Russell has gone full circle with San Diego State squad

Steve Guiremand

Wednesday, Oct. 6, 1999 | 9:47 a.m.

Ten months ago, Brian Russell was the starting quarterback for San Diego State against North Carolina in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Today, the 6-2, 205-pound junior doesn't even find himself playing offense for the Aztecs.

After losing his starting quarterback job as expected to talented junior college transfer Jack Hawley a couple of weeks ago, Russell has decided to switch to free safety for the rest of the season.

"It eats at me not being on the field," said Russell, who quarterbacked San Diego State to a 7-1 record in the WAC last season. "I'm a guy who thinks he can help the team. If it can't be at quarterback, free safety is the quarterback of the defense."

San Diego State's starting free safety, Jermaine Watkins, suffered a toe injury in the Aztecs' 23-22 loss to Air Force on Saturday that will sideline him at least two weeks. San Diego State coach Ted Tollner hinted during this week's Mountain West media call that Russell could work his way into the two-deep with a good week of practice.

"It was (Russell's) decision," Tollner said of the position switch.

"There are more options on defense with nickel packages and dime packages," said Russell, a former safety at famed Bishop Amat High School in La Puente, Calif. "I'm not expecting to start, but I want to get myself in a spot to learn the defense. At quarterback, you're not able to do other things."

Tollner said that Russell "runs well, he has toughness and he's intelligent. What we don't know is his instincts on defense."

It's conceiveable that Russell could work his way into a starter with a strong finish this year. Watkins and starting strong safety Rico Curtis are seniors.

"It's been a while since I played defense, but I'm looking forward to running around and hitting people," Russell said.

* HEAVY HITTER: Air Force's hopes of a Mountain West title are still alive thanks in great part to the school's top baseball player, Mike Thiessen.

The 6-0, 175-pound junior shortstop from Modesto, Calif., won the WAC's regular season batting title in 1998 with a .424 average and ended the season with a school record 30-game hitting streak. But it was Thiessen's "pinch-hitting" in Saturday night's Mountain West showdown with San Diego State that has the folks in Colorado Springs buzzing this week.

Air Force quarterback Cale Bonds suffered a high ankle sprain midway through the second quarter when the Falcons (3-1, 1-1) already were trailing by 10 points. Enter Thiessen, who pushed Bonds for the starting job in fall drills.

Thiessen carried 31 times for 134 yards and two touchdowns and also completed 4 of 10 passes for 51 yards. He led the Falcons on a 15-play, 75-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter to pull out a 23-22 win.

"It was like (it was) a full count, bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, down by three and you hit one out of the park," Thiessen said. "It's a dream come true. Every kid in high school dreams about playing Division I football. I just had to go out there and take grasp of it."

* GOOD START: The Mountain West Conference is more than holding its own on the gridiron in its first year of existence.

Going into this weekend's games, the MWC is 16-10 in nonconference games, including a nice 3-1 mark against both Pac-10 and Big 12 teams. The conference is ranked seventh in this week's Sagarin ratings above Conference USA, Independents and the WAC.