Pike’s Peak: Quarterback leads Cincinnati into its first major bowl

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The initial prognosis was six to eight weeks. And with that, Cincinnati quarterback Tony Pike feared his short stint as a starter was over.

When he broke his left, non-throwing, forearm in the Bearcats’ Sept. 27 game at Akron, it seemed a cruel ending to an odyssey that saw him go from fourth-string to backup to starter in a matter of weeks.

Pike’s rags to riches story didn’t end there, however. His injury was less severe than first thought — he only broke the radius bone in his arm, making for a much quicker recovery time — and he was back on the field three games later.

Pike, a 6-foot-6, 225-pound junior, bucked the odds twice already this season. He’s hoping to do it again and lead No. 12 Cincinnati to an Orange Bowl win over No. 19 Virginia Tech.

“Obviously, going against Virginia Tech, the seventh-best defense in the nation (in terms of total yards allowed), they’re going to challenge us in ways we haven’t been challenged this year, but I think the guys have it in their minds that (while) it’s a treat and a reward to come here to the Orange Bowl and we worked hard to get here, at the same time, we want to go home with a win,” said Pike, a Cincinnati native.

The Bearcats (11-2) won their first Big East championship this season, in just their fourth year in the conference, and they’re playing in their first major bowl.

They’ve done it with three different starting quarterbacks.

Pike has been the most instrumental, leading Cincinnati to an 8-1 record in his nine starts. He has completed 62.9 percent of his passes for 2,168 yards, 18 touchdowns and only seven interceptions while earning second-team All-Big East honors.

That he is even in the conversation is significant considering his name wasn’t listed on the team’s depth chart entering preseason practice.

“I tease him a lot,” said Mardy Gilyard, the Bearcats’ loquacious wide receiver. “I’m like, ‘Man, you were underneath our scout team quarterback. What were you, like 30th-string or something?’”

Close. Pike was behind senior Dustin Grutza, freshman Chazz Anderson and sophomore Demetrius Jones.

A conversation in the preseason with coach Brian Kelly put Pike’s situation into perspective.

“He pretty much told me it was now or never,” Pike said.

Pike didn’t back down from the challenge. He was narrowly beat out by Grutza for the starting job, and though he was a backup to start the season, Pike practiced and prepared like the No. 1 guy.

When Grutza broke his leg at Oklahoma on Sept. 6, Pike was ready to go.

Pike started the next two games, completing 20 of 24 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns against Miami (Ohio) and passing for 321 yards and two scores against Akron before one of the Zips defenders laid a licking on him that temporarily stalled his feel-good story.

Pike was forced out of the pocket toward the right sideline, and he tucked his left arm as he attempted to throw a pass across his body.

The Akron player hit Pike’s forearm with his helmet, causing a break.

“I ran over and talked with him when they put him on the cart (to transport him to the locker room),” Gilyard said.

“I was like, ‘You alright big dog?’ And he was like, ‘Mardy man, however I’m going to get back, I’ve got to get back. Trust me, I’ll be back in a couple of weeks.’ I was like, ‘A couple of weeks, bro? You broke your arm, dog.’”

That was wishful thinking on Pike’s part. He kept his fears to himself. He was worried his short career as a starter might have been over.

“Before that, I never had a taste of what it was like, and then you get in there and have a taste of some success and what it’s like being the guy the team is looking to, and to have that for a short period of time and have it taken away was probably the lowest point,” Pike said.

As luck would have it, team doctors confirmed Pike’s plan for quick recovery the next day when they discovered the injury was much less severe than first feared.

He had surgery to have a five-inch plate and six screws attached to his arm. Then he approached rehab like he approached preseason practice: He did everything in his power to get on the field, and true to his word he was back in the starting lineup three games later at Connecticut.

He has started every game since, broken arm and all. He wears a padded brace to protect the injury.

Grutza and Anderson have helped out in relief since Pike’s return, but Bearcats offensive coordinator Jeff Quinn said the plan is for Pike to play every snap Thursday.

“The thing I love about Tony is he really took charge,” Quinn said. “Once he was called upon, he really stepped in and stepped up and did some of the things that you would expect a starting quarterback to do, and plus he’s a very talented quarterback from a skill level.”

He’s active in the pocket, which makes him hard to bring down, and he’s got a powerful throwing arm, which hasn’t been impacted by his injured other arm.

Gilyard knew Pike was special two years ago in preseason camp when he saw Pike effortlessly throwing tight spirals 65 yards down the field.

“I knew he had an arm, and if he took this thing seriously, he was going to be dangerous,” Gilyard said.

“Coach put him on the spot, and he chose to take it seriously opposed to backing down from the challenge. Just him doing that and blowing up led us to this success now.”