He endured the broken leg in 2002 and the dislocated shoulder in 2004 and survived being thrown into the Big Ten wars as a redshirt freshman.
He has learned the lessons that come with throwing more interceptions than touchdown passes and eating more greasy burgers than healthy food.
As his career winds down and with his place in Northwestern history firmly established, Brett Basanez is enjoying the finest of his four seasons.
“He’s a pretty good player right now, and as long as he keeps letting things come to him and not trying to force it, he’ll do well,” coach Randy Walker said.
“He’s gotten pretty comfortable with the kind of player he is. When he came here, I think he was thinking, `Who am I? What am I?’ And our program looks for conformity.”
In five seasons of working with Walker and offensive coordinator Mike Dunbar, Basanez has figured out he’s the leader of Northwestern’s spread offense, which requires him to run when he can, find the open short receiver and take care of the football as if it were a Christmas present.
It’s that last part that used to trouble the St. Viator graduate. In his first two seasons as a starter, he threw 19 interceptions and 11 touchdown passes. Last year he achieved a goal by keeping interceptions in single digits with nine while throwing for 12 scores.
This year he has thrown seven touchdown passes with just one interception, a desperation toss at the end of the loss to Penn State.
His final season has been his best.
“It’s a calmness you feel because you’ve been through it so much,” Basanez said. “It’s a poise that I’ve been working for for so long. I feel comfortable with my guys, my team.
“The guys I’m throwing to–Shaun Herbert, Jonathan Fields and Mark Philmore–have been here forever. There aren’t any unknowns. We’ve been throwing on the same field for three or four years. It’s calming. And having [freshman running back] Tyrell [Sutton] helps. They can’t gun for one thing.”
Philmore said Basanez and the receivers know each other’s moves instinctively.
“When he’s scrambling, you can see the corner of his eye, and there’s a trust factor,” he said.
Basanez is guiding an offense that got national attention last weekend with a 51-48 victory over then-No. 14 Wisconsin. Northwestern (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) set a school record with 674 yards of total offense. Basanez takes the show on the road Saturday at Purdue.
“The single biggest thing is having a fourth-year starter at quarterback who’s a good athlete, obviously a bright guy, 6-2, 215, a physical guy,” Purdue coach Joe Tiller said.
Tiller has coached against Basanez for four years and has seen the change.
“He’s very poised, has very good vision and is very comfortable with the offense,” he said. “He looks like a relaxed player making a lot of plays. He doesn’t seem to hurry things. He has experience and patience.”
Through five games, Basanez is ninth in the nation in two categories: total offense at 319 yards per game and passing yardage at 277.4.
He is on a pace for career bests in completion percentage at 65.6, touchdown passes with seven and a passer efficiency rating of 142.0, fourth in the Big Ten.
It comes with a better understanding of his role, especially limiting turnovers.
“Coach Dunbar has always said you don’t have to win games–a quarterback’s biggest job is to not lose them,” Basanez said. “I knew I had to put this team in a position to win, not make dumb decisions. I knew if I didn’t turn the ball over we have enough guys to make plays. It was a conscious effort to watch film and work on decision-making.”
This season Basanez has become NU’s all-time leader with 8,345 passing yards, 717 completions and 9,126 yards of total offense.
Dunbar also planted the seed for another goal: most wins by a Northwestern quarterback. Basanez can tie Steve Schnur’s record of 19 Saturday.
“The greatest compliment anyone can have is to be the winningest quarterback in the history of the school,” Dunbar said.
Basanez has stayed healthy this season, which he attributes partly to a nutrition program designed to keep his weight up around 215 pounds and his junk-food intake low.
“My girlfriend (Kristin Ambrose) helps me with that,” he said.
Last year a sore shoulder plagued Basanez the second half of the season.
“It really hurt us toward the end of last year,” Dunbar said. “He wasn’t able to practice for a long period of time. We lost some of the timing in the passing game. He’s as healthy now as he’s ever been, and I attribute that to his off-season work.”
In Walker’s eyes, Basanez has succeeded in one very important area for a quarterback–leadership.
“He’s got a charisma that helps him be a good leader, and I think they trust him and believe in him,” Walker said. “He’s been at the helm for a while, and he handles it the right way. The natural effervescence he has as a person goes a long way.
“That’s all well and good. Everyone can talk a good game. He works extremely hard in the weight room, extremely hard at studying his game. There’s no one in this program who can say they’ve worked harder than Brett Basanez. You look at the skinny runt who came in here at 185 pounds and look at him now.”
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Finishing strong
Brett Basanez is Northwestern’s career leader in total offense (9,126 yards), completions and passing yards, and is fourth in TD passes.
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SEASON REC CM ATT I YDS TD THE SKINNY
2005 3-2 118 180 1 1,387 7 Has 1,595 yards of total offense
2004 6-6 247 460 9 2,838 12 39 of 62, 513 yds, 4 TDs at TCU
2003 6-7 162 302 12 1,916 4 Had 77-yd TD pass at Indiana
2002 3-7 139 235 7 2,204 7 Missed 2 games with leg injury
CAREER 18-22 717 1,267 29 8,345 30 781 net yards rushing, 13 TDs
Source: NCAA, Northwestern
Brett Basanez’s 2005 season
DATE, OPP. RES CM ATT I YDS TD THE SKINNY
S3, Ohio W 38-14 27 37 0 353 2 Also ran 8 times for 30 yds, 1 TD
S10, NIU W 38-37 21 32 0 220 0 Set NU mark for total offense
S17, Ariz. St. L 52-21 24 37 0 224 2 No defense; allowed 754 total yds
S24, Penn St. L 34-29 20 38 1 229 0 Streak (143 passes) without INT ends
O8, Wis. W 51-48 26 36 0 361 3 Led NU offense to record 674 yds
TOTALS 3-2 118 180 1 1,387 7 Iowa, Ohio St., Mich. State loom
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tabannon@tribune.com
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