Spring Break
The Next Big Thing
In the game of college football quarterbacking, some diamonds are deeper in the rough
Nick Hubel
Issue date: 10/31/08 Section: Sports
"Newton didn't have any offers. Moses Moreno didn't have any offers, other than to come here," Fairchild said of the CSU greats of the '90s. "It's just a lengthy process to get it done. We just haven't been here coaching the way that we coach for very long. I'm confident we'll have good quarterback play here -- it's just going to take time."
Success begets success
When then-offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild came to CSU in 1993, he was greeted by a junior quarterback named Anthoney Hill. Hill struggled with his accuracy at times but was mobile and intelligent. Hill also had a relatively successful season under his belt from the year before. In one year's time, Fairchild helped mold Hill into one of the best quarterbacks in the school's history.
In 1994, Hill threw for 2,552 yards (10th on the school's all-time list) and had a quarterback rating of 137.0 while leading the team to a 10-2 record and a Holiday Bowl berth.
"It's just something that you've got a great quarterback coach in Steve Fairchild, and he prepared us all to do the thing the right way. You felt like when you stepped on the field after working with him all week that there was nothing that was going to surprise you. The game was easy, compared to practice," Hill said. "It's all about preparation. He made you get every throw in every situation and you just felt comfortable.
"That's kind of how we built the thing and how we are able to get good quarterbacks in here."
Hill's success brought more talent to the team and began the single best run of quarterbacks in the school's history. 1997 Western Athletic Conference offensive player of the year Moses Moreno, 1999 Mountain West Conference offensive player of the year Kevin McDougal, 2000 MWC offensive player of the year Matt Newton and the 2002 and 2003 MWC offensive player of the year Bradlee Van Pelt made the late '90s and the early part of the new century in Fort Collins a circus of offensive output.
Success begets success
When then-offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild came to CSU in 1993, he was greeted by a junior quarterback named Anthoney Hill. Hill struggled with his accuracy at times but was mobile and intelligent. Hill also had a relatively successful season under his belt from the year before. In one year's time, Fairchild helped mold Hill into one of the best quarterbacks in the school's history.
In 1994, Hill threw for 2,552 yards (10th on the school's all-time list) and had a quarterback rating of 137.0 while leading the team to a 10-2 record and a Holiday Bowl berth.
"It's just something that you've got a great quarterback coach in Steve Fairchild, and he prepared us all to do the thing the right way. You felt like when you stepped on the field after working with him all week that there was nothing that was going to surprise you. The game was easy, compared to practice," Hill said. "It's all about preparation. He made you get every throw in every situation and you just felt comfortable.
"That's kind of how we built the thing and how we are able to get good quarterbacks in here."
Hill's success brought more talent to the team and began the single best run of quarterbacks in the school's history. 1997 Western Athletic Conference offensive player of the year Moses Moreno, 1999 Mountain West Conference offensive player of the year Kevin McDougal, 2000 MWC offensive player of the year Matt Newton and the 2002 and 2003 MWC offensive player of the year Bradlee Van Pelt made the late '90s and the early part of the new century in Fort Collins a circus of offensive output.
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