Nov. 20, 2001
By Jonathan Gust, Villanova Media Relations
Every Saturday, Villanova running back Brian Westbrook does something you have never seen a player do before. And the next week he tops it by doing something totally different and that much better. Fans, media and NFL scouts pack into Villanova Stadium on Saturday afternoons to see the senior star and everyone in attendance is treated to a show. Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus had better rethink their marketing strategy - because "the greatest show on earth" is right here on the Main Line and he wears number 20.
Westbrook arrived at Villanova in 1997 as a two-sport star from DeMatha Catholic High School in Ft. Washington, Md. As a senior at DeMatha Catholic, the honors rolled in for the Maryland prep star. On the football field, Westbrook received first team All-League, first team All-Prince George's County, All-State honorable mention and All-Metropolitan honorable mention. As the starting point guard on the basketball squad, he led the team in both field goal percentage and assists as a senior. After a stellar high school career, the Maryland native chose Villanova University as his next destination.
The 1997 season was a good one for the Wildcat freshman, as he wasted no time acclimating himself to the Atlantic 10 Conference. Westbrook rushed for 630 yards and seven touchdowns and caught 12 passes for 113 yards and four touchdowns as a freshman. It was an even better season for the Villanova team as a whole, as the Wildcats finished the regular season No. 1 in the nation at 11-0. The 1997 season marked the first-ever undefeated, untied full regular season in Villanova's history.
One season later, Westbrook began his assault on the national scene. He became the first player in the history of college football, at any level, to rush and receive for 1,000 yards in the same season. Westbrook finished the season with 1,046 yards rushing on 200 carries, 89 receptions for 1,144 yards and 25 offensive touchdowns. He also set the NCAA Division I-AA record for all-purpose yards in a season with 3,026, and led all of Division I-AA in scoring with 160 points. Westbrook received first team All-America accolades from the Associated Press and the Sports Network for his play, claiming first team All-Atlantic 10 and first team All-ECAC honors as well.
Westbrook set 13 Villanova school records in 1998, giving him 17 Wildcat records through his sophomore season. During the winter following the season, injury struck the Wildcat star. Westbrook slipped on a patch of ice and tore his ACL requiring a surgery that would keep him out the entire 1999 season. The greatest test of his career-to-date would come not on the football field, but rather in the gym and in the weightroom trying to rehabilitate his injured knee.
Westbrook's goal was not just to come back from his injury, but to come back even better. In his first game back versus Rutgers, all he did was rush 14 times for 46 yards, catch nine passes for 93 yards and a touchdown, and return five kickoffs for 116 yards.
Villanova's all-purpose back got better and better as the weeks went on. Westbrook finished the 2000 season with another 1,000/1,000 milestone. He ran the ball 179 times for 1,220 yards and 15 touchdowns, returned 38 kickoffs for 1,048 yards and two touchdowns, and also caught 59 passes for 724 yards and five scores. Westbrook earned first team All-America honors by a number of publications, as well as being named the Atlantic 10 Conference and the ECAC Offensive Player of the Year. He also finished third in the voting for the Walter Payton Award, given annually to the top offensive player in Division I-AA.
The 2000 campaign was a bitter, sweet season for Westbrook, however, as the `Cats struggled to a 5-6 record. It left him with a bad taste in his mouth and gave him that much more motivation heading into his final season on the Main Line in 2001.
"It goes beyond the numbers," said Westbrook. "I have done a lot in my time here. But the teams I have played on, except for my freshman year (12-1), haven't been the greatest. Now I am trying to put all the individual things aside. The coaches talk to me a lot about making the team better. That's what good players do."
Before the season even began, Westbrook was named to the 2002 Hula Bowl roster. This marked the first time a Villanova player was selected to play in the All-Star game, which highlights the nation's top seniors. Westbrook on the other hand, had his sites set on other things as the season began.
"I want to go out with a bang. I want to go out on top," said Westbrook. "There is a sense of urgency because this in the last go-around. Last year left a bitter taste in my mouth."
Westbrook transcended that bitter taste to his play on the field, as he started the 2001 season with a bang against Colgate. In a 38-14 win over the Raiders, he totaled 337 all-purpose yards (146 rushing, 75 receiving, 116 return) and five touchdowns. Through the Villanova's first four games of the season, a stretch which saw the `Cats go 4-0, Westbrook tallied 1,113 all-purpose yards and 12 scores.
After barely scratching out wins versus Richmond (W, 31-30) and James Madison (W, 44-44, OT), Villanova's luck began running out. The Wildcats fell to Division II New Haven on Oct. 12 at home, and lost again one week later, 44-40, at Maine. A season which had once seen the `Cats ranked 12th in the nation at 4-0, had now taken them out of the top 25 with a 4-2 mark.
A man, who may or may not have had sports in mind, once said that "when the going gets tough, the tough get going" - and that is exactly what Westbrook did. Looking to help Villanova break a two-game losing skid, he and the `Cats went back home to face the University of Massachusetts on Homecoming.
Westbrook torched the Minutemen for 103 yards rushing, 40 yards receiving, 56 return yards and three touchdowns, as Villanova got back on the winning track with a 47-13 landslide victory. The next destination for the `Cats was New Hampshire, and Westbrook went in looking to set yet another milestone.
With only 15 yards against the Wildcats of UNH, Westbrook would become the all-time NCAA Division I-AA leader in all-purpose yards, and what better place to do it than New Hampshire - the same place where former UNH running back Jerry Azumah set the record with 8,376 yards.
Westbrook made history at New Hampshire, breaking Azumah's mark with a 14-yard run early in the first quarter. Villanova went on to win a "nail-biter" by the score of 38-35, as the Wildcats' senior star went for 242 yards and three touchdowns.
Villanova's second straight win vaulted them back into the top 25 at No. 23 heading into a November 10th showdown at No. 3 Hofstra. A win by the Pride would have given them the Atlantic 10 Conference title. From the opening kickoff, it was the "Brian Westbrook Show." Not only did he run over them, past them and through the Hofstra Pride, but he flat out dominated the 3rd ranked team in the country.
Westbrook rushed for 287 yards against Hofstra last Saturday, as well as catching 57 yards worth of passes, posting 42 return yards and scoring five touchdowns. His 381-yard all-purpose effort helped give the Wildcats a 54-34 victory.
With two games to go in the regular season and two games left in the storybook career of Westbrook, Villanova is now in the driver's seat. If the `Cats win out in their final two contests, they will take home the Atlantic 10 Conference crown. And with just 311 more yards, Westbrook will become the NCAA all-time leader in all-purpose yards at any level. The mark is currently held by Brian Shay, who registered 9,301 yards for Division II Emporia State between 1995-98.
"I would rather win and not get the record than lose and get the record," Westbrook said. "Anybody can be a star on a team that is not very good. But when you are the best player on a team that won an Atlantic 10 championship, that went to the playoffs, then that's the mark of a good player."
Can Westbrook carry, catch and return the Wildcats to an Atlantic 10 Conference title? Only time will tell. But if Villanova's All-Purpose, All-American has any say in the matter, the Wildcats may just be hoisting an Atlantic 10 Championship trophy one week from today.
