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University of Minnesota Athletics
Countering the Critics - Junior Bryan Cupito
11/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
In a fourth quarter moment when his team needed him to score a two-point conversion to tie the game in the Big Ten opener against Purdue, Cupito calmly waltzed into the huddle and jokingly said to his teammates, “Guys, you’re never going to believe what they just called.” The coaches had entrusted extending the game to the least fleet-of-foot player in the Gophers’ backfield by calling an option play for No. 3. But true to his character, Cupito did not let the weight of the moment hamper his performance. He coolly took the snap, scampered around right end and fell across the goal line, tying the game and setting the stage for a dramatic Minnesota come-from-behind victory.
“I’m just having fun out there,” Cupito said of his lighthearted on-the-field demeanor. “It seems like things click a lot better that way. Whenever I sit around and start dwelling on the significance of the game, then I start getting nervous and that’s not me. So I usually try to relax and just have fun.”
Head coach Glen Mason appreciates the calmness that his quarterback imparts, even in the wake of some team misfortunes. Despite going 13-7 as a starter over the past two seasons, Cupito has received some harsh criticism for the inability of his team to win a Big Ten title. But Coach Mason’s faith in Cupito has never wavered. “I’ve never lacked any confidence in Bryan Cupito,” Mason said of his second year starter. “He’s a pretty steady guy. He doesn’t get too high or too low. He’s also been around here a long time, so I think that coaches and players are less likely to have knee-jerk reactions than external people.”
Facing criticism is part of the job description of playing quarterback for a Big Ten team. Cupito witnessed first-hand how his predecessor, Asad Abdul-Khaliq, was disparaged when the team didn’t win. “Asad got bad-mouthed all the time. It seemed like everything he did was wrong,” Cupito said, recalling the criticisms of the Gophers second all-time leading passer. “So I knew coming into it that it would probably be like that for me if we didn’t win. But it’s not something that really bothers me. You know it’s coming, so it’s about how you deal with it.”
Cupito has therefore relied on his close-knit family to help him through some personal adversity and the subsequent criticism. He says his entire family– father Steve, mother Erin, and brother Brad – is wonderfully supportive, and they all get along incredibly well. Bryan and his older brother have a particularly close relationship. Each calls the other his best friend and each has helped the other through gridiron setbacks.
Brad was a quarterback at Indiana before injuries prematurely sidelined his career. So he’s been a Big Ten signal-caller and knows exactly what Bryan deals with day in and day out, including hearing the negative remarks. “I think the criticism bothers me more than it does Bryan,” Brad said. “Because I know all the work that he’s put in and all that being a quarterback at that level takes. But he’s always gotten the last laugh before and I believe he will again.”
Brad cautions against mistaking Bryan’s calm manner as nonchalant. He believes instead that his younger brother’s nature is calculating. Brad describes him as “street smart” and says that Bryan is careful to thoroughly read people.
It’s a tactic he’s now taken to the field as well. Bryan admitted there were times last season that he was in a hurry to run a play, but didn’t really understand why he was running it. But this season he says his ability to read defenses has greatly improved from last year. “I’m seeing things a lot better,” he stated. “It’s made everything better because if you read the defenses better, then you can throw the ball better and you can make the right checks to the run. It all goes hand in hand.”
Below Bryan’s calm exterior, burns a competitive spirit that was fueled by the daily one-on-one match ups with his brother on the basketball court. He said in all the times they’ve faced off, Brad has beaten him every time, except once. Bryan wittily referred to that victory as the best day of his life. But the elder Cupito simply called it a fluke. “Inside I think he was happy for me when I finally beat him,” Bryan said, recalling the win. “But he still talks about how I got lucky.”
It’s not luck, however that has gotten Bryan Cupito to the cusp of achieving greatness. Rather, credit his perseverance and a solid character molded by his parents and influenced by his brother. So no matter what the win-loss record indicates, Bryan Cupito is undoubtedly a winner.
