Steamwheelers Ink IUP Record Holder
Published on January 12, 2004 under arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release
DAVENPORT, Iowa â The Quad City Steamwheelers announced today that quarterback Brian Eyerman, 6'3, 195 lbs. out of Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) was assigned to the team by the arenafootball2 (af2) league office.
Steamwheelers head coach Rich Ingold is quite familiar with IUP. Not only is it his alma mater, Ingold is also a member of the IUP Athletic Hall of Fame as a former All-American standout quarterback. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sept. 27, 2003.
For many years Ingold sat atop the IUP record books, but that was before Eyerman came along. Eyerman did not break all of Ingold's passing records, but he did break quite a few.
Eyerman started all four seasons with the Indians and accumulated 8,409 yards on 536-of-959 passing. He threw for 84 touchdowns and only 38 interceptions in 42 games. As a starter he was 32-9 and took the Indians to the playoffs all four years and was the only true freshman to start at quarterback for IUP in over 20 years.
He was selected to play in the NCAA Division II all-star game, the Cactus Bowl in 2002 and was a Harlon Hill Trophy Northeast finalist.
Eyerman holds the career records for: total touchdowns (89) pass attempts (959), pass completions (536), yards (8,409), passing touchdowns (84), and total yards (7,779).
He also holds single season records in total touchdowns (37 in 2002), average yards per completion (17.3 in 2001) and passing touchdowns (36 in 2002).
Eyerman set a single game record in 2002 with the total touchdowns against New Haven and Edinboro with five touchdowns in both games.
"It was bound to happen," Ingold said with a smile about Eyerman breaking some of his records. "I was hurt my junior year and lost half of my season because of my spleen and only played in 26 games, so (Eyerman breaking the records) was inevitable."
Eyerman also had a streak of 13 consecutive games where he threw for at least two touchdowns.
As Eyerman's career went along, Ingold took notice. So much so that Ingold worked out both Eyerman and current Steamwheelers rookie OS Carmello Ocasio this past September in Pittsburgh. Ocasio and Eyerman played all four seasons at IUP together from 1999-2002.
Eyerman's career award and accomplishment list includes: Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West Offensive Player of the Year (2002), first-team PSAC West all-star (2001 and 2002), and ECAC Division II South Rookie of the Year (1999).
Ingold thinks that Ocasio and Eyerman have some potential if things work out for the both of them. "It's always good when you get a quarterback and receiver who have played together before, they have known each other and played together for four years now," Ingold said. "But it will be competitive for both Brian and Carmello. We have three good quarterbacks and a bunch of good receivers coming into camp. "I think that is going to make us much better with the competition."
During the workout Ingold saw similarities in Eyerman comparable to Zimmerman and wanted Eyerman to come to camp with the Steamwheelers.
"He reminds me somewhat of Zimmerman," Ingold said. "He is very accurate. When I worked him out, the ball didn't hit the ground. "He puts the ball where he wants to put it and he should make this quarterback situation very interesting."
Eyerman received other opportunities, working out with teams in the Arena Football League (AFL), but as Ingold is quick to point out, experience helps.
"These AFL teams are looking for quarterbacks with Arena Football experience," Ingold said. "This seems like the right fit for him."
Ingold decided to give him the opportunity and Eyerman will get his chance this March when the Steamwheelers enter camp. He will be competing against former Purdue Boilermaker Matt Pike and 2003 Steamwheelers backup and former Vanderbilt standout Ronnie Gordon.
The Steamwheelers are gearing up for their Fifth Anniversary season, which will kick off in April. The 2004 schedule is just days away and fans interested in purchasing season tickets can contact Steamwheelers Director of Ticket Sales Brian Forth at 563-324-4888 or toll free at 1-866-STEAMTIX.
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