083010 RON CHERUBINI ::: One-on-One Interview with Brad Wornick [fb]

One-on-One with the Pirates
Monday, August 30, 2010

By Ron Cherubini

Your browser does not support inline frames or is currently configured not to display inline frames.

Brad Wornick

Sometimes the conditions come together to create the perfect opportunity for the underdog. For Brad Wornick – an aspiring sophomore quarterback – the graduation of sixth-year quarterback Patrick Pinkney and the arrival of Coach Ruffin McNeill and his wide open, pass-first offense has created the perfect setting for an opportunity. Starting in the spring, Wornick mounted an impressive campaign for the starting quarterback position, going from scout team walk-on, bolting past the two scholarship QBs to the top of the depth chart coming out of spring and through the summer. Luck? Hardly. Noted as the best decision-maker in an offense that is predicated on decision-making, Wornick has demonstrated a keen grasp of the offense and a passing ability that validates his prep success at Ardrey-Kell. He is good. He is young. And with those two attributes, Wornick finds himself in the thick of a QB battle that has come down to a game-week decision.

Brad was kind enough to sit down for a chat with Bonesville to share his insights on the upcoming season.

A: We are expecting big things from the offense and last week (at the second scrimmage) we had, what, seven touchdowns? The new coaches came in knowing how good this offense can be and we all sort of went through the spring and we (players) realized how good it can be. And now, we are seeing it and how explosive it can be.

Q: When you hear Lincoln Riley talk about the need for you to work on your leadership and throwing the football (loves his decision-making), what is he referring to?

A: We work on it every day. When we watch film, the bad throws are coming off the back foot, or didn’t step into and we work on shuffling around in the pocket and making all the throws. It is not about not being able to make the throws, but it is about me continuing to work hard on the fundamentals and throwing techniques.

Q: Talk about how difficult/not difficult this offense is to learn and what have been the hardest aspects for you to get it down?

A: I have had the spring and fall and feel pretty good in this offense. To an outsider, it is going to look pretty complicated just because it looks like we are doing a whole bunch of different stuff, but we probably learned the play book in about two weeks once the coaches got here. They have added anything since we got the playbook which tells us that this is it. Coach (Riley) told us that they aren’t adding anything else. Now it is about drilling and drilling everything we run until we are good at it. It really is simple.

A: For us, this offense is exactly about getting the football to our playmakers. We are going to take our shots downfield, but we are also going to hit those five yard pops and get the ball into their hands and let them make a play. As a quarterback here, we know that we are going to be rolling in 8-10 guys at receiver and all of them can make plays. They are all capable of making things happen during and after the catch. Any of those guys can take a pass to the end zone, which is what this offense is about.

Q: Do you think it will take two QBs to get through this season, or can you be the guy this season? If you lose the job, how will you go into the season?

A: One guy is going to emerge as the starter going into the first game, and of course, I want to be that guy. But either way, being the 1 or 2, a quarterback has to go into each game looking at it as if you are the starter because you are only one play away from being in there. When Coach Riley decides, he will stick with that guy and I know whichever one of us is the guy, he will be successful.

Q: From a fan’s perspective, your rise to the top of the depth chart is somewhat from left field. Talk a little bit about your experience in the program?

A: My perspective is that any football player, no matter how you come into the program, is expecting to become a starter. I didn’t really have a lot of opportunities with the past coaching staff, being a walk-on and a scout team quarterback, but when Coach Riley came in, it was me, Rio (Johnson) and Josh (Jordan) at that point and he basically told us, “I haven’t seen any one of you guys throw…” So when we came out of spring, I was No. 1 because I knew the playbook the best. And from that day on, I believe I have really stepped up my play and have shown what I am capable of doing. So every opportunity I get, I try to make the most of it.

A: I respect Dwayne Harris, no question. He has been in the program for a long time and a lot of guys look up to him. I look up to him. You know, he is a great player and just does everything the way it should be done.