Story written by Kevin Noth, athletic communications graduate assistant To get a glimpse of a player’s true character, it is essential to examine how they deal with adversity. For a college quarterback, there is no more adverse situation during a game than needing to score with the ball in your hands on what could possibly be your team’s final offensive play. Would you be feeling any pressure? Not if you’re Bryan Cupito.
In a fourth quarter moment when his team needed him to score a two-point conversion to tie the game in the Big Ten opener against Purdue, Cupito calmly waltzed into the huddle and jokingly said to his teammates, “Guys, you’re never going to believe what they just called.” The coaches had entrusted extending the game to the least fleet-of-foot player in the Gophers’ backfield by calling an option play for No. 3. But true to his character, Cupito did not let the weight of the moment hamper his performance. He coolly took the snap, scampered around right end and fell across the goal line, tying the game and setting the stage for a dramatic Minnesota come-from-behind victory.
“I’m just having fun out there,” Cupito said of his lighthearted on-the-field demeanor. “It seems like things click a lot better that way. Whenever I sit around and start dwelling on the significance of the game, then I start getting nervous and that’s not me. So I usually try to relax and just have fun.”
Head coach Glen Mason appreciates the calmness that his quarterback imparts, even in the wake of some team misfortunes. Despite going 13-7 as a starter over the past two seasons, Cupito has received some harsh criticism for the inability of his team to win a Big Ten title. But Coach Mason’s faith in Cupito has never wavered. “I’ve never lacked any confidence in Bryan Cupito,” Mason said of his second year starter. “He’s a pretty steady guy. He doesn’t get too high or too low. He’s also been around here a long time, so I think that coaches and players are less likely to have knee-jerk reactions than external people.”
Facing criticism is part of the job description of playing quarterback for a Big Ten team. Cupito witnessed first-hand how his predecessor, Asad Abdul-Khaliq, was disparaged when the team didn’t win. “Asad got bad-mouthed all the time. It seemed like everything he did was wrong,” Cupito said, recalling the criticisms of the Gophers second all-time leading passer. “So I knew coming into it that it would probably be like that for me if we didn’t win. But it’s not something that really bothers me. You know it’s coming, so it’s about how you deal with it.”
Cupito has therefore relied on his close-knit family to help him through some personal adversity and the subsequent criticism. He says his entire family– father Steve, mother Erin, and brother Brad – is wonderfully supportive, and they all get along incredibly well. Bryan and his older brother have a particularly close relationship. Each calls the other his best friend and each has helped the other through gridiron setbacks.
Brad was a quarterback at Indiana before injuries prematurely sidelined his career. So he’s been a Big Ten signal-caller and knows exactly what Bryan deals with day in and day out, including hearing the negative remarks. “I think the criticism bothers me more than it does Bryan,” Brad said. “Because I know all the work that he’s put in and all that being a quarterback at that level takes. But he’s always gotten the last laugh before and I believe he will again.”
Brad cautions against mistaking Bryan’s calm manner as nonchalant. He believes instead that his younger brother’s nature is calculating. Brad describes him as “street smart” and says that Bryan is careful to thoroughly read people.
It’s a tactic he’s now taken to the field as well. Bryan admitted there were times last season that he was in a hurry to run a play, but didn’t really understand why he was running it. But this season he says his ability to read defenses has greatly improved from last year. “I’m seeing things a lot better,” he stated. “It’s made everything better because if you read the defenses better, then you can throw the ball better and you can make the right checks to the run. It all goes hand in hand.”
Below Bryan’s calm exterior, burns a competitive spirit that was fueled by the daily one-on-one match ups with his brother on the basketball court. He said in all the times they’ve faced off, Brad has beaten him every time, except once. Bryan wittily referred to that victory as the best day of his life. But the elder Cupito simply called it a fluke. “Inside I think he was happy for me when I finally beat him,” Bryan said, recalling the win. “But he still talks about how I got lucky.”
It’s not luck, however that has gotten Bryan Cupito to the cusp of achieving greatness. Rather, credit his perseverance and a solid character molded by his parents and influenced by his brother. So no matter what the win-loss record indicates, Bryan Cupito is undoubtedly a winner.
Story written by Kevin Noth, athletic communications graduate assistant
