The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazer Profile: Quarterbacks David Isabelle and Bryan Ellis
11/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 9, 2010
By Leslie Wilhite
UAB Athletic Media Relations
If you were a NCAA Division I head football coach, would you prefer a drop-back passer or agile scrambler at quarterback? For UAB head coach Neil Callaway, the answer is easy: both. Bryan Ellis and David Isabelle have brought two distinctly different styles of play to the gridiron for the Blazers this season. But if you dig a little deeper into the lives of Ellis and Isabelle, you'll find those differences go far beyond the gridiron.
Ellis grew up in Waynesburg, Ga., and practically lived on the football field from the time he was five years old. But it wasn't just football when Ellis reached high school. He also played basketball and baseball. The son of a high school football and basketball coach, Ellis actually preferred baseball when he was in high school because it provided an escape.
"Since my dad was a high school football coach, I was always pushed into playing, so I guess that's how I got my start," Ellis said. "He is the biggest influence on my football career. He was hard on me. He was my offensive coordinator in high school football and my high school head basketball coach. He was the track coach too, so I didn't run track. Back then, my favorite sport was baseball because that was the only time where I didn't have to play for my dad. He was definitely hard on me, and at times, we got into it. At times I hated it, but looking back on it, I am definitely thankful for everything he did for me."
If Ellis attributes his football career to his dad, then UAB fans have a lot to be thankful for in Ricky Ellis. After all, the younger Ellis has led the Blazers to two of the most memorable wins in program history this year. Ask Ellis which was more memorable for him - the Hail Mary to beat Troy or the double-overtime win at Southern Miss - and he hesitates to answer.
"I can't decide which one is the biggest because both of them were pretty amazing. I guess the one individual highlight would have to be the Southern Miss game because they are within the conference and one of our big rivals. Troy is also one of our big rivals. The Troy game was an in-state game. One of them was probably more dramatic than the other. But both of them are pretty big on my list."
Ellis' time at UAB hasn't always been a thrill, though. After sitting for his first two seasons, including one as a redshirt freshman, he appeared in only four games in 2009 before an injury cut his season short.
"It was horrible," Ellis said of not being able to play. "It got to the point where I didn't come to the games. I went home and I didn't really watch much football. I didn't want to see it, and I didn't really pay attention to it. I guess in a way I was mad at the game like it had done something to me. It got to be pretty rough, but luckily I have great parents. They stayed in my ear about how I was still getting a free education and meeting a lot of people. I had a coach in high school, Coach Steve Ivy, that I talked to a lot and he really kept me going. He boosted me up and told me that when I got back, I would still be the same quarterback. He told me my time would come, and that's what I kept working for."
That hard work paid off this season, but not as soon as Ellis had hoped. Ellis battled for the starting job during preseason camp, but began the 2010 campaign as the backup to Isabelle. Still, Ellis waited for his chance to help the Blazers win, playing whatever role was needed of him to make that happen. And during those first three games where he served as the backup quarterback, Ellis learned a lot of things that he will carry with him as he pursues a career in coaching.
"I think I can always tell my guys to keep working hard. Coach Callaway and Coach Helton say that going through good times and responding to that is not what makes you a man. It's when you face adversity and how you respond to it that makes you a man. I am a living testimony to that. You respect a person a lot more when they've been through your situation, and I think that since I've been through all that, I think I can have a good testimony for kids."
But Ellis isn't the only UAB quarterback that has endured tough times this season. Isabelle's path has been quite the opposite of Ellis' during the 2010 campaign.
Much like Ellis, Isabelle began his sports career at a young age, playing football, basketball and baseball in his native city of Huntsville, Ala. He, too, credits his dad with getting his football career rolling.
"He was one of those dads who didn't play football when he was growing up," Isabelle said. "He just tried to stay active and know as much as he could in order to help me out. Sometimes I wouldn't want to believe him, but he used to go behind my back and ask the coaches about different stuff, and then he would come to me and give me tips to help me out."
