5 days until National Signing Day / Feb. 3, 2010
Getting the call
Tired of Brandon Doughty's saga, FAU gets commitment from panhandle quarterback who wants to come to Boca Raton.
Originally published on
1/29/2010
by
Chuck King
Nick Bracewell had pretty much given up on his hopes of playing for FAU.
He expected to take an official visit to Boca Raton a couple of weeks ago, but when North Broward Prep quarterback Brandon Doughty committed to the Owls, FAU coaches cancelled the trip.
He hadn’t heard from anyone at FAU for more than two weeks until Friday.
“I was walking out to my truck going to lunch and my coach came up to tell me they might offer,” Bracewell said. “I wasn’t expecting it. They called me and offered me a scholarship.”
Bracewell, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 210 pounds, said he immediately accepted the offer from FAU coach Joe Corozza. Minutes later he received a call from Howard Schnellenberger welcoming him to FAU.
A spot opened for Bracewell after Doughty changed his commitment to Division I-A newby Western Kentucky. Doughty started waivering on his commitment about the same time that Sumter (S.C.) quarterback Stephen Curtis committed to the Owls.
“It came down to the wire, but he’s going where he wanted to go all along,” Lafayette County coach Joey Pearson said.
Tulane and Florida International offered Bracewell early, but both schools backed away after a sprained throwing shoulder forced him to miss the first four games of his senior season.
Bracewell still threw for about 1,500 yards and 17 touchdowns as a senior. Over the past two seasons, he tossed 49 touchdowns compared to seven interceptions.
“His number one trait is that he takes care of the ball,” Pearson said. “To me, he is better than a lot of big school quarterbacks at reading defenses.”
Even though Bracewell never got to take that official visit, he’s still plenty familiar with the campus. He participated in a camp at the school last summer, and has numerous family members in South Florida.
Corozza had maintained contact with Bracewell ever since that camp.
Bracewell’s only other visit was to Jacksonville.