Getsy Column

[Captain Kangaroo]

New chapter: Former Pitt QB makes first start for Akron

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

By Ray Fittipaldo, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

AKRON, Ohio -- Luke Getsy celebrated a couple of anniversaries over Labor Day weekend. One good, one he would rather forget.

Two years ago yesterday, Getsy experienced one of the biggest thrills of his football career. As a 19-year old redshirt freshman quarterback, he started the season opener against Can't State because starter Rod Rutherford was suspended and directed the Pitt Panthers for the first quarter of a 43-3 victory.

One year later, he was down and out. Getsy lost the quarterback competition with Tyler Palko and sought a transfer to the University of Akron. Coach Walt Harris and the Pitt athletic department refused to release Getsy from his scholarship, meaning Getsy would be responsible for paying tuition at his new school.

"That was a real difficult time," he said after a practice last week in Akron. "Everything happened so fast. I had like a five-day period to decide where I wanted to go, had to figure out if I had the money to do it. As soon as I got here I was filling out loan forms like crazy. I was fortunate to get a couple of loans. Out-of-state tuition was kind of rough. My parents aren't in the best situation with money. But they made sure everything was taken care of."

If Getsy harbors ill feelings toward Pitt, he's not saying. Going back to his high school years, his relationship with Harris had a history. When he was the quarterback at Steel Valley, Getsy was offered and accepted a scholarship offer. But when Pitt signed the highly rated Palko out of West Allegheny, Harris rescinded the offer.

After a wave of criticism, Harris offered again, and Getsy accepted again.

The refusal to release Getsy from his scholarship means he will have a $7,500 loan to pay off after he finishes school.

"I guess they felt they had to do what they had to do," Getsy said. "We plead our case to a committee, and they sided with them. There was nothing I could do but go forward."

Getsy landed on his feet. Saturday, he will be the starting quarterback for the Zips when they travel to No. 13 Purdue for their season opener.

Though he has only 13 career pass attempts, Getsy has a wealth of experience in Akron coach J.D. Brookhart's system. Brookhart, in his second season with the Zips, spent seven seasons as Pitt's offensive coordinator under Harris, including Getsy's two seasons there.

Getsy had to sit out last season under NCAA transfer rules, but he helped former Zips quarterback Charlie Frye, now the backup with the Cleveland Browns, with the intricacies of Brookhart's system.

Frye took Getsy under his wing, and the two became close friends. Getsy spent most of his free time around Frye and sped up his learning curve within the offense. In turn, Frye became a mentor to Getsy and helped him through his transition year.

"It was an interesting relationship," Brookhart said. "I think Charlie helped him in so many ways with the experience and intangibles that he had at the position. But Luke helped him, too, because Luke had been in the system. He had a knowledge base that Charlie wasn't able to have. It really was a great relationship. It was an ideal situation last year."

Frye was a four-year starter and owns every major Zips passing record. Getsy, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound junior, has big shoes to fill. Akron, 6-5 last season, is rebuilding after competing for the Mid-American East Division title on the final day of last season.

Only five starters return on offense, including just one lineman.

"Following Charlie is going to be hard," Brookhart said. "People have been spoiled around here with Charlie making plays for so many years. What Luke is going to bring is he has a knowledge base in this system.

"It's going to be a process, especially with a young offensive line. Luke has always been a poised individual. In a short amount of time, he'll develop a leadership role on this team. He handles himself well. He understands the system and what we're trying to do. He's going to be a very efficient player."

And now, two years removed from his first college start, Getsy will lineup under center again Saturday. A second beginning. One that Getsy hopes will be the start to a productive career at his new college football home.

"I enjoyed my time at Pitt, still have a lot of great friends there," Getsy said. "It was time to move on. Things happen for a reason. I'm happy in the situation I'm in right now."