FLOWERS BLOOMED AT CSUN.Byline: Jill Painter Staff Writer BOZEMAN Bozeman, city (1990 pop. 22,660), seat of Gallatin co., SW Mont.; inc. 1883. Named after John M. Bozeman, who led settlers here in 1864, it is the hub of a farming and ranching area; tourism and lumber are also important. The Big Sky ski area is just southwest. , Mont. - Aaron Flowers didn't want to leave Cal State Northridge, but he couldn't afford not to either. Flowers, last year's CSUN CSUN California State University Northridge quarterbacks coach and a former All-American, was happy working with Matadors coaches and quarterbacks. But Montana State made him an offer he couldn't refuse. They gave him more money, a company car and other perks perk 1 v. perked, perk·ing, perks v.intr. 1. To stick up or jut out: dogs' ears that perk. 2. To carry oneself in a lively and jaunty manner. to relocate re·lo·cate v. re·lo·cat·ed, re·lo·cat·ing, re·lo·cates v.tr. To move to or establish in a new place: relocated the business. v.intr. here. CSUN coach Jeff Kearin told Flowers if he turned down Montana State's offer, he'd fire him. Kearin, of course, was kidding. ``It was a very hard decision for Aaron,'' Kearin said. ``It wasn't like, 'Yeah, I'm outta here.' It was hard, tearful and emotional. . . . He had to put aside his loyalties and allegiances and all those games.'' For the first time, Flowers will be on the other sideline sideline See on the sidelines. when CSUN (1-5, 0-4) plays Montana State (0-6, 0-3) at 12:35 p.m. today at Bobcat Stadium The stadium opened in 1973 as Reno H. Sales Stadium and was built at the cost of about $500,000. Reno Sales was a member of the first Bobcat football team in 1897 and was the college's only graduate in 1898. Later in life he was an engineer and philanthropist. . He'll compete against coaches he considers friends and players whom he says he loves. ``It was something I had to do in order to start a family,'' said Flowers, who is engaged to be married. ``(Kearin) backed me every step of the way. In no way was I looking to leave. He said that I'm only 25 and stuff like this doesn't usually happen at that age.'' Flowers, an accomplished quarterback who threw for a school-record 500 yards against Eastern Washington
He attended Cal State Northridge as a business major, where he started 43 straight games. the offense. Brady was a redshirt red·shirt tr.v. red·shirt·ed, red·shirt·ing, red·shirts To keep (a college or school athlete) out of varsity competition for one year in order to extend the athlete's period of eligibility. freshman during Flowers' senior season. He watched as Flowers set career-passing records. Brady has since eclipsed all five of Flowers' career marks, who still holds the single-season record for passing yards (3,540) and passing touchdowns (30). ``I was fortunate because I was in a situation to create a record and help a guy break them,'' Flowers said. ``That's a pretty unique situation.'' But for at least one game this year, Flowers doesn't want Brady to do too much damage. The CSUN offense is completely different than the one Brady engineered last year. The Matadors averaged 450 yards last year. Last week, CSUN had its worst offensive performance (155 yards) in five years. ``I know there's going to be a day he throws for 400 yards and scrambles Scrambles is a game often played in British schools. Someone shouts "Scrambles!" and throws something (like sweets or money) into a crowd. The first person to retrieve the item wins it. for 100 and does what he does,'' Flowers said. ``I just hope it's not against us.'' Undoubtedly, Montana State defensive coaches have hounded Flowers all week about Brady - his tendencies, strengths and weaknesses. Brady realizes Flowers knows him better than any other coach, with the exception of Kearin. ``It'll be interesting to see what kind of hints he tries to give his defense,'' Brady said. ``You can know all my secrets but you still have to try to stop me.'' The Bobcats are struggling, but Flowers said it's been a good learning experience. He appreciates the opportunity to work with different coaches and study different ideas. The perks aren't bad either. The coaching staff receives catered meals five nights a week. The team has the support of the community and school officials, Flowers said. ``Administration-wise, there's a focus put on football,'' Flowers said. ``There's a definite emphasis put on football here. They know what it takes to win and that you can't cut corners on certain things you need to do to win football games. And the atmosphere is different. There'll be little old ladies on Monday morning at the coffee shop talking about how you screwed up This article contains information about a scheduled or expected . It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content could change dramatically as the single release approaches and more information becomes available. the game.'' And he hopes to host the Matadors coaching staff Saturday night to discuss the game and have a few laughs. ``My relationships with those guys transcend football a little bit,'' Flowers said. ``Hopefully they'll come over to my house after the game.'' CSUN at MONTANA ST. Today 12:35 p.m. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Montana State assistant Aaron Flowers (right), an ex-CSUN All-American and quarterbacks coach, taught the Matadors' Marcus Brady well. Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer |
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