Seattle Gets ‘Too Scary’ for Hobert : College football: Former Washington quarterback moves to Phoenix after his car is vandalized and family receives threats.

Billy Joe Hobert, the University of Washington quarterback suspended over improper loans, has moved to Arizona, saying he no longer felt safe in the Seattle area.

Hobert, who played high school football less than an hour’s drive from Seattle, is in Phoenix, working under the scrutiny of his agent.

“We’re getting out of the area because it’s just too scary,” he said Thursday. “With my family being in jeopardy, I think it would be in my best interest to move down here where people don’t know me.”

Hobert lost his college eligibility last fall for receiving $50,000 in personal loans in violation of NCAA rules. That, in addition to the drug-related arrest of another team member and allegations that players were set up with cushy summer jobs, prompted the university to hire special investigators to scrutinize the program.

Hobert’s relatives and friends have received telephone threats. Hobert had one vehicle vandalized, and a 1992 Chevrolet Camaro that he bought with the loan money was stolen, shot full of holes and spray painted with the message, “You can’t afford this, B.J.”

Hobert’s wife, Heather, will join him in Arizona after she gives birth to their child in February.

Hobert is preparing for the April NFL draft with agent Bruce Allen’s company, Paradise Sports.

John Banahan, Paradise Sports general marketing manager, said Hobert has not been the troublemaker depicted at Washington.

“Things got out of hand, and Billy Joe freely admits it,” he said. “But he’s a bright guy who’s decided to turn it all around. . . . We’ve got him on a regimen and he’s really going at it.”