PROVO — Bret Engemann owns a howitzer for an arm, a prototypical NFL quarterback's size, and a name that has long been ingrained in the craniums of BYU football fans. He's already received more national publicity than some Cougar signal-callers have received in their entire careers — and he hasn't even thrown his first collegiate touchdown pass.
Engemann's candidacy to become the Next Great Cougar QB began four years ago after the 6-foot-4 gunslinger signed with BYU out of Timpview High, where he was a prep All-America and Utah player of the year, and passed for 2,400 yards and 23 TDs as a senior.
After a mission and a season as a backup, his opportunity to become the starter has arrived. As the quarterback race heats up at BYU's spring practices this month, take a gander at the people who have endorsed Engemann in 2000. It reads like a Who's Who in Mormondom. Engemann's father, Karl, is Marie Osmond's manager. His uncle, Bob, crooned for the popular 60s musical group, The Lettermen. His sister, Shawn Southwick, is a singer and actress. His brother-in-law, Larry King, who is not a member of the LDS Church and is married to Shawn, is host of CNN's Larry King Live.
Quarterback U., meet Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. What's next? Stretch limousines replacing Winnebagos in the Cougar Stadium parking lot on game days? On top of that, Engemann's LDS mission president was former major league baseball star Dale Murphy. His nephew, Danny Southwick, is the latest prep quarterback star signed by BYU.
King has been unabashedly stumping for Engemann for a while now. King has mentioned him in his USA Today column. He talked him up one night 18 months ago on his TV program when President Gordon B. Hinckley was a guest.
In a local promo for his nightly radio show, which airs on KSL, King anoints Engemann as the Cougars' next starting quarterback. "You're gonna love him," King intones on the radio spots on the BYU flagship station, as if Engemann were the only quarterback at BYU. Um, Larry, have you run that past LaVell Edwards yet? Oh well. What else would you expect from a well-meaning brother-in-law with 50,000 watts at his disposal? Engemann says he hadn't heard about those promos, and it's just as well. He realizes BYU's starting quarterback situation is not going to be decided over the airwaves or by a public relations blitz. This is football, after all, not democracy.
One of Engemann's objectives this is trying to become next season's starter the old-fashioned way — by earning it.
"Nobody wants to ride the coattails of someone else," he said. "I have no problem being known as Larry King's brother-in-law. But I want to stand on my own and be my own man. It's nice to have promotion, but the quarterback battle needs to be won on the field." That battle features Engemann, Charlie Peterson and Brandon Doman. Peterson and Doman are serving notice they aren't going to concede without a fight.
Coaches, meanwhile, know what the program needs and what it is looking for. "We want to find a leader," said quarterbacks coach Robbie Bosco, "and a guy who can move the ball." Engemann, a 22-year-old sophomore-to-be, feels qualified to do both. Of the two, developing into a team leader might be the toughest challenge for him. In spite of his background and his family's celebrity status, Engemann insists he is "one of the guys. I'm not different from anyone else." At the same time, he acknowledges that becoming close friends with his teammates "has been a challenge for me." Living at home with family, rather than with teammates, he says, is the reason for that.
So, he has made a conscious effort to spend time with teammates off the field. On the field, he is trying to make an impression, too. "The only way to earn respect is by playing and showing them you're willing to work hard," Engemann said. "I have worked hard to let my teammates know that I don't think I'm any better than anybody else. I feel I have respect from the players.
Respect begets respect.
"My teammates don't talk about Larry King being my brother-in-law or about how my dad manages Marie Osmond, except in a kidding way. No one's in awe, and they shouldn't be."
At least one Cougar player hasn't warmed up to Engemann yet, by Engemann's own admission. "I've tried to get (receiver) Margin (Hooks) to hang out with me, but he won't," he said with a laugh. "I think he's too cool for me."
A couple of incidences that occurred last season did not help the perceptions of him among some players. During fall camp in August, the upperclassmen traditionally shave the heads of the freshmen. Engemann refused to have his locks shorn, explaining that returned missionaries are exempt from that ritual. That didn't sit well with a couple of veteran players.
Then, in the middle of the season, his mother, Gerri, had a public blowup with then-offensive coordinator Norm Chow outside the football offices following a football practice. An article in a local paper reported the incident, insinuating that Gerri had been hearing talk that true freshman Matt Berry was the favorite to succeed Kevin Feterik at quarterback and confronted Chow about it.
"That story made me sick," Engemann said. "It wasn't true one bit. It was a total miscommunication. My mom came to pick me up from practice. Coach Chow said something that kind of offended her, having to do with the way he coaches. I saw what was happening, came in and said, What's going on?' It wasn't an argument over playing time at all. The reporter didn't hear what was really said. I was pretty fired up about that."
Soon after the article appeared, Engemann engaged in damage control. He says he called Berry and Peterson to tell them the story wasn't true. Sounds like an episode of Provo 84602.
But that's all in the past, Engemann says. A new season is approaching and he wants to put those those things behind him. He just wants to be BYU's starting quarterback.
Will Bret Engemann be the Next Great One? Will he be BYU's First Great Returned Missionary Quarterback? Stay tuned. We may find out next fall.