FOR GUNN, IT'S JUST SURF AND TURF CANYONS QB GETS LOT OF SNAPS AS THE BACKUP.

Byline: Heather Gripp  Staff Writer

VALENCIA - Neil Gunn thought it would be best if his coach didn't know about the pre-practice activity.

Gunn decided to squeeze in a trip to the beach before one of his workouts with the College of the Canyons football team this week. Gunn loves surfing so much he tries to make the drive from his Burbank home to Manhattan Beach at least a couple times a week, whether it means sacrificing sleep in the morning or having less than his full energy for football practice.

``But don't tell coach,'' Gunn said.

It's hard to imagine the Cougars would hold Gunn's surfing against him, though. There are enough other reasons why he shouldn't be playing - he's small, he comes from a small school, lacks college experience and plays for a team with two of the Western State Conference's best at his position. But what Gunn does on the football field is making it easy for the Cougars to ignore his supposed drawbacks.

Although he's not likely to start until next season, Gunn provides a valuable backup at quarterback for a team that has already lost one standout quarterback to injury. With Canyons often taking comfortable leads, Gunn has seen plenty of second-half action. Among his contributions was the Sept. 28 victory over Harbor in which he ran for a team-high 79 yards on 10 carries and completed 3 of 8 passes for 54 yards.

``For him to play,'' Cougars coach Chuck Lyon said, starting to call Gunn's accomplishments a surprise before he stopped himself in mid- sentence. ``Actually, it kind of doesn't surprise me, to tell you the truth.

``He's really short, so that's why he doesn't seem like he should be out there. He doesn't fit the mold of what a college quarterback is supposed to look like. He's a lot smaller than Kyle (Bauer, Canyon's starting quarterback, who also is often called too small) . He's listed as 5-9, 170 pounds. He's dreaming to think he's 5-9.

``That's OK. He's done a great job for us. All he needs to keep doing is doing what he's capable of for us, not trying to do too much.''

Gunn was the starting quarterback at Village Christian of Sun Valley since his sophomore year of high school. But that was for a school with about 500 students and a team with a .500 record. He admitted he had a lot to learn when he arrived at Canyons last year, which is why he gladly gray- shirted. He spent the year learning from Bauer and Jason Winn, who had transferred back from a Division I school, as well as being tutored by Lyon, who Gunn said deserves a ``huge'' portion of the credit for his improvement.

Gunn started to learn the offensive schemes and adapt to the quicker players, but there was the matter of his height. He knew he was in trouble when he had difficulty seeing over his linemen. The coaches taught him to take a deeper drop and the problem was solved.

``I really don't think it's a problem,'' Gunn said. ``The coaches still joke around about my size, but that's about it.''

Even if he can't see his receivers, Gunn can be dangerous. He is known for his rushing.

``He can run the ball, that's for sure,'' Lyon said. ``Kyle's got a much stronger arm and much more experience, but Kyle's not nearly as good a runner.''

Gunn's penchant for running wasn't by design.

``At Village I was always running from people,'' he said. ``So that's what I got used to. I guess I got pretty good at it. Obviously as a quarterback, you want to be a good passer, that should be your strength, but I'll do whatever I can to help the team. Right now I'm just happy to be on the field. I'm getting on the field, that's huge.

``I wasn't supposed to be able to do this. Coming from a small school, I shouldn't be able to come in and play at a big school like this, the level of play is so much higher. And being a short quarterback, that's another one against you.''

Being a college quarterback is something Gunn's dreamt of even more than catching the perfect wave.

``I've been playing since the first day you can play,'' he said. ``I remember throwing since the day I could stand. I'd always play catch with my dad. He's a huge football fan and I've always loved it, too. ...To play college football has always been my dream. Now that I am, like the first game they put me in, I was like, wow, I'm playing college football.''

GUNN FILE

Name: Neil Gunn

Team: COC football

Position: Quarterback

Year: Freshman

Quote: ``I want to have my chance, but (fellow quarterbacks Kyle Bauer and Jason Winn) are some of my best friends. We get along real well. That's why it's not as hard to not be in there. Kyle's always talking to me and giving me tips on what he sees from the field. ... I know I'll get my turn.''

- Gunn

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

College of the Canyons quarterback Neil Gunn has gotten some playing time as the Cougars' backup.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer

Box:

GUNN FILE (see text)