Future arrives early for Alabama QB

By

Posted 7:15AM on Thursday, October 3, 2002

TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA - Brodie Croyle pumped his fist, Tiger Woods style. Then, he all but skipped off the field. No. 22 Alabama's redshirt freshman quarterback, pressed into action by Tyler Watts' injury, was celebrating a long touchdown pass at Arkansas to punctuate an impressive starting debut. ``It was so much fun seeing him be a little boy after that last touchdown and hopping off the field because he was so jacked,'' said his father John Croyle, a former Crimson Tide player. ``That's what he's done since he was little. He was just playing ball and having fun.'' Croyle has reason to celebrate. Alabama's quarterback of the future has been the quarterback of the present since Watts went down with a sprained left foot two weeks ago against Southern Miss. Nobody's saying if Croyle will start again for No. 22 Alabama (4-1, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) Saturday when No. 7 Georgia (4-0, 1-0) visits. Coach Dennis Franchione's policy is not to discuss injuries, or allow his players to. ``Tyler's progressing every day,'' Croyle said. ``I'm just going to approach it like, 'It's my game to play, but if he starts, he starts. If he doesn't, he doesn't.''' The strong-armed former SuperPrep All-American passed for 285 yards and two touchdowns in a 30-12 win over the Razorbacks. In 19 career starts, Watts has never thrown for more than 231 yards, though he's rushed for nearly 1,000 yards and is the league's fourth-rated passer. Croyle had gone just 4-of-15 for 15 yards with two interceptions against Southern Miss. He fared much better when the gameplan was fashioned with him in mind, going 12-of-24 with a 75-yarder to Shaud Williams and the late 50-yard TD pass to Zach Fletcher. ``It was like, 'I've got to redeem myself,''' Croyle said. ``We won against Southern Miss, but it wasn't how I wanted to play. It wasn't what I wanted my first extensive playing time to be. ``I wanted to go out and prove that I could still play.'' Franchione called the Southern Miss game an ``awakening'' for his young quarterback. Croyle had played briefly against Oklahoma and North Texas, but was 7-of-22 with three interceptions going into last weekend. ``We certainly felt like Brodie could do all these things,'' Franchione said. ``When you start a redshirt freshman at quarterback, it's a continual building process, but we've been able to put him in lot of situations since he's been here to aid his growth.'' Guard Justin Smiley was impressed with Croyle's performance and his demeanor. ``He's always had the talent,'' Smiley said. ``You can see it in practice, you see flashes. He came in and he was awesome. ``He made some things happen. He didn't take sacks and he got hit a couple of times. You want to see your quarterback trying to make something happen and taking hits and getting back up and fighting for you. ``That's his attitude and his approach to everything he does.'' Croyle, after all, was groomed to be Alabama's quarterback and even wears Joe Namath's No. 12. He started from the seventh grade on at tiny Westbrook Christian School, becoming the state's all-time leading passer with 9,323 yards and 105 touchdowns despite suffering a season-ending knee injury in the opener his senior year. Croyle was the first recruit to commit to Alabama after Franchione took over. His father played for Bear Bryant. His sister was Alabama's homecoming queen two years ago. Croyle was recruited by Georgia coach Mark Richt when Richt was offensive coordinator at Florida State. ``All through recruiting, he was one of my favorite coaches,'' Croyle said. But, he said, ``This is where I always wanted to go.''