The relationship that has fueled the best start to a Fordham football season in more than 80 years took root in Virginia, grew in Connecticut and blossomed in The Bronx.
It began in 2009 when Joe Moorhead, an offensive coordinator at the University of Connecticut, started recruiting quarterback Michael Nebrich at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Virginia.
The two hit it off from the start. The easygoing Moorhead reminded Nebrich of Jim Poythress, his high school coach, and he was drawn to the coach’s fast-paced spread system. Moorhead was attracted to Nebrich’s competitive fire and obvious talent.
“For some reason or another, me and him connected right off the bat,” Nebrich said.
Nebrich, the dual-threat junior quarterback who has guided Fordham to a 7-0 start, picked UConn because of his relationship with Moorhead prior to a record-breaking senior year. He broke the Virginia state record for all-purpose yards with 4,968, scored 59 touchdowns and produced a stacked highlight film that was “25 to 30 minutes long,” Moorhead said.
When UConn brought in a new coaching staff — one year after Moorehead left to take over the Fordham football program — and Nebrich opted to transfer, The Bronx was his first and only choice. Fordham was thrilled to have him.
“To have the prototype in what you want in this offensive system from a quarterback standpoint call you and want to come, it was safe to say a very exciting day,” the second-year coach said.
Fordham, which visits Yale on Saturday afternoon, enjoyed a solid first season under Moorhead last year, a 6-5 campaign that was a five-win improvement over the previous year. They have surpassed that win total this fall with a similar roster.
The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Nebrich is the major difference, leading the Rams to wins over ranked foes Lehigh and Villanova, and the first win over an Football Bowl Subdivision opponent — Temple — in program history. The 7-0 start is the school’s best since 1930 and has the Rams ranked eighth in the nation, a program high.
Nebrich is healthy after tearing his ACL last year, orchestrating Moorhead’s spread system to a tee, running and throwing and compiling yards like the Football College Subdivision version of Johnny Football.
He’s done it with his big right arm (2,166 yards, 17 TDs, FCS-best 74.2 completion percentage) and his legs (504 yards, 5 TDs). In last weekend’s 34-12 rout of Georgetown, he set a Patriot League record with 20 straight completions to start the contest. The Rams are scoring 40.6 points per game, eighth in FCS.
“He can burn you running the ball, he can burn you passing the ball,” Fordham wide receiver Tebucky Jones Jr. said. “You don’t know what he’s going to do.”
Andy Coen, who coaches FCS powerhouse Lehigh, said Nebrich is one of the best quarterbacks he has seen in eight seasons at the this level. Nebrich scored five touchdowns and accounted for 451 total yards in a 52-34 home victory over Lehigh on Oct. 5.
“A defining characteristic of most great quarterbacks is they are very confident in their abilities, but they don’t go overboard with being cocky, and I think that’s where Michael falls,” Moorhead said. “When there’s a big play that needs to be made in the game, he wants the ball in his hands.”
Jones, a UConn transfer like Nebrich and son of the former Patriots star, saw that ability when the players were together in Storrs, Conn. Rather than working out with the quarterbacks, Nebrich would often run with the skill position players.
“He was beating receivers and cornerbacks,” Jones said.
Teammates were drawn to Nebrich as soon as he wound up in The Bronx last fall, impressed by his work ethic and selfless demeanor. He didn’t act like he expected anything, running back Carlton Koonce recalled, and quickly became one of the guys. He was senior Ryan Higgins’ backup, a change-of-pace running quarterback, before tearing up his knee.
“That tells you everything about Mike in a nutshell – he’s a team player,” Koonce said. “That’s what made guys gravitate toward him.”
Nebrich’s season was over after the devastating knee injury against Columbia last September, but he remained invested, a cheerleader with a headset on. He used that time as a learning experience, spending extra time studying defenses. In the spring, when he still could not fully participate in team workouts, Nebrich spent every day working on his drop-back throwing, an admitted weakness.
This season reminds Nebrich of his senior year of high school, when he led Lake Braddock to the state championship game, piling up video-game numbers in one lopsided victory after another.
Moorhead imagined Nebrich doing those things at UConn, under his tutelage. It took longer to come to fruition — and at another school — but it’s played out at Fordham just as the coach and quarterback imagined it would.
“It’s fortunate we had the chance to reconnect,” Moorhead said.