CWU QBs still in the news

YAKIMA — Even though it’s officially college basketball season, with but one football game left, the gridiron remains a hot topic at Central Wash-ington.

And the news involves quarter-backs — one going, one coming.

Mike Reilly, whose name occupies many lines in the Wildcats passing record book, has been invited to the NFL Scouting Combine.

Mike Reilly

Nick Lomax, who hopes to occupy Reilly’s job as Central’s starter next season, has enrolled at the university and has gotten positive early reviews from both Reilly and coach Blaine Bennett.

First there’s Reilly, who has followed his record-setting senior season by becoming a Harlon Hill Trophy finalist and being invited to the East-West Shrine Game later this month.

He learned Monday night via e-mail of his invitation to the prestigious combine, scheduled for Feb. 18-24 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, home of the Colts.

“I’m definitely excited about it,” Reilly said Tuesday night. “Any kind of exposure is a good thing. It’s another chance to get out and show how I compare to the other quarterbacks from around the nation.”

Reilly will be one of perhaps 20 QBs at the combine, which will involve physical drills, tests and interviews with some 600 NFL scouts, coaches and executives.

The draft will take place April 25-26.

Nick Lomax

Lomax, meanwhile, hopes to launch a college career that never got started at Boise State. He will have two years of eligibility at Central.

“I’ve talked with him and his Dad (former Portland State NFL QB Neil Lomax),” Reilly said, “and now that he’s actually in school there it’s definitely a good thing for Central.

“I also know from my own experience that transferring is the first step. He’s got a long way to go, to get with the players and learn the system. But he knows all that. He’s really a good guy.”

Bennett expects him to be a good player, too.

“Nick is a real neat young man,” Bennett said. “He’s a strong leader and he’s been very well coached from an early age, obviously, because of his Dad. He’s been around football a long time.”

Bennett didn’t name Lomax as his starter yet, saying, “all that stuff will work itself out. You hate to just hand someone the job, and there are other quarterbacks in the program who have done a nice job. We need to get to know Nick this winter, and hopefully in the spring everything will sort itself out.”

At 6-6, Lomax figures to be more a pocket passer and less a scrambler than Reilly. A standout at Lake Oswego High School, Lomax redshirted his first season at Boise State, then was unable to wrest the starter’s job from Taylor Tharp in 2007 and Prosser’s Kellen Moore in 2008.

“I can’t wait to get started,” Lomax said Tuesday. “My Dad knows the Bennett family (Blaine and his father, longtime coach Shorty Bennett), and they’re really upstanding people.
“And I had a good talk with Mike when I came here for my visit. He’s a great guy and pretty much told me everything I needed to know about the school and the program. I liked the small-town feel of Ellensburg and I’m very excited to be here.”