A North Texas "Brewer" And A Quarterback Named "Baker"
RICHARDSON (CBS 11 SPORTS) - There's a reason Bo Brewer looks so comfortable playing quarterback for the Richardson Pearce Mustangs: he's been around quarterbacks his entire life.
Bo's grandfather and uncle are the only father-son combination to be starting quarterbacks at the University of Texas.
Grandfather Charlie Brewer started for the Longhorns in 1953 and 1954. Uncle Robert Brewer was the starting quarterback at Texas in 1981 and 82, leading the Longhorns to a Cotton Bowl victory over Alabama in 1982.
But there's more. Bo explains, "My cousin Michael went to Texas Tech and transferred to Virginia Tech. My cousin Charlie, who is two years older than me, starts at Baylor."
When Bo used to visit his cousins down in Austin, in the Lake Travis area, he admits things could get competitive during front-yard football games. "Always tacking each other...it was intense," he said.
But it was more than just a bunch of Brewers playing football in Lake Travis, there was also a Baker. As in Baker Mayfield.
The former Oklahoma Sooners quarterback who won the Hiesman Trophy in December and was the number one overall selection of the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Draft in April.
"I was lot younger than him," Bo recalls about the impact it had playing front-yard football with his cousin and Mayfield. "Michael and Baker coming out and throwing the ball with us, that meant the world to us."
But Bo isn't the only member of the Pearce Mustangs football program with a connection to Baker Mayfield. Pearce head coach David Collins was the offensive coordinator at Lake Travis High School, where he coached Mayfield to a state championship in 2011.
"Baker is the kind a guy to challenge everyone to be better," Collins told CBS 11 Sports.
In fact, the coach can't help but see similarities between Mayfield at Lake Travis in 2011, and his current quarterback to J.J. Pearce High School. "It's like deja vu for me."When Collins took the job at Pearce two years ago he remembers, "When I first saw Bo, it was like sophomore Baker. Now, I see senior Baker when I see Bo. He's ready to do things like we did at Lake Travis."
Now as Brewer wraps up spring practices at Pearce High this month, he looks forward to being the starting quarterback at the school for his senior season. And those front-yard football games in Austin with Baker Mayfield years ago, still motivate him today.
"He was in my front-yard four years ago," Brewer says with a smile when talking about Mayfield's path from Lake Travis to the NFL Draft. "It's not impossible, even if you are undersized, as long as you have passion and confidence."