Daily News-Record

Justin Rascati stood on the 30-yard line at Bridgeforth Stadium, the sun setting on a warm summer evening, and flipped a football over and over in his hands.

Fast forward two months, and it's also exactly where the 20-year old Louisville transfer hopes to be when James Madison's season begins Sept. 4 - on the field, gripping the ball.

"That's what I came here for," Rascati said Tuesday night. "If I didn't want to play, I'd be at Louisville doing the same old thing there. I came here to play football."

Clad in dark blue shorts and a black T-shirt with the word "Hammer" emblazoned in white across his chest, Rascati spent about 40 minutes throwing passes in a 7-on-7 workout with his new teammates.

At Division I-AA Madison, Rascati said he's getting an opportunity he didn't feel he was afforded at I-A Louisville: a chance to win the starting quarterback job.

"It was time for me to leave," Rascati said. "Now, I'm moving on."

His immediate goal is to unseat three-year starter Matt LeZotte as JMU's quarterback.

It won't be easy. Last year, LeZotte completed 60 percent of his 239 passes for 1,753 yards, 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, avoiding the injury bug that bit him often in previous seasons.

On the flip side, however, he has never led the Dukes to a winning record, although they were 6-6 last fall, their first non-losing season in three years.

"We have no preconceived notions about who will win the job," JMU coach Mickey Matthews said Wednesday.

Coming out of high school, Rascati -- a Gainesville, Fla., native who attended Gators games when he was still in diapers - chose Louisville over Central Florida.

But things turned sour after a coaching change and the Cardinals' signing of local phenom - and Sports Illustrated cover boy - Brian Brohm, the quarterback who appears likely to take Louisville into the Big East.

Mike Rascati said he knew his son needed a new school long before Brohm - the brother of former Louisville quarterback Jeff Brohm, now the team's quarterback coach - signed. He knew when Jon L. Smith, the coach who recruited Justin, left for Michigan State and Bob Petrino took over. He knew when Justin called to say that Stefan LeFors was practicing with the starters, while Rascati worked with the backups.

But Mike Rascati wanted his son to make his own decision about what to do.

That happened in last season's bowl game, a 49-28 loss to Miami of Ohio in the GMAC Bowl. As an injured LeFors struggled to complete passes and was picked off three times, a healthy Rascati stood on the sidelines.

Mike Rascati waited outside the locker room for Justin, expecting to bide his time, as usual.

"He's always the last one out," the elder Rascati said. "He's like an old woman in there."

But not this time. Rascati emerged, unshowered, his belongings tucked under both arms.

"He said, 'I'm out of here. I'm done,'" Mike Rascati said by telephone from his Florida home. "It was a total slap in the face."

Justin's decision was cemented when Louisville signed Brohm as part of this season's freshman class. Brohm had been featured in Sports Illustrated during the high school football season for a cover story on three-sport prep athletes.

Louisville coaches could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

"He had talked about transferring," LeFors, one of Rascati's best friends at Louisville, said this week. "A lot of people talk like that. It's just the youth speaking. But he was pretty serious about it.

"He always says the writing was on the wall for him."

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Rascati, who broke most of former NFL quarterback Doug Johnson's records at Buchholz High School in Gainesville, checked out Central Florida and South Florida after deciding to transfer. But his focus appeared to be on I-AA teams. Under NCAA rules, players who transfer down do not have to sit out a year before becoming eligible. Among the schools Rascati considered were Chattanooga, Murray State, Western Kentucky, Eastern Illinois and Indiana State.

JMU wasn't in the picture because of a communications breakdown. Mike Rascati had called Madison, along with many other potential I-AA destinations, but he left messages with departed offensive coordinator Eddie Davis. Davis left the Dukes to join Northeastern's staff this offseason.

When the two parties finally talked by phone, the Rascatis agreed to visit JMU. Justin Rascati watched Madison's spring game, went back to Louisville, and asked Petrino for his release.

In Harrisonburg, Mike Rascati said, he's hopeful his son will get a fair shot.

"All he's needed is just a chance to get on the field," the 46-year-old optometrist said. "Some day they'll be sorry they let him go from Louisville. I'm convinced.

"He just wants someone to give him an honest, fair chance. Not hold their finger on him and keep him down."

So far, the younger Rascati said, things have gone well. He's living with teammates and working at the Sheraton Hotel, waiting and busing tables for banquets.

LeFors, who must now battle Brohm for Louisville's starting job, said JMU has added a cerebral player and one who isn't shy about sharing his football ideas.

"We'd be sitting in a meeting and Coach would be going over things," LeFors said. "He'd always throw his two cents in."

That's a side of Rascati his new teammates have already gotten to know.

"He's real smart, football-wise," center Matt Magerko said. "He's definitely picking up the offense. He has his playbook and he's studying it all the time."

What could be difficult is unseating LeZotte.

LeZotte, who last summer endured his coach's flirtation with disgruntled Florida quarterback Patrick Dosh, said he's confident he can keep his position.

"I still feel like this is my team," LeZotte said Tuesday, before sitting out the workout with a sore shoulder. "Him coming in just pushes me more."

If he doesn't start, Rascati does have three years of eligibility remaining. He redshirted his first year at Louisville. Last season, he was 14-for-24 for 177 yards, two interceptions and one touchdown in five games.

But he wants that ball in his hands when the season starts at home against Lock Haven.

"I wouldn't be the happiest guy if that didn't happen," Rascati said. "I won't put my head down. I'll just keep working. I do have three more years left, but I came here to play the first game."
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