Brandon Musch is the epitome of the “Big Man on Campus” at Westminster Christian Academy. The senior is a four-year starter at quarterback for the Wildcats. He’s been a student at the Huntsville private school since third grade, the first year available for enrollment. He’s well-known and well-liked, according to head football coach Louis LeBlanc.

“He’s the kind of kid who, when he’s walking through the gym to go to lunch, the middle schoolers who are playing dodge ball ask him, ‘Play ball with us!’ and he will stop and jump right in,” he said. “He’s a great young man you want to lead his team.

“He’s always been a team-first guy,” LeBlanc said. “He wants to talk about his linemen or his receivers or how the defense put them in good field position. He’s a joy to coach.”

Musch was the first-team Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 4A All-State quarterback last season after throwing for 2,403 yards and 32 touchdowns and running for 1,395 yards and 26 scores. After last week’s 145 yards on the ground and three TDs and 94 yards with a pair of scores through the air, Musch now sits at No. 6 in the Alabama High School Athletic Association record book for all-time total yards with 11,127. He’s also sixth in touchdowns accounted for with 148.

There’s another number, though, that casts a sour note on the youngster’s storied career: 5-9½. His “measurables” – Musch weighs about 185 pounds – apparently are the reason that no college recruiters are ringing his phone.

Musch is a half-inch shorter than the listed heights of Heisman Trophy winners Bryce Young of Alabama, Doug Flutie of Boston College and Kyler Murray of Oklahoma. Current Southern Mississippi head coach Will Hall, a 5-foot-8 quarterback, won the Division II Heisman – the Harlon Hill Trophy – at North Alabama.

“When I recruited,” said LeBlanc, a former graduate assistant at Alabama and an assistant at West Georgia, “I wanted to recruit the tape. To me, film was everything. Can a guy do it or not? I’m sure Tyreek Hill [former West Alabama standout and current Miami Dolphin star wideout who is listed at 5-10] was told he was too short his whole life. I’m not saying Brandon is Tyreek Hill, but when you look for certain things the Good Lord gave you, he has a lot of those things.

“I hope somebody takes a chance on him, even if it’s another position,” LeBlanc said. “I would like to see him get in an All-Star game. When I was at Alabama, they signed Wallace Gilberry, who didn’t have an offer, until he had five sacks in the All-Star Game. The guy wound up playing eight years in the league.

“I don’t think God is done with Brandon. I pray it works out.”

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Musch, who will lead the Wildcats against Class 4A, Region 8 opponent Randolph at 7 p.m. on Friday at home at SportsMed Field, said playing college football is a dream. “I would like to play college football anywhere,” he said. “That would be awesome.

“I’ve talked to some coaches, but my height is something I’ve been told [is a drawback],” Musch said. “It is what it is. I’m just going to keep my head up the rest of the season and do the best I can to help the team win. If I’m meant to play, God will somehow move the mountains for me and make a way. It’s not up to me.”

Leading the Westminster offense has been left up to Musch for the past four years.

LeBlanc said the Wildcats turned to Musch to take over as quarterback in the final game of his eighth-grade season. He and a few teammates were pulled up to varsity late in the year. After playing some mop-up duty in a couple games, when Westminster’s starter was injured and the backup couldn’t muster much offense in a second-round Class 3A playoff game, the call went to Musch.

“He took us down the field and got a touchdown early in the third quarter,” the coach said. “He just had a little something about him. All the varsity receivers made comments about how when he threw the ball it was just different.

“He took over the starting job from the get-go as a ninth grader and never gave it up. We had graduated a bunch of seniors from the 2019 team and in 2020 we were a little bare, with a lot of ninth graders starting. He persevered through all that. Being a young guy thrust into the limelight, especially as a quarterback, you’re sometimes waiting for a side of an athlete that you never want to see. It never happened with him.”

As a freshman, Musch threw for 2,531 yards and 29 touchdowns, completing 54 percent of his passes. He ran for 1,002 yards and 11 scores. The next season, he passed for 2,031 yards with 13 TDs and ran for 529 with 13 more scores.

This season, Musch has completed 47-of-66 passes (71 percent) for 461 yards and seven touchdowns with two interceptions.

“Every opposing coach we play against always want to know about [No.] 2,” LeBlanc said. “He can spin it. He’s got great vision and can put it about wherever he wants it. He’s got great feet, too. One problem with a quarterback with great feet is there’s a chance they just want to run it.

“We have Randall Taylor, who used to be head coach at New Hope, to coach our running backs and quarterbacks. He’s done a phenomenal job with both position groups. He’s done a great job helping Brandon see the field and make sharper and crisper reads.

“Brandon is special,” LeBlanc said. “The kid would be a starting running back anywhere in high school. It’s crazy to see him at field level. He’s explosive and when you see him running with reckless abandon and see him flying out of bounds on our sideline, it’s fun to watch and to coach.”

Musch said he’s always played quarterback, beginning in youth leagues. “I had seen a couple guys play quarterback on TV and I said, ‘That’s what I want to do.’

“At the end of the day, I’m just another player on the field,” Musch said. “I’m just another contributor on our offense. Part of playing quarterback is if the team does well, you get high praise. If it doesn’t do well, you get criticized. I tell myself I’m just one of the 11 guys who contributes to our offense.”

The QB said he is aware of the gaudy statistics he has been able to amass for the Wildcats, but he doesn’t keep up with them. “In my household, I say, ‘Don’t let me know about this until later on,’” he said. “Definitely while we’re in the season, all we care about is winning.”

This week, Musch and the Wildcats will be trying to snap a three-game losing streak against Randolph and break out of a four-way tie for the top spot in Region 8, with the Raiders, Priceville and New Hope. Randolph held Musch to his lowest passing numbers of the season in 2022 with 85 yards and an interception. He did run for 122 yards and three touchdowns.