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© St. Petersburg Times, published October 7, 2001
BATON ROUGE, La. -- One Florida quarterback set a single-game passing record. He showed up in front of a record crowd in a hostile stadium and threw five touchdowns. Afterward, he smiled brightly on CBS.
It was the other Florida quarterback who got booed.
Welcome to Brock Berlin's world. A place where timing is everything and the main character's clock is off by a tick.
Berlin has become a witness to history. An innocent bystander in his own story. While he watches, Rex Grossman lives Berlin's life.
Berlin is the other quarterback at Florida. The one who is not leading Heisman polls and chatting with network stars.
"It's killing him. He's a competitor," said Berlin's roommate, left tackle Mike Pearson. "He's always been the man and now he's having to take a back seat to someone else. You know that's eating away at him."
This was supposed to be a big day for Berlin. At least that was the plan. He was going to return to the state where he won three prep championships, return to the stadium he grew up adoring. Louisiana State is as close to home as it gets for a Shreveport boy.
His family was there Saturday. His friends were, too. The only thing missing were the dreams Berlin once held close.
He is the most decorated prep quarterback to have been brought to Florida by Steve Spurrier, and most everyone agrees he is a unique talent.
The problem is Grossman, at least for the moment, may be the finest quarterback in the nation. Which leaves Berlin up against a wall.
Grossman had thrown for a Florida record 464 yards and played through an ankle sprain before giving way to Berlin on Saturday. The Gators were leading 37-9 at the time. A Tiger Stadium crowd numbed by a hot quarterback and a cold wind awakened just in time to jeer Berlin's grand entrance.
"That was a little different," Berlin said. "I'm not used to getting booed at home."
This is the frustration Berlin endures. Not only does he wonder about what might have been at Florida this season, but what could have been elsewhere.
He was recruited by LSU two years ago, but he opted to leave the state. The Tigers were in the final haphazard days of coach Gerry DiNardo's reign, and Berlin decided his future was better served under Spurrier's tutelage.
The result is that the two best quarterbacks in the stadium Saturday play for the same team. Maybe two of the best quarterbacks in the nation.
"He's got to be right behind Rex," Florida receiver Jabar Gaffney said. "He throws a beautiful pass himself."
Compounding the problem is that Grossman and Berlin both are sophomores. Which means there is no light at the end of the stadium tunnel for Berlin.
Grossman arrived in Gainesville a year ahead of Berlin, but he redshirted in 1999. Berlin got too much playing time in a game against Mississippi State last season and it cost him a chance to redshirt. Spurrier since has acknowledged it was a mistake to waste an entire season for a day of passes.
So the question is what does Berlin do now? It hardly seems likely that he will be content as Grossman's backup for the rest of his career.
At the same time, Spurrier has a history of impatience with his quarterbacks, which puts Berlin a heartbeat away from the best quarterback job in the nation.
Spurrier is doing what he can to keep Berlin happy. Not only has he put him in for the fourth quarter of every game, he has continued calling pass plays despite the lopsided scores.
"Brock has thrown for a touchdown in five straight games. I don't know how many backup quarterbacks have done that," Spurrier said. "You know, we're always trying to set records here."
Spurrier has been through situations like this before. Terry Dean and Danny Wuerffel traded jobs as starting quarterbacks until Dean was permanently relegated to a backup role and finished his career in the shadows. Eric Kresser, on the other hand, transferred rather than play second fiddle to Wuerffel. Kresser ended up with a record-setting career at Marshall and parlayed that into a shot at the NFL.
Berlin will not talk specifically about his future, but clearly he has considered the possibility of leaving after this season.
"I'm going to cross that bridge when I come to it," Berlin said. "I can't really do anything about it right now. I'll keep working hard and staying with it and we'll see what happens."
Berlin threw his first interception of the season Saturday, but he rebounded to throw a touchdown in the final minute.
With the Gators near the LSU goal line late in the game, fans in the north end zone began a frustrated chant:
Hit Berlin, Hit Berlin!
That's not necessary.
He's probably beating himself up, already.