Hegarty Selected by London Monarchs

For the past two falls, Pat Hegarty has been spending his Sundays charting plays for the Denver Broncos. Out of uniform, standing beside Coach Dan Reeves and backup quarterback Gary Kubiak, the former Tustin High School and Saddleback College standout said he has learned how to position himself to get maximum television air-time.

But in about a month, Hegarty could be seeing his most extensive playing time since his senior season at Texas El Paso in 1988. The London Monarchs made Hegarty their fourth-round selection in the World League of American Football draft Monday in Orlando, taking him with the 32nd pick overall in the four-round quarterback draft.

Like the other players who spent last season on NFL practice rosters, Hegarty was invited to sign with the NFL-backed league, which begins play March 23.

“This (league) gives guys like me a chance to get some playing time and prove they can play,” Hegarty said. “I just want to show some people I can play.”

Hegarty hasn’t had that opportunity in the NFL. As a free agent in 1989, Hegarty won a spot on Denver’s developmental squad, which allowed him to practice with the team, but did not play. In his first year, the Broncos reached Super Bowl XXIV.

Hegarty was briefly out of a job last season when the NFL disbanded the developmental squads. However, he returned to the Broncos when the NFL re-adopted the developmental squads, re-christening them as practice rosters.

Hegarty views his stint with the Broncos with mixed emotions.

“Mentally, I’ve progressed a lot, but it’s kind of frustrating just sitting around. I wanted the chance to play and didn’t get that much of a chance, but hopefully in this league, I’ll get that chance.”

Hegarty said the Broncos also have invited him to their training camp again this summer, an offer he would accept unless he were to get a better offer from another NFL team.

But first up is training camp with the Monarchs, beginning Feb. 25 in Orlando. Hegarty will be in a four-way competition for what figure to be two spots on the 36-player roster. John Witkowski, who played with the Detroit Lions and Houston Oilers from 1984-87, was the Monarchs’ top pick among quarterbacks and the ninth overall selection. London tabbed Lee Saltz, who played for the Canadian Football League’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1988 and ‘89, in the second round, and former Louisiana State quarterback Mickey Guidry in the third.

“All four have some great qualities,” Monarch Coach Larry Kennan said. “It will be wide open and we’ll give them all a chance. We have no preconceived notions.”

Kennan, the Raiders’ quarterback coach from 1982-87, is impressed with Hegarty.

“He’s really a quality person. He’s got NFL experience, is a little older and more experienced than some of the guys in the draft. He’s got a great reputation as a guy who can move a team and put the ball in the end zone.”

Hegarty helped begin that reputation with Saddleback in 1986, throwing for 17 touchdowns and 2,259 yards in a season the Gauchos finished 5-5 after forfeiting three games for using an ineligible player.

Hegarty went on to UTEP, finishing with 4,593 yards and 30 touchdowns over two seasons. As a senior, he led the Miners to a 10-3 record, which was the most games UTEP had won in a season since the program began in 1914.