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Y! MyWebud flyers QUARTERBACK
'Old Man Flo' has big shoes to fill; will use weapons around him
Friday, August 22, 2008
DAYTON — Rick Chamberlin doesn't expect new starting quarterback Rob Florian to play like his predecessor, record-setting Kevin Hoyng, but the first-year University of Dayton coach wouldn't mind if Florian emulates another Flyer QB of the past.
The fifth-year senior is undersized (5-foot-9, 164 pounds), but he led Cincinnati Elder High School to remarkable heights (back-to-back state titles). And he wouldn't be the first Elder product short on stature to have success with the Flyers.
Steve Keller starred for UD in the early 1990s and led the team to a Division III national championship game. Chamberlin recruited both players and was told by their high school coach, Tom Grippa, that they share a similar trait.
"He told me, 'Coach, they're winners. They may not pass the eyeball test. They may not pass the physical-fitness test. But they're winners,' " Chamberlin said.
"(Florian) is so football smart. He's not the athlete Kevin Hoyng was — he'll be the first to tell you that — but Rob knows the offense, knows how to read defenses, knows where the ball is supposed to go and is able to put it there. The extra quality about him is he's such a leader. Guys look up to him, and that's so important at the quarterback position."
Florian has just one start in his UD career, but it was a memorable one. In 2006, without ever throwing a collegiate pass, he filled in for the injured Hoyng at Jacksonville and threw for 411 yards, just three short of the school record.
He completed 26-of-42 passes for 261 yards and two TDs as a backup last season.
"Kevin was a great quarterback. I'm not going to try to replace him. There's no way I could. I don't have his tools," Florian said. "I'm not going to just go out there and run around and create my own first down."
Florian, who was named offensive captain this season, has been nicknamed "Old Man Flo" because of the mature way he carries himself. And he may have more of an ability to improvise than he's letting on.
"He does some crazy things and turns them into sweet plays," said Justin Watkins, a sophomore receiver from Northmont. "He doesn't even know how they happen. He's just very savvy."
