Myers molds good quarterbacks

SPENCER— The other assistant coaches at North Rowan High School love to cajole Bobby Myers, a former Cavalier and current quarterbacks coach.

“They pick at me and say I go wherever the best quarterback is playing,” Myers laughs.

Actually, it just goes with the territory. During the past decade, Myers, a volunteer coach, has tutored signal callers at North Rowan, North Davidson, West Rowan and Catawba. He has worked with the likes of Carvie Kepley, Mitch Ellis, Timmy Hogue, Bubba Rosenbaum, Graham Hosch, Kevin Brown, Craig Powers and this season, Alfonzo Miller.

That’s a who’s who list of some of the best quarterbacks to play in this area. But the real question is this: Is Myers following the great QBs or are these kids becoming great QBs because of Myers?

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The latter is probably true.

Myers, a 1980 graduate of North, was a coveted quarterback himself in high school. Although averaging just 15 passes per game for Larry Thomason, his arm was golden enough to get looks from major colleges.

His final choices came down to Wake Forest and Georgia Tech, theAtlantic Coast Conference teams who threw the most. He committed with Pepper Rodgers and Tech.

But when Rodgers was fired, Myers went to Appalachian State before finally transferring to Catawba for his final two seasons.

The two years in his hometown weren’t good ones, record-wise. The Indians floundered to a 3-17-1 record and were 0-14 in league play.

But individually, no one in the conference could compare to Myers in 1984, his senior year. He led everyone in passing and total yardage.

And the pros were peeking in.

“I was putting up some pretty good numbers,” he remembers, “and that right there is going to get you some looks. I had some pretty good size.”

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The Cowboys and Patriots came down to take a look but he finally signed in 1985 as a free agent with the Chicago Bears.

Yes, those Chicago Bears, the crazy dudes like Fridge, Payton and McMahon, who went on to win a Super Bowl that season. Myers was cut but will never forget the experience.

I was in awe of those guys, especially how big and fast and strong they were,” he said. “Walter Payton was a classy fellow and Mike Ditka was just like you see on TV. He was a fierce competitor.

“Back then, there wasn’t a combine like today so you proved yourself in practice. They wanted to see how you threw the deep corner route and that was one of my strengths.”

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Naturally, Myers never expected to challenge McMahon and wasn’t really surprised when he was released. He sold cars in Chicago for a while and realized the Canadian League wasn’t for him either.

“I was just happy to be there,” he said. “Being from a small college, it was a strike against you. And in Canada, they wanted fast quarterbacks who could run that wide field.”

Myers has taken that experience and drilled it into players’ heads.

“Itell them that if they don’t succeed the first time, to give it a second shot. I didn’t.”

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But Myers has stayed in football. He loved it. So he began volunteering his time.

On an average day, he leaves his job as an insurance sales manager around 3 p.m. to coach Miller, a converted wide receiver, who apparently is on his way to another county player of the year award.

“Al’s got great instincts and is a natural athlete,” Myers said. “I basically just work with him on recognizing defenses. He’s a great reactor.”

As Myers knows from first-hand experience, quarterbacks have to be leaders and he is as proud of Miller for that as he is any statistic.

North committed seven turnovers in its opener and lost to South Rowan. Myers said what Miller did afterward shows his leadership qualities.

“Al told ‘em, ‘We want everybody back here Monday with your head up high. We’re going back to work.”

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What makes his job easier, Myers says, is North coach Roger Secreast, who gives him freedom.

“Roger makes it fun,” he said.

And Secreast says Myers makes it fun during practice because even at 39, he can outgun his pupils.

“He still has a better arm than the kids we have here,” Secreast smiled.

Miller always grins too, when the subject is brought up. But he seldom disagrees.

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Myers loves to tell the story about the day he was doing the cajoling — aiming it at Brown, then Catawba’s starter, and Ellis, the backup.

“Iwas picking at them, telling them, ‘This old man can still out-throw you,” Myers laughed.

Tight end Jeff Cochran measured the throws as each heaved the football downfield.

“You can ask Kevin, but I think I got him by 2, 3 yards and Mitch by five,” Myers said.

Myers donated a kidney to his brother a few years ago and can’t really throw like he used to. So he uses his background and his mind to mold Miller. Friday, they go to Lexington and surely most of the fans will be saying, “That’s the best quarterback in Rowan County.

Which starts Myers’ fellow assistants giving him grief again.

“Idon’t live to say I’ve got the best quarterback in the county,” he said.

But he usually does. With Myers, it comes with the territory.

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Contact Ronnie Gallagher at 704-797-4256 or rgallagher@salisburypost.com .