Yukica Profile: Patrick Brust

By rbrown
- Tweet
- Pin It
Updated: May 1, 2020

NOTE: The 2020 Joe Yukica New Hampshire Chapter of the National Football Foundation Scholar/Athlete banquet was cancelled this year because of COVID-19. Each Scholar/Athlete will be recognized with a commemorative program, a plaque and a personal profile that will appear in the program, on the New Hampshire Football Report, the Joe Yukica/New Hampshire Chapter web site (joeyukicafootballfoundation.org) and the Joe Yukica/New Hampshire Chapter Facebook page. This is one in a series of 39 profiles. Once published, each profile can be accessed by clicking on the athlete’s name at the bottom of the page.

PATRICK BRUST
Bishop Brady High School

Patrick Brust passed for 935 yards and seven touchdowns and added 392 yards and nine TDs on the ground for the Bishop Brady High School football team last season. That production will be difficult to replace, but former Bishop Brady coach Jermaine McKenzie said it may be even harder to fill the leadership void Brust will leave behind.

“As a leader he’s almost irreplaceable,” said McKenzie, who announced his resignation on May 2. “We’re gonna have to replace him with numbers, by committee.

“He’s very smart. Like a sponge, soaks up everything. Asks questions. He’s a very approachable kid. Treats everyone with respect. You would find it very hard to find someone who disliked him.”

Brust’s leadership skills are among the many reasons he was selected as a 2020 Scholar/Athlete by the Joe Yukica New Hampshire Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

A Henniker resident, Brust also played baseball and basketball for the Green Giants. He’s one of two quarterbacks selected to represent New Hampshire when it plays Vermont in this summer’s Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl.

Brust, who also played outside linebacker, is a member of the National Honor Society and served as president of the school’s Student/Athlete Leadership Team (SALT) as a senior.

McKenzie said Brust will attend Michigan State and plans to pursue a career in the medical field.

“Patrick has gone above and beyond during his time at Bishop Brady for both our community and our athletic programs,” Bishop Brady athletic director Annie Mattarazzo said. “He excels in the classroom.”

Although Bishop Brady competes in Division IV — a division for the NHIAA’s smallest schools — McKenzie said Brust would have been a standout QB in any NHIAA program.

“Easily,” he said. “For the simple fact that he’s a dual threat. You don’t get too many of those guys. Plus he’s coachable.

“He’s a Brady kid. That’s the best way to describe him.”

Q and A with Patrick Brust

Q: Please describe the most memorable moment of your high school football career.

A: My most memorable moment was the final drive in our game against Epping/Newmarket in my sophomore year. I had thrown eight touchdowns so far in the game, but we were still losing 58-55. We had enough time for one final drive to win the game and I thought we had it sealed because we had done so well offensively throughout the game. We made it to midfield when we faced a fourth down. If we failed to convert, we would lose the game. I rolled to my left and was scanning for an open receiver. There was a tight window to get the ball to my receiver who was just past the line to gain. I tried to fit the ball into his hands, but the ball fell incomplete. We had just lost the best game, at least statistically, that I had ever played. I remember looking at the scoreboard after the game, unable to accept what had just happened. While most players’ most memorable moment is probably a positive one, mine is negative because it fueled me to work harder throughout the rest of high school.

Q: Tell us about someone who has had a significant influence on your life.

A: My mom has had a huge impact on my life. She has always been big on academics, but she is also the reason I play football. She grew up as a diehard Green Bay Packers fan and passed that on to me. As far back as I can remember, Sundays were for watching the Packers. I wanted to be just like the guys I saw on TV every week and play football, but my mom wouldn’t let me until I reached high school because she was worried about injuries. FInally when I reached high school, she let me sign up and football instantly became my favorite sport.

Q: What is your favorite subject in school and why?

A: Biology, I think it is really interesting to learn about how complicated life is and how all the processes in our body work together.

Q: What life lessons have you learned from football?

A: The biggest thing I have learned is that nothing comes without some kind of sacrifice. You can’t expect anything to be handed to you without putting in the work.

Q: What is your dream job?

A: Sports medicine physician.

*******

2020 Scholar/Athletes: Keith Albergo (Winnacunnet), Thatcher Allen (Exeter), Cole Ames (Lebanon), Mason Belsky (Windham), Patrick Brust (Bishop Brady), Jaedon Cliche (Exeter), Riley Desmarais (Windham), Bobby DiCicco (Windham), Jared Dyer (Merrimack), Casey Gladu (Portsmouth), Owen Gormley (Salem), Jack Grogan (Bedford), Steven Guerette (Bow), Evan Haskins (Pelham), Samson Hodges (Milford), Ethan Holt (Bishop Guertin), Jack Jones (Bedford), Charlie Kneissl-Williams (Bedford), Hunter Lassard (St. Thomas), Joseph Lupo (Bishop Guertin), Jake MacInnis (Pinkerton), Braden McDonnell (Nashua South), Will MacLean (St. Thomas), Hayden Moses (Bishop Guertin), Riley Mulvey (Salem), Kyle O’Connor (Nashua South), Nolan Pafford (Portsmouth), Wade Rainey (Lebanon), Ismael Rivera (Bishop Brady), Oceanne Skoog (Newfound), Caleb Smith (Lebanon), Rolando Sylvain-Stott (Newfound), John Thibault (Trinity), Zach Twardosky (Merrimack), Gavin Urda (Milford), Carter Vedrani (Campbell), Jacob Wenger (Trinity), Jon Willeman (Lebanon) and Devin Wood (Merrimack).