No trick, just a treat of a QB for Pitt

Pearland High School was clinging to a 14-10 lead over the No. 1 team in the country in the third quarter of the 2010 Texas Class 5A Division I state championship game. Some 43,000 fans packed into Cowboys Stadium wondered one thing: Can Pearland pull off the upset?

With the ball at his team's 46-yard line, quarterback Trey Anderson and his teammates looked confused as they lined up -- but it was just the beginning of an improbable trick play.

Pearland's center snapped the ball, but the other linemen remained standing, and nobody else moved off the line of scrimmage except for receiver Sam Ukwuachu and the Euless Trinity cornerback covering him. Ukwuachu got a step on his man, and Anderson lofted a perfect pass down the right sideline for a touchdown.

Pearland went on to a 28-24 victory and its first state title. The unusual touchdown -- scored on what's known as the "dead man play" -- became a YouTube sensation, racking up nearly 3.5 million views. But Anderson is no one-trick pony.

"It's easier to call those kind of plays when you have a Trey Anderson," Pearland coach Tony Heath said. "Everybody knows the trick play, but there were some phenomenal plays that he made in that game, getting himself out of trouble and putting us in some good situations. He's got that sixth sense."

Anderson already has earned the confidence of Pitt's coaching staff. Arriving on campus as a walk-on this preseason, he moved up the depth chart to become the backup to Tino Sunseri, earning a scholarship along the way.

Appearing in his first college game Saturday against Maine, Anderson completed 5 of 7 passes for 33 yards. First-year coach Todd Graham indicated he won't hesitate to play Anderson more often, if circumstances dictate it.

"It's amazing how I ended up here," said Anderson, who was planning to attend Tyler Junior College in Texas before Pitt intervened. "I'm so thankful for this opportunity. I know I am overlooked, and I like that."

His opportunity is a classic example of being in the right place at the right time:

» Anderson set Pearland career records with 4,654 passing yards and 41 touchdowns while operating a no-huddle spread offense similar to the one installed by Graham this offseason.

» Pitt's new quarterbacks coach, Todd Dodge, recruited Anderson when he was head coach at North Texas. After North Texas fired him and he moved on to Pitt, Dodge convinced Anderson to walk on.

» Dodge, who won four Texas state titles at Southlake Carroll, had shared his offensive philosophy with Heath when he was still a high school coach. Anderson, whose small stature -- he's 6-foot and 180 pounds -- prevented him from receiving a Division I scholarship offer, was attractive to Dodge because of his understanding of that offense.

"The coaches at Trey's high school visited with me a lot about the things they were putting in," said Dodge, who compared Anderson to former Southlake Carroll quarterback Chase Daniel, who starred at Missouri and is now with the New Orleans Saints. "I can talk with (Anderson) about what they called things in Pearland's offense, and they're exactly what we called them at Southlake. That's a comfort zone for him."

Added Anderson: "I've been doing that since eighth grade. The up-tempo, the spread offense, a lot of the zone-read type deals -- we did all of that in high school."

Dodge this week denied any hint of a quarterback controversy between Anderson and Sunseri, who is working on making quicker reads and getting rid of the ball faster.

"(Sunseri) is not on a short leash," he said. "He is a guy we believe in. However, we've got a young kid that's got a skill set, a passion for the game. I'm dang glad that we've got Trey Anderson. ... He's come in here and really done better than any of us expected.''