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Cedar City • His coach calls him the best quarterback in the state of Utah, which is significant because Brad Sorensen isn't coached by Bronco Mendenhall, Kyle Whittingham, Gary Andersen or Ron McBride.
Ed Lamb coaches at Southern Utah University and, ordinarily, his suggestion that the state's No. 1 quarterback plays for the Thunderbirds, competes in the Great West Conference and performs in front of 5,000 spectators at Eccles Coliseum would cause skeptical smiles from Logan to St. George.
But Sorensen isn't an ordinary Football Championship Subdivision quarterback.
"He makes all the plays, makes all the right reads and he's got a great arm," said senior Tysson Poots, Southern Utah's all-time leading receiver.
"… He can throw the ball anywhere on the field."
Sorensen isn't the typical size for a quarterback either, unless you're talking about the NFL.
He stands 6-foot-5, weighs 225 pounds and is bigger than 12 of the 13 linebackers on Southern Utah's roster.
He has a roundish face, closely-cropped hair and a soft-spoken nature that politely hints of a desire to be left alone. Even Lamb says that most people who meet him see "a lurpy guy."
Lurpy or not, Sorensen began his journey to Southern Utah in Grand Terrace, Calif., where he was the second-youngest of five gifted brothers.
The three oldest played college football. One, Cody, attended the University of Utah. All were receivers.
"There were a lot of bloody noses — a lot of bumps and bruises — from those afternoon games in the backyard," Sorensen said. "But throwing to those guys every day was great. It's probably the biggest single reason for the success I've had."
BYU quarterback coach Brandon Doman remembers Sorensen as "a high-character, high-discipline, yes-sir-no-sir kind of guy. He's intelligent, mature. He's a man, you know what I mean?"
Problem: At the start of the 2009 season, BYU was loaded at quarterback.
Max Hall was starting his senior year, ahead of veteran backup Brenden Gaskins. Another quarterback, Riley Nelson, was coming off a mission. In addition, the country's No. 1 high school prospect, Jake Heaps, was reportedly leaning toward BYU.
So Sorensen ran BYU's scout team.
Early in the season, an uncle, who lives next to Southern Utah assistant coach Paul Peterson in Cedar City, mentioned that his nephew was a good quarterback but wasn't playing at BYU.
"I wasn't interested at that time," Sorensen said, "because I still thought I could compete and have a chance to play at BYU. But things didn't play out."
As the season rolled along, Sorensen began planning a transfer, with Southern Utah a possible destination.
On his own, Sorensen drove from Provo to watch the Thunderbirds play.
He liked the wide-open offense, which is nearly identical to the one run at BYU.
He also liked the fact that record-setting quarterback Cade Cooper, who once played at BYU, was a senior.
Southern Utah got some recruiting help, too, when it became obvious Sorensen was leaving.
With five coaches on its staff who played or previously worked at BYU, including Lamb, Doman pointed him in the Thunderbirds' direction.
"Because the lack of opportunity for Brad here," he said, "I thought, 'He's a talented young man. He could probably help them.'"
Facing life without Cooper, Lamb made Sorensen his No. 1 recruiting target: "We had a few transfers we were talking to, including the son of a guy I went to school with. So there was some pressure to offer a scholarship there. But I knew Brad was a better player."
Sorensen pondered his options. A brother who played at UNLV suggested a Mountain West Conference school in need of a quarterback — perhaps Colorado State. Sorensen also "knew some people with ties" to Utah State.
In the end, however, he signed with Southern Utah.
"Something Cade Cooper said really stuck with me," Sorensen recalled. "He said, 'It doesn't matter where you go — just go where the coaches really, really want you.' "
Lamb credited players like Cooper for convincing Sorensen that Southern Utah was the right place.
"Any coach can say they are going to treat a player with respect and they aren't going to dog-cuss them," Lamb said. "But the players are the ones who relay that message: do the coaches treat you with respect or do they run you down? I think Brad saw that our players enjoy playing for this staff."
Sorensen enrolled in January, participated in spring practice and won the starting job.
In the season opener, he completed 22 of 35 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown in a 28-20 near-upset at Wyoming. After more than three years on the sideline, Sorensen was back in the game.
"Playing Wyoming and having some success was a big relief — a big weight off my shoulders," he said. "I didn't know how I was going to do because I hadn't played in so long."
Lamb made his best-quarterback-in-the-state comment after the loss in Wyoming.
With an almost embarrassed smile, Sorensen said, "Well, that's very flattering, to hear that from your coach. But that's not something I'm striving for by any means. I just try to go out there and put our team in the best position to win."
Going long
Brad Sorensen's passing numbers after three games:
Game Att Com Int Pct Yrd TD Long
at Wyoming 35 22 0 .629 193 1 23
vs. San Diego 29 16 1 .552 262 3 42
at SJSU 39 22 0 .564 230 0 29
Totals 103 61 1 .592 685 4 42