This time next fall, three Higgins brothers from the island of Hawaii will have one game in the Top of Utah circled on their calendar: Weber State at Utah State.
Oldest brother Cameron Higgins will be in the stands, having graduated at the end of this year as likely the most prolific quarterback in Weber State University history.
His teammate and younger brother, junior Zac Higgins, plays special teams and is working for an increased role at safety by September 2011.
Another younger brother, Jeremy, could be under center that day at Romney Stadium when Wildcat purple meets Aggie blue. The freshman Utah State quarterback has worked his way into the No. 2 QB role this fall, putting him first in line next year when senior star Diondre Borel is gone.
In the Higgins brothers' backyard rivalries and brotherly trash talk, it's usually the quarterbacks teaming up.
"Me and Cam always gang up on Zac, 'cause he's on D," Jeremy said.
Next September in Logan, however, it will be Cameron and Zac ganging up on Jeremy. Cameron won't be playing then, but his heart will be with Weber State.
"I'll be wearing purple at that game," he said.
The two older brothers are pulling for Jeremy to win the Aggies' starting quarterback job in a year, but if he does, Zac hopes to be lurking in the secondary on the other side, waiting for an errant pass.
"I told Jeremy I want to pick off one of his passes, and he told me he wants to juke me out or run me over," Zac said. "It's going to be a fun game next year."
For the three brothers from the hometown of Hawaii Kai, it has been an interesting path to a Top of Utah rivalry.
Cameron Higgins had been thinking about walking on at the University of Hawaii, where his father Jim played, before Wildcats coach Ron McBride gave him his only scholarship offer.
"That's the best thing that's happened to me," Cameron said. "It was a blessing in disguise. When you first hear 'Weber State,' it's like, man, I've never heard of them, it's away from home, stuff like that. But it turns out they play some great football here."
McBride sold him on the program.
"He's really all for the players. He'll bend over backwards for you. He's a great guy," Cameron said. "He embraces the Polynesian culture. He kind of made me feel at home, not so much a fish out of water."
Even a fish out of water can appreciate a new environment sometimes.
"I was kind of lucky, to get off the rock and experience snow," Cameron said.
It's an environment Cameron has excelled in as a four-year starter, earning Big Sky newcomer of the year honors as a freshman.
He was even better as a sophomore, throwing for 4,477 yards and 36 touchdowns, the best single-season performance in conference history, en route to winning offensive player of the year and taking the Wildcats to the playoffs.
While his production was down and his interceptions were up in his junior season a year ago, Cameron still led the Wildcats to the FCS playoffs for the second straight season and believes he has learned from those mistakes.
"I was a high-risk, high-reward kind of guy. The tight windows, I'd try to force it and cost the team, cost the offense and put the defense in bad situations," Cameron said.
"I've learned from that. I'm always telling myself, 'Touchdowns to checkdowns.' If the deep ball is not there, if it's not wide open, just check down and live to play another day."
Cameron Higgins needs 2,553 yards of total offense and only five touchdown passes to overtake longtime NFL quarterback Jamie Martin as the top quarterback in school history.
With the Wildcats kicking off the season Saturday at Boston College, Cameron doesn't want to think about numbers or the records.
"I don't really care about that kind of stuff. I kind of fell into the hype last year, I guess. This year, I can't be focused on doing that. I'm just focused on getting the win. If that means handing the ball off every play, if that's what it takes to win the game, that's what I'm going to do," he said.
"When you're successful, the accolades will come, so you can't worry about that stuff."
Zac Higgins, a junior walk-on at Weber State, said having Cameron as an older brother at St. Louis High School meant he always had friends and someone to look up to. That doesn't stop the fraternal competition between them.
"He always tells me he's faster than me and stronger than me, but I'm pretty sure I'm faster and stronger," Zac said. "It's the little things like that."
But that doesn't break the bonds of brotherhood.
"It's cool playing with Cam. I like being there to support him," Zac said. "I feel like I can calm him down if situations are bad. I feel like I know him well enough to make him prepared."
The two Wildcats try to spend as much time as they can with their Aggie brother, picking up Jeremy on weekends during the summer, to hang out and to work out.
Jeremy is grateful to follow his brothers' footsteps.
"It's kind of like I had it easier than them," Jeremy said. "Cam had to pave his own way, and when I was up, it was already paved. They just kind of showed me how it is to work hard and have self-discipline.
"They both work really hard on and off the field. That's how we were raised."
McBride recruited Jeremy, as well, but it was Aggies coach Gary Anderson, a former McBride assistant at the University of Utah, who signed him.
Jeremy's brightest moment of the fall camp came in the Aggies' final scrimmage Aug. 21, when he completed 8-of-13 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown. If something happens to Borel in Utah State's season opener at Oklahoma on Saturday, it will likely be Jeremy who steps in to face the seventh-ranked Sooners.
Meanwhile, he'll keep working, waiting for that September day next fall.
Comments