WSU’s Brown quickly rises to backup quarterback spot

By all rights, Emmett Brown should be zoning in on the graduation ceremony at San Marcos High School near San Diego. Instead, he’s zoning in on the Crimson and Gray scrimmage at Washington State.

Nothing official has been declared, but the Cougars’ walk-on freshman is expected to be the backup quarterback in the team’s spring game at 3 p.m. Saturday at Gesa Field in Pullman.

“There won’t be any decisions made, but I think it kind of controls the reps moving forward,” WSU coach Jake Dickert said Tuesday after the 13th practice of the spring. “The guy who continually stands out at the backup spot is Emmett Brown. Just his maturity, his command.”

It’s been a meteoric rise for Brown, a 5-foot-10 true freshman who decided three years ago he would graduate from San Marcos a semester early and get a head start at whatever college program he’d chosen. He flirted with schools like San Jose State and San Diego for months before placing a huge bet on his talents in December and committing to WSU as a nonscholarship player.

There was little chance he would catch Cameron Ward for the Cougars’ No. 1 role, but, at least temporarily, he has edged ahead of second-year freshmen Xavier Ward and Victor Gabalis for the No. 2 spot.

“The team has been awesome, super-welcoming in bringing me in,” Brown said this past Saturday after solidifying his backup role in the Cougs’ second spring scrimmage. “I’ve felt part of the culture. The transition was super smooth.

“I knew right away, since freshman year, the benefit of getting here early was huge. When I saw the situation here, with Cam coming, it was absolutely awesome. I knew right away I would have a year to learn.”

Cameron Ward ran Eric Morris’ version of the Air Raid for two years in making his own meteoric rise at Incarnate Word, in San Antonio, then followed Morris to WSU when the coach landed the Cougars’ offensive coordinator job in January.

“For someone who’s been in this offense for two years and knows the details, the little things, the checks — to be able to learn that was huge,” Brown said. “And then being able to talk to someone like coach Morris, who has been an absolute great person since I’ve got here, and a great coach, learning from him has been awesome.”

Smart and quietly confident, Brown uses mobility to offset his lack of height, and he impressed Dickert in the scrimmage with a couple of deep comeback throws.

“He just needs to navigate the pocket a little bit better,” Dickert said. “Those are some little things we’re working on in his game. But his command has gotten better.”

Learning a new offense has slowed the progress of other quarterbacks, but Xavier Ward saw a breakthrough during the scrimmage, going 9-of-10 passing for 227 yards and no interceptions.

“X, it was probably his best day, at being a little more efficient,” Dickert said Tuesday. “There are little moments we need to take charge of and learn from. He also did a good job of responding to that today.”

Juice Men of the Day

The Juice Players of the Day awards went to senior receiver Renard Bell, though he continues to avoid contact, and transfer safety Jordan Lee, a senior who reminds Dickert of former Wyoming safety Andrew Wingard, now playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“J-Lee’s game is thumping, it’s box, it’s aggressive,” Dickert said. “Dewey (Wingard), as we called him, was 225 pounds playing strong safety. But J-Lee is smart, he’s tough and he’s physical, and I think that’s what we need at that strong-safety position.”

Grummert may be contacted at daleg@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2290.