Leading the charge (09/06/05)

RICHMOND — When Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology coach Ted Karras looks at his quarterback depth chart this season he sees Cameron Hummel at No. 1. There is no 1a.

Hummel, a 2003 Jay County graduate, started for the Engineers during his freshman season. However, last year, freshman quarterback Aaron Gerhardstein took about half of his playing time, mostly in passing situations.

The plan was to have a similar split this year, but just prior to the start of 2005 practice Gerhardstein tossed a wrench into the situation. He let the staff and players know he would not be joining them this year.

“I honestly was just shocked to hear he wasn’t coming out,” said Hummel, who remains close friends and is in the same fraternity with Gerhardstein. “I was honestly disappointed because an athlete like him only helps out the team.”

Gerhardstein completed 62.5 percent of his passes last year, making him by far the school’s career leader in that category. The next best RHIT quarterback, 1972 graduate Gary Lee, connected on less than 57 percent of his tries.

“It was a total shock to me, but if they’re going to give me the starting job I’ll take it,” Hummel added. “I love starting. I love playing quarterback. I kind of like having pressure on my shoulders. I’ve just got to answer and show the coach I can play. That’s basically what I’m trying to do right now is prove to him that I can start and I can do the job by myself.”

Hummel had no problem doing that early on Saturday night.

He led scoring drives on four of the Engineers’ first five possessions. He racked up 66 yards on 12 carries before halftime. He was 3-of-6 passing (with a couple of drops by his wide receivers) before a desperation heave on the final play of the first half was intercepted.

And if there was any doubt Hummel could take charge, it was erased late in the third quarter. On fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line, he called the play.

“We had been lining up in ‘full house’ all the time and ran that same play to (running back Charlie Key), and every time I’d come out on the boot and there’d be nobody out there.”

So he told Karras to stay in the same formation, instead of sending a wide receiver or tight end out to block as he usually would on a bootleg play, and “let me give the fake and keep it around the corner. Luckily it was open.”

Wide open. Hummel ran untouched to the left pylon for a touchdown that gave Rose-Hulman a 41-21 lead with 4:20 to play in the third quarter.

However, Earlham refused to go away.

Quaker quarterback Justin Rummell, who finished 28-of-43 for 358 yards, answered by leading his team on three straight scoring drives. He tossed a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes, and Earlham tied the game when Manny Myers scored on a 10-yard run with 6:56 to play.

So Hummel, who quarterbacked Jay County to its only winning season since 1988, returned to the field needing to lead the Engineers on a seventh scoring drive.

Sure his numbers, 8-of-16 for 78 yards, didn’t compare to Rummell’s. But “I thought he had a great command of the game,” said Karras. And he took to the field to command his troops one more time.

Hummel ran for eight of his 74 yards to convert a first down near midfield early in the drive, but the Engineers found themselves staring at a third-and-8 play moments later.

The junior took the snap out of the shotgun, faked to Key up the middle and scanned the field. No one was open.

He rolled to his right, defenders chasing. Still no one.

A pump fake. And finally Jason Dickey, who was the starting quarterback two years ago before Hummel took his job, found a gap in the defense near the sideline.

Hummel hit his senior teammate with a 12-yard pass to the 29-yard line for a first down.

When another third-down play came up, this time third-and-5 from the 10-yard line, it was Hummel’s mind which proved just as important as his body once again.

Offensive coordinater Steve Englehart called down a play from the press box, and Karras asked Hummel what he thought. The junior changed the call.

“I didn’t really feel comfortable with it so I suggested another (play) and it worked,” Hummel said. “I don’t know. You just go with a gut feeling and see if it works.”

With the game on the line — and Earlham scoring at will on the other end of the field — Hummel took the snap from under center, faked up the middle, again, to Key and rolled out to his right. As he trotted toward the sideline, running back Brian Phelps broke wide open and Hummel tossed him the first-down pass.

Phelps ended up at the 1-yard line, and Hummel handed off to Key for the 1-yard winning touchdown on the next play.

Earlham fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Hummel knelt a couple of times to run the final 1:19 off the clock for the 48-41 victory.

“I knew we could get it done,” Hummel said of the last drive. “I knew every time we got the ball that we could get it done and just pound it on them. ... Really, the thing that scared me was the (third downs) because you really can’t take a chance on a running play. ... I’m confident getting the ball, just they were guarding the pass pretty well all day. We ended up converting on a couple of scrambles. It was a lot of fun — a lot of pressure, but a lot of fun.”

With Hummel and Key, who carried for 207 yards and set a school record with five rushing touchdowns, in the backfield, Rose-Hulman is hoping to have a lot of fun this year. That duo, backfield mates for the third straight season, has led the team to its two best seasons since 1995 — 5-5 in 2003 and 4-6 last season.

Now, like in 2003, the Engineers’ quarterback is Hummel, with no challenger in sight.

“Maybe that’s better,” said Karras after Friday night’s win. “You know, I’ve never really been a guy that liked the double-quarterback thing, but (Gerhardstein) passed a little bit better, we thought.

“But, you know what, there’s a lot to be said for football savvy. Cameron Hummel has that, and he led us to a big victory tonight.”[[In-content Ad]]