California Lutheran University’s starting quarterback Nick Isham came to Cal Lutheran on a different path than most. Instead of coming straight out of high school or transferring in from a junior college, he journeyed through two Division I schools, Louisiana Tech University and the University of Arizona, before suiting up in the purple and gold.

Isham attended Westlake High School where he was rated a three star athlete according to Rivals.com. While attending Westlake, Isham was chosen as a 2010 Old Spice National High School Player of the Year, named all-state both his junior and senior years, while also winning all–county and all-league honors, and county and league Most Valuable Player accolades according to arizonawildcats.com. Isham also lead Westlake to a division championship where his team finished ranked No. 16 in the state.

“I’ve always followed Nick’s career since we just missed working together at the high school level, but that was more as a fan and as a friend than as a recruiter,” said Ben McEnroe head football coach.

Out of high school Isham had a number of offers including Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, Air Force, Cornell, Dartmouth and Harvard. Shortly before graduating from Westlake in 2011, Isham made the decision to sign with Louisiana Tech.

“I had a great opportunity to start as a true freshman at Louisiana Tech and it was the right place to go for me at that time,” Isham said.

While at Louisiana Tech Isham had a 3-4 overall record and 2-1 in conference play as a starter. He was also the second youngest quarterback to start the teams first game of his true freshman year in National Collegiate Athletic Association history according to latechsports.com.

After playing one year at Louisiana Tech, Isham transferred to the University of Arizona. After redshirting the 2012 season, Isham was back on the field in 2013 where he played in all 13 games as a placeholder for extra points and field goals, according to arizonawildacats.com. Isham had also received Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention.

“Things didn’t work out as I had planned at U of A, so after I left I looked into what the best options would be and Cal Lutheran was the best choice for me,” Isham said.

After finishing the 2013 season at Arizona Isham decided to transfer to Cal Lutheran.

“Nick called me when he was leaving his last school, and we didn’t speak at all in terms of recruiting him to CLU at that time.  As we discussed all of his options and what his career goals were, he later expressed interest in attending CLU, so we discussed that option specifically at that time,” McEnroe said.

While playing his first season at Cal Lutheran Isham currently has a conference leading 1,806 passing yards with 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He also has been one of the top rushers in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference as well, with 400 yards, good enough for eighth in SCIAC.

Isham’s favorite target on the field, junior wide receiver Andrew Worthley, attested to the leadership Isham has been able to provide for the team.

“Nick has helped the team by bringing a strong arm and strong leadership. Stepping into a leadership role as a transfer isn’t easy, but Nick has handled it really well. He has dealt with the ups and downs of the season and has always been the kind of guy you enjoy playing with, but that’s been true of our team as a whole this year,” Worthley said.

Chris Whitmer

Staff Writer

Published November 5, 2014