HEALING, WAITING AND WONDERING

A torn muscle below his throwing shoulder didn’t stop Tom Brandstater from wowing scouts at the NFL combine.

By George Takata
VSP Senior Writer-

It was former Fresno State quarterback Tom Brandstater’s dirty little secret; a torn lat muscle suffered while playing long toss two weeks before the NFL combine, where every scout and their grandmother watch your every move. He didn’t dare tell scouts about the injury that could make or break his draft status.

“I didn’t want to make it a big deal,” Brandstater said. “When you’re dealing with a quarterback having a messed up arm, you don’t want to tell anybody about it.”

What to do? Brandstater almost took the easy way out.

“When we first warmed up, you weren’t supposed to have any phones, any contact with anybody,” Brandstater said. But I snuck my phone out there and texted my trainer. I said I can’t do this anymore. There’s no way I’ll be able to throw. I’ll just make myself look bad. He never responded, so I just kind of said screw it. I’ll just go out there and see what I can do.”

What he did was miraculous.

“I think it was one of the best days I’ve had throwing,” he said. “I didn’t really throw a ball in the ground – I think I made every throw just about perfect. My accuracy was at about 99 percent, so that was good. I turned some heads and felt really good about my performance.”

Two things happened, however: the pain intensified with every throw, and Brandstater’s lat muscle tore a little more with every bullet pass. By the time he finished, the muscle was 70 percent torn. “I was in some significant pain,” he said.

Playing through pain may have paid off. Brandstater’s performance was so impressive, his agent, David Dunn, told him he could be selected anywhere from the third to sixth round. “He said I did real good for myself at the combine,” said Brandstater. “I guess there’s a lot of good vibe going on about me.”

Scouts now know about Brandstater’s injury. He couldn’t work out for scouts at Fresno State’s pro day Wednesday, so he will hold private workouts before the draft. No surgery is necessary, just time for the muscle to put itself back together. “It’s torn right in the middle of the muscle,” said Brandstater. “Surgery wouldn’t really do anything. It basically has to grow back together, so once it grows back I’ll start throwing again.”

Brandstater plans to do that April 1, and that’s no joke. “I’ll pick up a ball and see how I feel.”

If he’s drafted, Brandstater will become the sixth Fresno State quarterback to earn that distinction, following in the footsteps of Dean Jones (1978-Oakland), Kevin Sweeney (1987-Dallas), Mark Barsotti (1992-Miami), Trent Dilfer (1994-Tampa Bay), and David Carr (2002-Houston). As for where he wants to play, Tom isn’t being picky.

“I want to go to a team that wants me and thinks I can do well in their program. I’ll be happy wherever I go, and I’ll work hard to become a starting quarterback in the NFL.”

THIS AND THAT: The NFL combine is held in Indianapolis… Brandstater answered 42 of 50 questions on the wonderlich test. You only get 12 minutes to answer all the questions. “I didn’t feel I missed too many,” he said proudly… Earned his Masters Degree in Sports Psychology in December… Threw for 6,857 yards and 47 touchdowns in his Bulldog career… Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassell, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis are some of Dunn’s other clients.

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