Barton proves again that you can’t keep him down

By John Sleeper

Herald Writer

SEATTLE – Taylor Barton isn’t a bitter kid, although many would say he has a right to be.

Despite all that Barton has endured – being the object of a public hissy fit between Rick Neuheisel and Gary Barnett, a reason that the University of Washington penalized itself a scholarship, a tangle of red tape that only the NCAA could unload – he remains a congenial, thoughtful, amusing guy who happens to be making his first start as quarterback for the Huskies on Saturday.

“I’m still going to be the same person,” Barton said. “I’m going to crack jokes in the meeting room. I’m going to have fun on the practice field and on the game field.”

Cody Pickett’s separated shoulder opened Barton’s door of opportunity. And as ominous and great as seventh-ranked UCLA is, the Bruins aren’t nearly as taxing as Barton’s time as a college kid has been since he enrolled at Colorado in 1998.

“It hasn’t quite been the path that I thought it would be out of high school, but it’s been the path I’ve taken,” he said. “I think every bump in the road has made me a more mature person and a more mature quarterback.”

All Barton wanted to do was to play for Neuheisel. When Carson Palmer committed to USC and Cory Paus committed to UCLA, Neuheisel paid a visit to Barton, who had thrown 56 touchdown passes at Beaverton (Ore.) High School as a senior.

The two watched game film together, film of a game in which Barton threw for umpteen yards and TD passes in a 54-53 loss.

“What struck me was that he knew every play and what happened before it came up on the screen,” Neuheisel said. “He remembered it that vividly. … He loves it. It’s almost like playing pick-up basketball for him.”

Neuheisel saw a talented quarterback, one of the top three on the West Coast, who could only improve because of his borderline obsession with watching and breaking down film. Barton signed with Colorado, after turning down Washington, Oregon State and other schools.

Then Neuheisel left Colorado for Washington during Barton’s freshman year. Barton was the first Buffalo Neuheisel told because, as usual, Barton was in Neuheisel’s office early on a Saturday morning to ask what recruits were going to be on campus. Barton, besides watching film as much as coaches do, has a thirst for recruiting.

Hold on, Neuheisel said.

“I told him to sit down and said what I was going to do,” Neuheisel said. “It was emotional. He wanted to come with me. I explained to him that he couldn’t because he was held by his letter of intent.”

Barton sat, shocked.

“He told me Washington, and my first reaction was, ‘Well, the NFL’s always been a dream of yours,’” Barton said. “And he said, ‘No, the Huskies.’ And all of a sudden, I’m thinking of the day I turned down Washington to come to Colorado, and now he’s going to Washington. I couldn’t believe it, but he had to do what he had to do.”

The trouble started when Neuheisel called some of his former players to wish them luck. One was Barton. Colorado officials, stung by Neuheisel’s sudden departure, accused the former coach of trying to recruit some of his players to Washington, which Neuheisel and Barton deny. Barton did, however, make inquiries on his own about transferring, and Colorado accused Neuheisel of influencing it.

It was roughly the same time that Neuheisel and his new staff at Washington committed some minor recruiting violations. The Pac-10 allowed Washington to issue penalties on itself, one of which was that none of Neuheisel’s former players at Colorado could transfer to Washington.

In the meantime, Barton and his new coach, Barnett, weren’t clicking. The first time Barton introduced himself to Barnett, Barnett mistook him for defensive end Tyler Brayton.

Depressed, Barton toyed with the idea of giving up the game. He later transferred to City College of San Francisco, where he played half the games, threw 24 TD passes and won a JC national title.

While at CCSF, Barton decided to challenge Washington’s penalty that prevented him from transferring there. His family hired a lawyer. Barton wrote a three-page letter to UW President Richard McCormick.

“I poured out my heart on it,” Barton said.

It cost Washington two scholarships, but the NCAA granted Barton’s wish.

“It was the right thing to do,” Neuheisel said. “Taylor had done nothing wrong. If anybody had done anything wrong, it was me, although I am a little bit shocked that saying goodbye to your former players via telephone is such a terrible thing.”

Once at Washington, Barton buried himself in game film, burning out three VCRs in the process. Barton also had arthroscopic surgery on both knees, which slowed him during spring practices.

Pickett won the starting job with a brilliant spring. Barton, however, knew that he was one snap away from getting his chance.

That chance came last week against USC, which was remarkable in its own right.

Barton, unfamiliar with taking snaps from starting center Kyle Benn, fumbled three in the first half. But Barton recovered sufficiently and finished the day completing 11 of 20 passes for 197 yards and two TDs in a 27-24 UW victory.

“All the adversity I faced came into play Saturday a few times in the game,” Barton said. “There were a few times I could have folded and put my head down and just accepted defeat. But I kept my head up the whole time. I knew I was going to get another opportunity and when I got it, I had to make the best of it.”

He did. It just took a tad longer than he’d anticipated.