A backup’s plans

Mike Sciacca

This summer has been anything but a break from studying for

Richard Schwartz who came home to Huntington Beach a month ago, on

summer break from classes at UC Berkeley.

The former Edison High quarterback, the Sunset League’s Offensive

Back of the Year in 2001, created his own classroom by bringing home

Berkeley tapes and playbooks and soaking up, absorbing -- you name

it, every aspect of the Golden Bears offense, as though he was

learning a second language.

“The biggest difference between playing high school football and

college ball is that you need to know everything about your offense,”

said Schwartz, who said he studied books and film two to four hours a

day all break. “That’s all I’ve done this entire summer.”

Summer school should pay off for Schwartz, who turns 20 on Sunday.

The 6-foot-4, 210 pounder returned to Berkeley last Saturday for

the start of fall practice. He is competing for the backup

quarterback role under new Berkeley coach Jeff Tedford.

Berkeley coaches say Schwartz possesses “good size and speed.”

In the school’s 2002 media guide, offensive coordinator George

Cortez said that Schwartz showed “excellent toughness this spring and

did a nice job absorbing the offense.”

Schwartz said it was imperative that he know the Golden Bears’

offense inside and out, especially since Tedford has installed a pro

offense that, he says, features a lot of “run and gun.”

“I came home to the beach, but everyday I’d be at home studying

our playbook, watching film,” Schwartz said. “I have watched a ton of

film.”

Schwartz, a redshirt freshman, is competing with sophomore Reggie

Robertson for the backup role behind starter Kyle Boller, a senior

who has three years of experience as a starting quarterback.

Robertson was Boller’s understudy last year, completing 28 of 65

passes for 298 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

In terms of playing time, Robertson has the edge on Schwartz, who

didn’t play a down during the 2001 season and was red-shirted. He

did, however, travel with the team for road games at Oregon State and

UCLA.

The Bears open the 2002 season at home in Strawberry Canyon

against Baylor on Aug. 31.

“The starting job is Kyle’s to lose. It’s his team,” Schwartz

said. “I’ll definitely be pulling for him out there, but there’s a

part of me that wants his job.” I’m out there at practice every day,

competing side-by-side with Kyle and Reggie.”

During the 2001 season Schwartz played on the Cal scout team,

which would go up against the Golden Bears’ first team defense in

practice. He learned the offense and took his licks, he said, against

a defense that would have two of its members taken in the recent NFL

draft.

Schwartz arrived at Cal as a decorated player and is from a

lineage of outstanding quarterbacks at Edison, many of whom went on

to play Division I football.

He threw for 4,050 yards as a three-year varsity player at Edison.

During his senior year he threw for 1,960 yards and 19 touchdowns,

completing 115 of 200 pass attempts with just five interceptions. He

earned SuperPrep All-Far West honors and was listed fourth among high

school quarterbacks in the state.

Schwartz isn’t the only former Charger quarterback ready for

action this fall: Jeff Grady has assumed the starting job at Fresno

State.

“Richard and Jeff both have God-given ability, but they have

worked hard to get where they are,” Edison football coach Dave White

said. “They both possess similar qualities and when I was coaching

them, I really felt that both would definitely be Division I

quarterbacks one day.”

The gap between high school and college football -- Division I

football -- is huge, Schwartz says. In addition, new quarterback

recruits will come into the program each fall, each dreaming of a

starting job.

“Freshmen and transfer players will come in below me but at this

level, you can’t worry who comes into the program,” said Schwartz,

who is an undeclared student but is leaning toward a major in

business or economics.

“To really be good at the college level you need to be a football

junkie, to have a passion for the game,” he said.

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at

(714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.