I follow college football for a living. I know the polls, the bowls, the names of the last three starting quarterbacks at Boise State.
But off the top of my head I cannot name a single person, living or dead, who ever played defense at BYU.
Merlin Olsen, you say? Wrong Utah school.
I can correctly, and with my eyes closed, recite the chronological lineage of BYU's exalted quarterbacks: Virgil Carter, Gary Sheide, Gifford Nielsen, Marc Wilson, Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Robbie Bosco, Ty Detmer, John Beck.
But do not ask me to name BYU's greatest linebacker or cornerback. It cannot be done. You would have better luck identifying the starting rotation of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
So I made a few calls in an attempt to solve the great mystery of BYU football: Who are those guys on defense? Who shall lead them?
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This is what I was told: Quinn Gooch. G-o-o-c-h. Rhymes with smooch.
"I just love that guy; he is an Energizer Bunny,'' said Santa Rita High School coach Jeff Scurran, who coached Gooch at Sabino in 1998 and 1999. "He's the kind of kid you remember forever. He played safety, slot, tailback, wide receiver, and he was our kicker. He would have been our punter, had we needed another one.''
Quinn Gooch is a 25-year-old senior safety at BYU, the fourth from the Gooch family tree to put on a Cougar uniform, following his father, Gary, a basketball player; and football-playing brothers Scott and David.
A few days ago, the Cougars' hometown newspaper, the Daily Herald of Provo, wrote that Gooch was the team's fall camp MVP. "One big hit per practice,'' they wrote. "Vocal leader.''
This hit-'em-before-they-hit-you mentality does not come as a surprise to David Gooch, one of Quinn's seven siblings.
"When we were kids, growing up outside of Chicago, we would often go sledding as a family,'' David, a former Pima College wide receiver, remembers. "Invariably, Quinn would smack into a tree, head-on. And it was always the tree that got hurt the most.''
Quinn Gooch is the surviving, active Division I-A football player from the February 2000 signing day in which Tucson high schools sent quarterback Reggie Robertson to Cal, Parade All-American tackle Ralph Zarate to Arizona State, defensive back Tony Wingate and tailback Tremaine Cox to Arizona.
And, it turns out, Gooch is the best.
His NCAA eligibility clock has been extended because he spent two years speaking German, recruiting members for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Hamburg to Heidelberg. He also delayed starting his college career until 2003, recovering from a second serious knee injury. His first, at Sabino in 1999, cost him the final six games of his Sabercats career.
"It probably cost us the state title,'' Scurran recollects.
Gooch is married to a former BYU student, Dani, who is working as an accountant to help pay the bills while Quinn completes his education. They have a 10-month-old son, Triston.
If you ask him about the difference between playing in the Pac-10 and the Mountain West Conference, he answers directly.
"A football player is a football player, at BYU or at Arizona,'' he said. "You're expected to compete at a high level here, and we have done that.''
Otherwise, a phone conversation with Gooch is what you expect from a college football player. Short sentences. No hyperbole. No "we're going to tear Arizona apart'' proclamations. At 25, he has learned how to play the game.
He does raise his voice, however, when asked how he juggles being a husband, father, full-time student and leader of BYU's defense.
"I have an extremely supportive and wonderful wife who is able to do what is necessary to take care of me while I finish school,'' he said. "Dani works full-time, delaying her own education, while I play football. She takes Triston to work with her every day. She is amazing.''
A little research reveals that BYU has indeed produced some NFL-caliber defensive players, most notably 1986 Outland Award lineman Jason Buck and linebacker Rob Morris, a first-round draft pick, 2000, of the Indianapolis Colts.
Where does Gooch fit? He was a consensus All-Mountain West Conference preseason selection. Looking for a comparison? Chuck Cecil with better manners.
At BYU, Quinn Gooch is at last in the right place at the right time.
"People seem to gravitate to Quinn; he has always been a leader in whatever he's done, from being an Eagle Scout to going on a mission,'' his father, Gary Gooch, said. "He's in the best shape of his career, and he expects a lot of himself and of BYU this year. He's not going to settle for second-best.''
