Junior College Quarterbacks Dismayed at Lack of Attention

Jeff Barrett is no option quarterback, and right now he is not even a quarterback with many options.

Barrett became one of the state career passing-yardage leaders while at Burroughs High and set 11 school records in two seasons at Santa Monica City College, but most Division I recruiters have taken a pass on him.

His plight is similar to that of three other area junior college quarterbacks--Ventura’s Tim Albrent, Glendale’s Marco Arcipreste and Pierce’s Jamie Grossman.

All four have earned all-conference recognition in the past two seasons, and now, long after many junior college players have chosen schools, all are still unsigned.

Barrett is the most acclaimed of the quartet. The left-handed passer was an honorable mention All-American, the state passing efficiency leader and a first-team Academic All-American.

He passed for 2,648 yards and 26 touchdowns last season.

After watching the 5-foot-11, 183-pound Barrett dice his defense for 376 and 325 yards in two games last season, Moorpark Coach Jim Bittner called him a solid Division I prospect, but apparently Division I coaches do not agree--probably because of his lack of height.

The only school seriously recruiting Barrett is Brown, an Ivy League school that does not offer athletic scholarships.

“I wasn’t really frustrated, I was just asking why,” Barrett said of his lack of attention. “I was just fortunate to hear from a school like Brown.”

His application is being reviewed, and Barrett said he hopes to be accepted before he visits Brown next weekend.

Albrent clings to hope for a late scholarship offer from Washington State; Grossman has become so discouraged he is considering quitting football; and Arcipreste is determined to continue even if he has to walk on.

The four quarterbacks appear to have the talent to contribute at a four-year school and are academically qualified.

Albrent and Barrett already have their associate of arts degrees. Arcipreste and Grossman said they will receive theirs this spring.

Albrent believes schools would rather bring in a high school quarterback and work with him for the duration of his collegiate career than spend time developing a junior college quarterback with only two years of eligibility.

“They don’t want a junior college quarterback unless they’re the best in the state or the nation,” Albrent said.

Albrent (6-2, 205), a fine athlete who played running back for part of his career at Ventura High, led the WSC in punting (41.6 yards a kick) and is being recruited primarily as a punter.

Washington State, which already has junior All-American kicker Jason Hanson, may give Albrent an opportunity to redshirt and work with the scout team as a quarterback.

San Jose State also has talked about the possibility of Albrent walking on and providing depth at quarterback and punter.

Albrent completed 55.7% of his passes for 1,435 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. He sent tapes to several schools but nonetheless went more than a month with no phone calls from coaches.

“I’m just stuck,” Albrent said.

Arcipreste (5-10, 177 pounds) was chosen Northern Division offensive player of the year after completing 56.4% of his passes for 1,149 yards, but his best offer is an opportunity to walk on at Rutgers.

“Whatever happens, I know I’ll keep playing football,” said Arcipreste, like Barrett a Burroughs High product under 6-feet.

Cameron, an NCAA Division II school in Oklahoma, was the only college that ardently recruited Grossman (6-2, 195).

A drop-back passer, Grossman said he has no interest in running Cameron’s option offense.

“I’d really like to play,” Grossman said, but “I’m kind of tired of going to school and being broke and playing football all at the same time.”

Grossman, who went to Cleveland High, passed for more than 3,000 yards in two seasons at Pierce. He was chosen All-Southern Division as a freshman but was less productive as a sophomore.

“I worked hard for two years at Pierce,” Grossman said. “Not to get anything out of it is disappointing.”