By Mark Eckel | Engagement Insider
It began as a way of helping college players get ready for the NFL and has since evolved into helping high school players get ready for college.
In both cases, Scott Brunner, who quarterbacked in the NFL in the ‘80s primarily with the New York Giants, but with stops in Denver, Green Bay and St. Louis as well, is helping young athletes live the same dream he did.
“That’s what it’s about guys trying to live their dream,’’ Brunner said of the Martinsville, New Jersey-based TEST Football Academy where he has trained quarterbacks for the past 10 years.
Brunner’s star pupil is Joe Flacco, who like Brunner came out of the University of Delaware and then trained at TEST before being drafted in the first round by the Baltimore Ravens, who he eventually led to the Super Bowl XLVII title.
This year he has a few more college quarterbacks in his “school’’, the most notable LSU’s Zach Mettenberger, who is coming off a torn ACL suffered last November, but is expected to be selected in the upcoming NFL Draft.
“We just try to get them ready for the next level,’’ Brunner said. “We have key pillars; actually we call them the three pillars to playing quarterback – athleticism, fundamentals, and football IQ. That’s what we’re teaching.’’
After his playing career ended in 1986, Brunner stayed with the game in a variety of ways, while also starting his own financial business Net Worth Management Group in Morristown, N.J.
Working with young quarterbacks, and taking them through the pillars to the success, has not only kept Brunner in the game, but is something he has come to enjoy.
“Oh, I really enjoy it,’’ he said. “It’s a great feeling to see someone you’ve worked with, and then it pay off for them. I’ve been involved in the game in some way from the time I stopped playing, whether it was broadcasting, coaching and now mentoring.’’
As the TEST Academy grew, the players got younger. Instead of just getting college players ready for the Scouting Combines, the Draft and eventually the NFL; Brunner started getting high school players ready for the rigors of college football.
“We probably get about 15 high school kids every year, now,’’ Brunner said of the program that runs from January through July. “It’s the same philosophy, just on a different level. We’re still teaching the quarterback position.’’
And the three pillars.
“Start with athleticism,’’ Brunner begins. “When a kid first starts playing in say the 6th grade, who’s the quarterback? The most athletic kid, right? As you move up the ranks, that changes, at some point the quarterback isn’t the most athletic kid anymore. Now, you have to differentiate. We don’t define athleticism the way everyone thinks. Mike Vick has different athletic skills than Aaron Rodgers. We have different drills we use and the purpose is how to use your athletic skills to the best of your ability. Athleticism isn’t just about who runs the fastest or jumps the highest.
“When it comes to fundamentals we ask them, what’s the easiest way to lose your job as a quarterback? And it’s ball handling. You commit turnovers, whether it’s fumbles or interceptions, you’re going to lose your job. Another thing we concentrate on is footwork. An example is if you put all 32 NFL starting quarterbacks in a black jersey and a black helmet and watched them throw, you could probably tell the difference and recognize who they were. But if you just watched them from the waist down, it would be a lot harder, because they all have good footwork. That footwork is the constant.
“Football IQ comes down to decision making. We try to educate them to be self-correcting. How do I execute a game plan? Am I’m making the right decisions?’’
Brunner’s decision to help future quarterbacks succeed whether it’s getting a high school player a college scholarship, or the college player a spot on a NFL roster, is one he’s glad he made. And one the players are glad he did as well.