That's where the similarities between Ellis and Isabelle end. While Ellis was drawn to UAB by the chance to play at the Division I level and relieve his parents of the financial burden of paying for college, it was a completely different factors that brought Isabelle to the Blazers.
"I prayed about it, really. I knew about UAB, and I just liked the mascot," Isabelle said. "When I was little, I used to draw and play football, and my mascot used to always be a dragon. I used to like the old dragon on (UAB's) helmets. It used to be just like it was when I was little, because I used to draw the little dragon head on my football helmets."
Drawing a dragon wasn't just doodling on a notepad for Isabelle. His artistic aspirations began to develop early in life thanks to his brother, Jurian. "My older brother was always artistic. He was athletic, but he was also sort of uncoordinated, so he always leaned more towards his arts. He would be in science fairs, art conventions and piano lessons. I would always tag along and get on his nerves. I just grew up around art."
Thanks to his brother, Isabelle was opened to a world that many 21 year olds never experience and that changed his life.
"My biggest influence has been my older brother's junk. He would record magic shows on TV. When I was bored, I would go sit down and watch whatever he had recorded. I would watch his episodes of I Love Lucy, Green Acres and all this retro stuff. He was an artist, so he would buy books on Quantum Physics and Eastern Philosophy. He would have all these psychedelic influences, and he would go listen to old records. My dad also kept records, so I was constantly being fed with all of this different retro stuff. My mind was just forced to open up, and that had to be my biggest influence."
And Isabelle has continued to unlock his artistic aspirations through his time at UAB. In fact, those aspirations are what drive the art major not only in his coursework, but on the field as well. He creates an interesting conundrum for his art classmates and football teammates.
"I think I bring a jock swagger to my art class. It loosens everybody up. I'm always the one joking in class, and sometimes I feel like they think I don't take anything seriously. That's kind of like my approach to art. It's very personal and you're supposed to enjoy it, kind of like sports. The underlying idea of sports is that it's supposed to be fun. I always try to implement that into my art by making it fun and personal.
Isabelle doesn't mind being what some may consider the oddball in his art classes and on the football field because he has never known one without the other. In fact, Isabelle feels like his different perspective gives him an edge in both worlds.
"I was comfortable with myself at an early age, and I think that also influenced my sports role. I was comfortable with being me, so I always had a strong personality, and that's what coaches always notice. I try to figure out how my two roles clash and how certain things help me, like improvising. Improvising is an artistic skill. Coaches tell me I react better to some situations than most people. That's due to my artistic side because seeing stuff and reacting to it has an artistic spirit and that allows me to think on my toes."
He certainly had no trouble thinking on his toes in the first game of the season for UAB. After earning the starting job coming out of preseason camp, Isabelle made an immediate impact with a record performance against Florida Atlantic on Sept. 2. He set a Conference USA record for most rushing yards by a quarterback with 214, surpassing former UAB quarterback Joe Webb's record of 194 set just last season.
But things have been rocky for Isabelle since that record-setting performance. After struggling against SMU and Troy, Isabelle came off the bench for certain offensive packages over the next three games before suffering an injury that has sidelined him the last three games. And while Isabelle is itching to get back on the field, he keeps his football future in perspective.
"As far as football goes, I've never been the guy focused on going to the (National Football League), or the guy waking up in the morning and checking Brett Favre's stats trying to chase him or Tom Brady. I've always just enjoyed playing as far as (football) would take me. I never would have thought I'd be playing football in college. I don't enjoy getting into all of the politics and money involved with sports. I just like to enjoy playing the game and enjoy the moment. I like to strive for excellence and let the chips fall."
While it may seem unusual that two very different quarterbacks could create the perfect complement on the gridiron, just a quick glance at the stats will tell you it has worked for the Blazers this year. Ellis has passed for 1,910 yards and 14 touchdowns this season, while Isabelle has rushed for 394 yards and four touchdowns.
So, if you had to choose an art major or future coach as your quarterback, which would you prefer?
