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GRAMBLING - No matter what happens with the Bayou Classic - no matter if Grambling State makes a fourth straight trip to the SWAC championship game - quarterback Bruce Eugene will begin training again two weeks after the last whistle blows.
Far from shirking this nearly year-round commitment to football, however, the junior quarterback embraces it: "I don't want to wait that long."
Eugene and his coaches understand a larger issue is at stake: Eugene's marketability to the National Football League.
Times have changed in pro football, and nowhere is that more true than at the quarterback position. From 1998-2002, the NFL averaged 58 starting quarterbacks annually. In 1998, an astounding 64 different starters were under center.
During the past five years, the only two teams to have kept a starter are Green Bay and Indianapolis - with Brett Favre and Peyton Manning, respectively. The Baltimore Ravens have had 10 different quarterbacks during that time.
That means rookies - David Carr at Houston, Kyle Boller at Baltimore, Byron Leftwich at Jacksonville - are going from Big Man on Campus to the Big Time with startling quickness.
If they are ready, that is.
Eugene says he will be.
"This summer will be nothing but hard-nosed conditioning," Eugene said. "Right now, it's a definite possibility of my playing in the NFL - and I don't want my weight to be something that keeps me from that."
The paucity of talent under center in pro football has gotten so desperate that journeymen like Danny Kanell - an Arena Football alum who had been out of the NFL for two years - started for Denver at one point this season.
With teams like Carolina and Baltimore relying on a running game to win, young quarterbacks are being given more time to fit in, as well.
That makes rounding a talented player like Eugene into NFL form all the more important - even if he's got another year of eligibility.
"It's far away," GSU offensive coordinator and assistant head coach Melvin Spears said, "but it's shortly coming."
And when it gets here, Spears wants Eugene to be ready.
"To have a guy bring tutored by one of the best quarterbacks around - and the only one to have gone to the promised land (for a Super Bowl championship) - will be very, very valuable," Spears said. "He could go to another solar system this season."
That's saying something for player who has led the Southwestern Athletic Conference in passing and total offense every week of 2003.
In less than two seasons of starting, Eugene has also broken school marks - most set by his coach - for passing yards in a game, in a season and in a career; for attempts in a season and a game; for completions in a season and a game; and touchdowns in a season and a game.
Still, the draft is not a sure thing, GSU head coach Doug Williams reminded: "That's not promised to anybody."
So, the coming year is critical. And Eugene concedes that this process begins with himself: "If I don't do it myself, it will never get done."
The coaches, however, are wrestling with an uncommon problem: Eugene is set to graduate from school in the spring, so he'll be at loose ends during the hazy days of summer.
Spears says the team is working on a personal program for Eugene. "We'll look at his eating habits," Spears said. "We've got to monitor him a little better."
A college player's prospects for the National Football League are usually more of a concern for the athlete than for the coaching staff.
But Eugene's coaches make no excuses for a keen interest in getting the young quarterback in a better position for the draft. "It's big for this school," Williams said, "but it's also big for me as a coach."
To Williams' mind, the obstacles for Eugene - who's a great passer and also good guy - are more about attitude than ability: Williams would like for his quarterback to be a little meaner, a little tougher.
"That's my problem with Bruce. I tell him, he's got to be able to stand up and take a punch," Williams said. "As a quarterback, maybe I took too many punches. But I think you gain respect when you deliver and get up after you get hit. You can't be taking time, getting up slow. You may as well pop up, even if it hurts a little bit."
Eugene dinged his shoulder two weeks ago against Alabama State, but that didn't mean his coach was taking him out.
"I told them, Bruce's shoulder isn't hurt," Williams said, chuckling. "It can't be hurting now. He's got to throw. It can hurt tomorrow; it can't hurt today. It wasn't out of place, it wasn't separated - it ain't hurting."
The idea is to keep opponent's off-balance. "You've got to fool them. You might be in pain," William said, "but that's all right. You've got to do that."
Eugene said Williams pushes him for the reasons both paternal and personal: "He'll get on you, because he's trying to make you better," Eugene said. "You have to realize that he also sees himself playing through us."
Williams points to the success he had with Randy Hymes, a quarterback at Grambling State who now plays receiver for the Ravens.
