Washington State QB Falk emulates Brady
Luke Falk is pretty much obsessed with Tom Brady.
He won’t even try to deny it. Falk, Washington State’s standout quarterback, owns a Tom Brady shirt and a Tom Brady hat. He has ordered a copy of the NFL superstar’s new lifestyle book, which doesn’t come out until Sept. 19.
“It’s about his life, how he trains and things like that,” Falk told USA TODAY Sports. “It’s The
TB12 Method. It comes out (next month). I’ll probably read it by (the next day).”
His teammates teasingly call it a man crush, but it’s more like a formula for Falk, whose Bradylike career plan has helped propel him and his team to a potentially disruptive season this year in the
Pac-12 Conference. According to preseason polls and predictions, this is supposed to be a big year for other, big-city
Pac-12 quarterbacks and teams. In Los Angeles, sophomore Sam Darnold is the cover boy of this week’s ESPN The Magazine as quarterback for No. 4 Southern California.
His rival across town, junior Josh Rosen at UCLA, could be just as good or better. In Seattle, junior Jake Browning returns to lead No. 7 Washington after finishing sixth last year in the voting for the Heisman Trophy.
Yet here among the rolling golden wheat fields of southeastern Washington, Falk again might outproduce them all and become one of the top quarterbacks selected in next year’s NFL draft.
Statistically, Falk is the leading returning passer in major-college football and has started 28 games for the Cougars, who rank 26th in the preseason Amway Coaches Poll heading into their season opener against Montana State on Sept. 2.
The senior from Logan, Utah, just doesn’t get the same attention as the others.
Much like Brady was many years ago, Falk remains overshadowed among rivals — a nearly permanent condition for him since joining WSU as a nonscholarship player in 2013.
“That’s because of media base,” Cougars coach Mike Leach said of Pullman’s much smaller media market. “Through his career, he’s done more with less, and he’s by far the most productive.
“And he’s starting to get a better cast.”
With Falk leading the way, WSU finished 9-4 in 2015 and 8-5 last year, including eight consecutive wins in the middle of the season. This year, he has another big offensive line blocking for him, anchored by senior All-America guard Cody O’Connell, who’s listed at 6-8, 368 pounds.
The Cougars lost two top receivers from last season: Gabe Marks and River Cracraft. But they also return several proven recipients of Falk’s hot-handed passes.
Tavares Martin, a starter at receiver, had 64 catches last season and is part of another spread-itaround smorgasbord this season for Falk, along with running backs Jamal Morrow and James Williams.
Each caught 48 passes for the No. 3 passing offense in the na- tion at 362.5 yards per game.
Leach says this season’s team looks to be his best Cougars squad yet. Before Leach arrived in 2012, WSU hadn’t had a winning season since 2003.
Then came Falk, who has managed to keep — and almost seems to prefer — a low profile compared with others. He has been visited by only one reporter from a national media outlet in the preseason of his final college season (USA TODAY Sports).
“He’s been an underdog his whole life,” said Morrow, a senior. “I think he’s the best in the Pac-12, personally, but I might be a little biased. His mind-set is, ‘If you’re going to count me as an underdog, I’m going to prove you wrong.’ It really rubs off on the team, too.”
That attitude also is part of the Brady pattern for Falk, who remembers being one of about seven quarterbacks upon joining the Cougars as a walk-on in 2013.
Similarly, Brady once was listed as seventh-stringer in college at Michigan. After that, six quarterbacks were picked in the 2000 NFL draft before Brady was picked in the sixth round by the New England Patriots.
“I felt like that myself and still carry that chip around like he does,” said Falk, who was placed on scholarship in 2014. “He’s a great inspiration — to see somebody a lot of people didn’t have faith in. But he had faith in himself.”
Brady, 40, has won five Super Bowls, the first coming in 2002 when Falk was 7. Falk first remembers starting to follow Brady during the NFL playoffs. Brady, who is 6-4, is larger than life and has his own brand — TB12 — complete with various gear, meal plans and a $200 cookbook.
Falk, who also stands 6-4, doesn’t have the Brady cookbook yet, however.
“My girlfriend, she’s like, ‘Be your own person,’ ” Falk said with a laugh. “So I didn’t get that one.”
He follows Brady’s emphasis on health and nutrition and has developed a reputation as a health freak among his roommates. His diet has included organic fruits and vegetables, quinoa, couscous and a veggie omelet that once drew playful mocking from the meat-and-potatoes eaters on the team.
“He has a lot of Tom Brady things,” said WSU linebacker Peyton Pelluer, one of Falk’s roommates. “He has the hat, the meal plans, his protein. He does spend a lot of time in the kitchen. He’s a good cook. I’ll give him that.”
Falk next hopes to lead the Cougars to a Pac-12 title.
Last season, he completed 443 of 633 passes for 4,468 yards with 38 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
He could have turned pro but opted not to because, he said, “I wanted to finish it off right with the guys I came in with. We’re really tight.”
As for his future, there’s no doubt what he wants.
“I want to play in the NFL at a high level for a lot of years,” he said. “That’s my goal.”
Just like his role model, whom he has never met.
“I haven’t yet, no,” Falk said. “That would be pretty cool one day.”