The QB nobody wanted now running Cincinnati

CINCINNATI (AP) — Zach Collaros was the high school quarterback who wouldn’t lose.

With Collaros throwing and running, Steubenville High School won 30 straight games and back-to-back state titles in his last two seasons. The 30-0 mark as the starting quarterback won Collaros a Division III player of the year award in 2006.

Very impressive. But when it came time to pick a college, he got a surprise.

Almost nobody wanted him.

“I only had two [scholarship] offers for football out of high school, but 11 or 12 for baseball,” said Collaros, who was also a shortstop. “So that’s what I was going to do — until Cincinnati came along.”

Knowing that he wanted to keep playing baseball, coach Brian Kelly offered him a chance to do both — run his spread offense during the fall, dig into the batter’s box in the spring.

Two years later, he’s running one of the nation’s top offenses, leading an undefeated team that’s ranked fifth in the country.

Good choice both ways.

The sophomore made his first college start last Saturday against Louisville, filling in while Tony Pike recovers from another arm injury. Collaros kept his perfect streak going by throwing for three touchdowns in a 41-10 win.

He’s expected to start again on Saturday at Syracuse (3-4) while Pike recovers from surgery to repair a protective plate in his non-passing arm. The stakes are high again — Cincinnati (7-0) must win to stay in the debate about national title contenders.

Given what they’ve seen of Collaros, his teammates aren’t fretting over Pike’s absence.

“It’s not a one-man show,” receiver D.J. Woods said. “Zach Collaros is a very talented quarterback. I’m happy with Zach. I respect him for stepping up to the plate.”

It appeared he would be limited to stepping up to the plate in college because of his size — his listing as 6 feet tall is a tad generous — and his style.

Collaros liked to improvise when plays broke down in high school, and that became one of his strengths. College coaches generally prefer a quarterback who runs the offense as scripted. When Collaros arrived in Cincinnati, he roomed with Ben Mauk, another small-in-stature passer who had a knack for making things up on the run.

They saw their similarities.

“We’re both short,” Collaros said. “Me and him kind of freelance here and there a little bit when stuff breaks down. He had a real good ability of keeping the play on. I like to think I have that ability, too. He helped me out a lot.”

Collaros took a redshirt season, then got in some games after Pike broke his left forearm last season.

When Pike damaged the plate in his forearm on Oct. 15 at South Florida, Collaros got his chance. He came in and ran for a pair of touchdowns as the Bearcats pulled away in the second half. Last week, he was nearly perfect, going 15 of 17 for 253 yards.