, and it makes us play harder for him because he don't want him to have to bear all that pressure. As a team, we try to pick up our game everywhere else and just try to take the pressure off him so he doesn't have to worry about it."

And in 2007, the Bulldogs did pick up the slack for their quarterback by winning nine games, and more importantly, getting its helmet logos back. Brandstater had a career year by throwing for 2,654 yards and 15 touchdowns while completing 62.6 percent of his passes. Those numbers were way up from the 1,490 yards and 54.5 percent he threw in 2006.

With just 12 seniors on this year's team, there's aren't many that played during that 2006 season who will make an appearance today. But Brandstater said the story has been drilled into the heads of every player who wasn't around. Because of that year, Fresno State doesn't talk about rankings or hype. It doesn't look forward to opponents.

Brandstater said the 2006 season not only changed him as a quarterback, but also as a person. He appreciates the game more than he ever did and said he carries that season with him onto the field every day so that he doesn't have a repeat of it.

"When I got to Fresno State, we were used to winning," Brandstater said. "We hadn't had a losing record in I don't know how long. I think for awhile there, people were taking winning for granted, were taking over .500 records for granted. It took that wake-up call for every person associated with our team, from our head coach down to the players, to really appreciate winning and how much it really takes to get a win.

"I'm glad that all the bad things happened because I think I appreciate all the good things more now. I understand that you can come from the lowest of lows and rebuild and rebound and make a good career for yourself."