After he completed his senior season at Saint Louis High in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2005, Weber State quarterback Cameron Higgins thought he was done with football.
He had no scholarship offers. Schools had hardly even talked to him during a high school career in which he earned honorable mention all-state honors leading the Crusaders' offense. He wasn't thrilled to think that his football career was over, but he had accepted his fate.
"I wasn't even planning on going to college," Higgins said. "I didn't want to make my parents pay for college. I was thinking about just working, paying my own way, maybe walking on at UH (Hawaii). Football wasn't even in the picture."
Higgins' plans changed when Weber State, a school he had never heard of, contacted him about a month before national signing day in 2006. Without any other playing options open to him, Higgins figured he would give it a shot.
It couldn't have worked out better for either party. Higgins, as a sophomore, is the team's star player and the face of a program on the rise. The Wildcats have their best quarterback since Jamie Martin played at the school and believe they can truly contend for a Big Sky championship with Higgins managing the offense.
"It was good to get off the island and experience new things — like snow and things like that," Higgins said of his experience at Weber State. "It's fun."
Higgins has been efficient and steady in his sophomore season. He leads the Big Sky and is fifth in the Football Championship Subdivision in passing efficiency with a rating of 171.7. In five games, he's thrown for 1,535 yards and 15 touchdowns with just three interceptions.
"Everyone has a path of their own," Higgins said. "Things happen for a reason. I guess I'm supposed to be here."
It might not have seemed that way for Higgins when he first arrived at Weber State. Higgins was redshirted in 2006 at a time when coach Ron McBride said he was still pretty immature. Higgins said he was still in high school mode, skipping class and growing his hair out, and the way he carried himself showed that he might not be ready to be a college quarterback.
Fate once again intervened in Higgins' Weber State experience, although at first it seemed to be another setback in his playing career.
When former Alabama quarterback Jimmy Barnes transferred to Weber State prior to the 2007 season, it looked like Higgins would be stuck on the bench for a while. Barnes had a cannon for an arm and looked great in practice. But his shortcomings in games forced the Wildcats to look for a new starting quarterback.
Barnes' transfer was heralded as a big get for the Wildcats. But Weber State gave up on him after three games and Higgins was named the starter prior to the team's game against Montana last season.
"Thank God Jimmy Barnes was a bust, because if Barnes would have been an OK guy he'd still be playing and this guy (Higgins) would still be sitting," McBride said. "It's funny how things work out."
Weber State's players were confident things would work out just fine when Higgins took over the offense. Higgins ended up throwing for 1,959 yards and 17 touchdowns and was named the Big Sky's Newcomer of the Year in 2007.
"I was always thinking, 'Let's just give Cam a try,"' said Weber State receiver Cody Nakamura. "I knew what he could do, everybody knew what he could do pretty much. When he went in, I think everybody was real confident in the decision."
Higgins quickly took over as the leader of the team's offense, even with a future NFL player in the huddle in offensive lineman David Hale. Higgins put his immature days behind him, studied hard, practiced hard and made plays on Saturdays.
Higgins' first game as a starter was at Montana last season. He'll face those same Grizzlies on Saturday, as a much more seasoned player than the one they saw last season.
"Higgins has evolved into a really fine quarterback," said Montana coach Bobby Hauck. "He's gotten better because he's got the chance to play, and he's thrown for a lot of yards."
Higgins is a fine athlete who can make plays with his legs. But he prefers to sit in the pocket and break defenses down with his arm and mind.
"He knows coverage and he knows what to do with the football," McBride said. "He has complete confidence in where he's putting the ball. He doesn't screw around. You can blitz him, and do whatever you want, but he's going to get the ball out before you can get to him."
Higgins said that's due to the time he spends watching film.
"I don't like to use my feet or run a lot," Higgins said. "I like to watch film to see certain tendencies. My anticipation with what the defense is going to do is my strongest trait. I love film, man. That's the study guide to the test."
And nowadays, he's acing those tests on a weekly basis.
E-mail: aaragon@desnews.com