Mcnown Finally Gains Renown

As one of the best high school quarterbacks on the West Coast in 1994, Cade McNown had his choice of dozens of colleges around the country to attend.

Eventually, the West Linn, Ore., native narrowed his choices to UCLA and Washington.

The only problem was that Brock Huard had also narrowed his choices to the same two schools, and as McNown says, “Brock was everyone’s No. 1 guy.”

So McNown decided to wait and see which school Huard picked, then go to the other.

“It was really very open and honest between both players and both schools,” McNown said. “I waited for Brock to pick his school and then I went to the other one. It was just that simple.”

And, as it turned out, neither school would have gone wrong with either player.

While Huard has become one of the best quarterbacks in Washington history, McNown is on the verge of breaking almost every passing record at UCLA, records held previously by the likes of Troy Aikman, Tom Ramsey and Tommy Maddox.

Saturday, McNown and Huard stand in each other’s way for the one goal each covets more than any other - the Pacific-10 championship. UCLA and Washington each are 5-1 in the Pac-10 and face off Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at the Rose Bowl.

“I don’t think it’s me against him necessarily, it’s just UCLA versus Washington for what could be the Rose Bowl, and that’s how we are looking at it,” said McNown, who like Huard is left-handed.

While Huard has essentially been the darling of UW fans since his first game, when he came off the bench to rally the Huskies from 21 points down against Arizona State before losing, McNown hasn’t had as smooth a ride.

Unlike Huard, McNown was rushed into action as a true freshman, and while he often sparkled, he also made the typical young quarterback mistakes in 1995 and again in 1996 as a sophomore. He threw a combined 24 interceptions compared with only 19 touchdowns his first two years.

When McNown threw for 657 yards, but for only two touchdowns along with two interceptions, as UCLA started off 0-2 this season, it looked like more of the same.

But since then, McNown has played as well as any other quarterback in the country, throwing for 14 touchdowns and only three interceptions, as UCLA has won seven in a row and moved up to No. 9 in The Associated Press poll.