"What they didn't see was on Monday mornings, he was in this office," Williams said. "Randy calls me now, and he understands. It was because Randy had so much to give. In a couple of years, Bruce will understand why I was on him so much."
Far from shirking this nearly year-round commitment to football, however, the junior quarterback embraces it: "I don't want to wait that long."
Eugene and his coaches understand a larger issue is at stake: Eugene's marketability to the National Football League.
Times have changed in pro football, and nowhere is that more true than at the quarterback position. From 1998-2002, the NFL averaged 58 starting quarterbacks annually. In 1998, an astounding 64 different starters were under center.
During the past five years, the only two teams to have kept a starter are Green Bay and Indianapolis - with Brett Favre and Peyton Manning, respectively. The Baltimore Ravens have had 10 different quarterbacks during that time.
That means rookies - David Carr at Houston, Kyle Boller at Baltimore, Byron Leftwich at Jacksonville - are going from Big Man on Campus to the Big Time with startling quickness.
If they are ready, that is.
Eugene says he will be.
"This summer will be nothing but hard-nosed conditioning," Eugene said. "Right now, it's a definite possibility of my playing in the NFL - and I don't want my weight to be something that keeps me from that."
The paucity of talent under center in pro football has gotten so desperate that journeymen like Danny Kanell - an Arena Football alum who had been out of the NFL for two years - started for Denver at one point this season.
With teams like Carolina and Baltimore relying on a running game to win, young quarterbacks are being given more time to fit in, as well.
That makes rounding a talented player like Eugene into NFL form all the more important - even if he's got another year of eligibility.
"It's far away," GSU offensive coordinator and assistant head coach Melvin Spears said, "but it's shortly coming."
And when it gets here, Spears wants Eugene to be ready.
"To have a guy bring tutored by one of the best quarterbacks around - and the only one to have gone to the promised land (for a Super Bowl championship) - will be very, very valuable," Spears said. "He could go to another solar system this season."
That's saying something for player who has led the Southwestern Athletic Conference in passing and total offense every week of 2003.
In less than two seasons of starting, Eugene has also broken school marks - most set by his coach - for passing yards in a game, in a season and in a career; for attempts in a season and a game; for completions in a season and a game; and touchdowns in a season and a game.
Still, the draft is not a sure thing, GSU head coach Doug Williams reminded: "That's not promised to anybody."
So, the coming year is critical. And Eugene concedes that this process begins with himself: "If I don't do it myself, it will never get done."
The coaches, however, are wrestling with an uncommon problem: Eugene is set to graduate from school in the spring, so he'll be at loose ends during the hazy days of summer.
Spears says the team is working on a personal program for Eugene. "We'll look at his eating habits," Spears said. "We've got to monitor him a little better."
A college player's prospects for the National Football League are usually more of a concern for the athlete than for the coaching staff.
But Eugene's coaches make no excuses for a keen interest in getting the young quarterback in a better position for the draft. "It's big for this school," Williams said, "but it's also big for me as a coach."
To Williams' mind, the obstacles for Eugene - who's a great passer and also good guy - are more about attitude than ability: Williams would like for his quarterback to be a little meaner, a little tougher.
"That's my problem with Bruce. I tell him, he's got to be able to stand up and take a punch," Williams said. "As a quarterback, maybe I took too many punches. But I think you gain respect when you deliver and get up after you get hit. You can't be taking time, getting up slow. You may as well pop up, even if it hurts a little bit."
Eugene dinged his shoulder two weeks ago against Alabama State, but that didn't mean his coach was taking him out.
"I told them, Bruce's shoulder isn't hurt," Williams said, chuckling. "It can't be hurting now. He's got to throw. It can hurt tomorrow; it can't hurt today. It wasn't out of place, it wasn't separated - it ain't hurting."
The idea is to keep opponent's off-balance. "You've got to fool them. You might be in pain," William said, "but that's all right. You've got to do that."
Eugene said Williams pushes him for the reasons both paternal and personal: "He'll get on you, because he's trying to make you better," Eugene said. "You have to realize that he also sees himself playing through us."
Williams points to the success he had with Randy Hymes, a quarterback at Grambling State who now plays receiver for the Ravens.
"What they didn't see was on Monday mornings, he was in this office," Williams said. "Randy calls me now, and he understands. It was because Randy had so much to give. In a couple of years, Bruce will understand why I was on him so much."
