THE CANADIAN PRESS
He was at the centre of one of the biggest plays in U.S. college football.
As a quarterback with Boise State, Jared Zabransky’s Statue of Liberty handoff led to the game-winning two-point convert in a wild 2007 Fiesta Bowl against heavily favoured Oklahoma.
Now with starter Ricky Ray ailing, the Edmonton Eskimos are looking at Zabransky to regain that Midas touch and help cement the CFL team’s impressive late-season playoff run.
Zabransky’s brash confidence and big-play ability have earned him a reputation of being a high-risk, high-reward performer who often plays on the edge. But while Zabransky will take his shots during a game, he says they’re not low-percentage chances that will hurt his team if they fail.
"My role has changed now from being a guy that comes in to spark the offence to a guy who is the quarterback," the 26-year-old Zabransky said during an interview Wednesday. "If there’s a chance to be taken I’ll still take it but it’s going to be very calculated.
"You have to know the situation, know there are times to take chances and times to eat the football."
The six-foot-two, 219-pound Zabransky was thrust into the spotlight Saturday when Ray couldn’t go against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Making his first CFL start, Zabransky finished 16-of-23 passing for 188 yards and two TDs to lead Edmonton to a 39-24 victory.
More impressively, under Zabransky the Eskimos didn’t commit a turnover for the first time in 64 games.
"That’s very important and in the pro game that kind of gets ignored because there’s so much talent on the field and a lot of explosive plays," Zabransky said. "That’s something we’ve been concentrating on lately and it just comes down to making good decisions and being smart with the ball."
The win was the fifth in six games for Edmonton (6-10), which moved into a tie with the B.C. Lions for the third and final West Division playoff spot. With Ray still sidelined (strained rib cage muscle) and former CFL MVP Kerry Joseph just joining the Eskimos this week, Zabransky gets a second straight start Saturday when the club hosts the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The Eskimos own the tiebreaker against B.C., meaning they control their own playoff fate and can secure third spot by winning their final two games.
"We’re in the driver’s seat but we still have to go out and perform," he said. "There is some implied pressure because of the situation we’re in but my guys need me to play well and that’s what I’m working for.
"You have to be ready as a backup to play at any time. Fortunately I get to go out and get the reps (as the starter) and see stuff during the week so I’ll be ready."
Zabransky isn’t the least bit surprised with his solid CFL debut, saying he always expects to play well.
"For me it’s about putting in the hard work," he said. "I’ve been fortunate and blessed to have some success to go with it and that raises confidence.
"I’ve always performed pretty well and feel like if you exude confidence your team can gravitate towards that and it can only help you."
But some interpret Zabransky’s confidence as arrogance.
"I’ve kind of been towing that line my entire life and dealt with that from a lot of people," Zabransky said. "Everyone is entitled to their opinion but what’s really important are my beliefs and the belief of my teammates in me."
Zabransky began his career at Boise State backing up Ryan Dinwiddie, who is currently the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ backup. He became a starter as a sophomore in 2004, guiding the team to an 11-1 record. As a senior in 2006, Zabransky led Boise State to a perfect 12-0 record before capping the season with the thrilling 43-42 Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma.
But it was Florida (11-1) and Ohio State (12-0) that met in the BCS title game, with the Gators prevailing 41-14 to win the NCAA crown.
This year the Broncos are again at the centre of the BCS title game debate as they’re currently unbeaten and ranked No. 2 overall. But even if Boise State ends the regular season with a perfect record, the question will remain whether it deserves to play in the BCS title game ahead of a team that has a loss in one of the more powerhouse conferences.
Many football pundits play down Boise State’s accomplishments because it plays in the Western Athletic Conference and doesn’t have an imposing schedule. The WAC doesn’t have an automatic bid to the BCS and its competition isn’t regarded to be as difficult as the Big 10, SEC, Pac-10 or Big 12.
Zabransky says it’s frustrating to post an undefeated record, only to be trumped by a rival from another division with a lesser mark.
"It more so is if you get jumped by a one-loss team from another conference," he said. "That’s kind of a hard pill to swallow.
"But if there undefeated teams that are worthy of playing in the national championship game and they went through a conference like the SEC, Big-12 or Pac-10, then it is what it is."
Ultimately, Zabransky says all Boise State wants is the opportunity to face U.S. college football’s best.
"You want the chance to go out and prove you’re a good football team," he said. "You want to play the best football teams possible."
Zabransky left Boise State having completed 612-of-983 passes (60.2 per cent) for 8,256 yards and 58 TDs in 48 games (39 as a starter). Following the electrifying victory over Oklahoma, EA Sports put Zabransky on the cover of its NCAA Football ’08 video game.
"The best two weeks of my life because we had just beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl and I was in Hawaii for the Hula Bowl," he said. "It meant a lot because it said I had a good (college) career and a great finish to it.
"The ’07 Fiesta Bowl was a very significant game in many regards not only for me but also for our school and to have that honour was really, really nice."
However, Zabransky was bypassed in the ’07 NFL draft and signed with Edmonton in April 2009 after being released by the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers. He cracked the Eskimos’ roster as their No. 3 quarterback behind veterans Ray and Jason Maas but remembers having to get used to the longer, wider Canadian field, unlimited backfield motion and playing with a 12th man.
"It (Canadian football) is a pretty fun game when you’re playing well and winning but it can be deceiving." he said. "There are three downs but there are really just two and if you’re stuck in a second-and-long situation that becomes a hard down.
"It’s a lot different than in the U.S. because you figure the defence is going to get you one of those downs and you still have two more to get the first down whereas you have to be much more efficient here. At first I thought the big field was going to be to my advantage and it can be but those wide-side throws are pretty long throws. I have a lot of respect for this game."
