L-Way Quarterbacks Take Time to 'Paus' and Reflect on Careers

Whenever brothers Cory and Casey Paus get together, they could talk all day about their accomplishments on the football field.

There’s a reason they rarely do, however.

“If I ever bring up something that I did better than him, he’ll bring up that he won a state championship (at Lincoln-Way) and I never did,” Casey Paus said. “There’s the normal sibling rivalry between us, and it definitely makes it hard from the brother aspect, but I don’t hold it against Cory whatsoever.”

“I’ll admit he can put me in a headlock and probably beat me up, so I try not to bring it up,” Cory Paus said of boasting to his younger brother. “I may give my brother a hard time that he didn’t win a state championship, but I don’t think anyone ever looked more college-ready in high school than Casey.

"He was physically more talented than me, so I’ll give him that. He’s taller, skinnier and better looking than me. At this point in my life, I’d rather be taller, skinnier and better looking than having that state championship.”

The Paus brothers are likely the two best quarterbacks ever to come out of Lincoln-Way and both went on to play Division I college football.

During his three seasons as the starting quarterback at Lincoln-Way, Cory Paus led the Knights to a 34-4 record, including qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in six years as a sophomore, reaching the Class 6A state championship game his junior year and winning the state championship with a 14-0 record as a senior in 1997.

“I loved every minute of my time at Lincoln-Way,” said Paus, who threw for 4,347 yards and 50 touchdowns in his final two seasons when the Knights were 27-1. “I was told growing up as a player for the (New Lenox) Mustangs (youth football team) that the only way I would ever win a state championship is if I went to Providence. I took that as a challenge.

"My mom was a teacher at Lincoln-Way and I was never going to anyway. Lincoln-Way was always looked at as a second-tier school to Providence for obvious reasons. They won a number of state championships.

“I took a lot of pride being part of the state championship team at Lincoln-Way. I know it meant a lot to me, my teammates, coaches, everyone involved with the team and the kids at school. That was the first championship the school had won in any sport and that was the greatest thing that ever happened to me in high school. No one can ever take that away from me.”

Paus, who also played basketball at Lincoln-Way, was thrilled when Lincoln-Way coach Rob Glielmi let him play free safety during the championship run. Paus had two interceptions and threw four touchdowns passes in the semifinals and then had another interception and tossed three more TDs in 52-22 win over Addison Trail in the championship game.

“One of the best moments of my high school career besides actually winning the state championship and lifting the trophy was when (Lincoln-Way) coach (Rob) Glielmi told me I was going to be starting at free safety,” Paus said. “Playing defense meant so much to me. It was something I had asked the coaches to do forever. Me playing defense may not have been necessary for us to win the state championship, but I took personal pride backing up what I was telling the coach I could do. The interceptions meant almost as much as my touchdown passes.”

Big Shoes to Fill

Casey Paus was the ball boy for the Knights as an eighth-grader when Cory was a junior and was among the freshmen and sophomore players promoted to varsity to experience Lincoln-Way’s championship run the next season.

The whole time he was waiting for his chance to run the show.

“I learned a lot from Cory,” Casey Paus said. “I tried to mimic his accolades and success because he had such a great career. He set the bar really high, and I tried to mirror what he did, which was no short task. He was there for me along the way. I remember him coming back and watching my playoff games and giving me his point of view. It was nice having a brother so close in age that had already gone through everything. It was nice having someone to lean on. I was his biggest fan and he was my biggest fan.”

After two perfect seasons on the lower levels, Casey Paus compiled a 24-2 record as a two-year starter and finished his career with 5,734 passing yards and 51 touchdowns.

The two losses both came in the state semifinals and were difficult to swallow, especially his senior season in 2000 when Maine South rallied to beat heavily favored Lincoln-Way 36-35 in double overtime.

“It was extremely heartbreaking,” Paus said. “I felt we had the best team. I was hoping to follow in my brother’s footsteps. It definitely still leaves a sour taste in my mouth, but Lincoln-Way will forever be in my heart.

"It was definitely one of the more memorable periods of my life and will never be forgotten. I didn’t get that final victory I was yearning for, but it was a lot of fun and I made great friends along the way. I will always cherish those days.”

“I felt bad for him and his teammates,” said the 31-year-old Cory Paus, who now lives in Brentwood, CA, with his wife and is a corporate insurance broker with Chicago-based HUB International. “You can’t describe the feeling, I just felt terrible for my brother. We’re competitive with each other, but no one wanted my brother to win two state championships more than I did.”

Glielmi fondly recalls the days when he coached the brothers.

“It was the first time in school history we had players that were being recruited nation-wide,” Glielmi said. “Schools from all over the country were coming to our school. It was exciting and a great luxury to take the field knowing that the best player on the field was on your team and we had that with both guys.

"They had good players around them, but they were clearly a step above everyone else. They had great physical skills and the confidence to go along with it. They were smart kids and not only had great arms, but were great athletes. They were very mature. They could walk into a room full of adults and fit right in. They were fun kids to be around and were very coachable.”

Cory and Casey weren’t the only siblings in the family to enjoy success at Lincoln-Way.

Their sister, Caitlyn, was a two-sport standout in softball and volleyball before graduating in 2004 and then went on to be a four-year starter on the University of Nevada Las Vegas softball team. She was named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District Eight Team her senior season. As a freshman, Paus was chosen to the Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-West Region First Team and was a member of the Mountain West All-Conference Team after starting all 63 games at second base and hitting .327 with nine home runs, 44 RBIs and 39 runs.

Onward and Upward?

Both brothers were considered among the top quarterback prospects in the country after graduating high school.

Cory chose the University of California at Los Angeles, while Casey went to another Pac-10 school, the University of Washington. Michigan was a close second choice for Casey, while Miami, FL, Florida and Arizona State were also among the major schools pursuing him.

Cory and Casey both used the word “roller coaster” to describe their collegiate careers.

Cory Paus finished his UCLA career completing 431-of-801 passes for 6,730 yards, 41 touchdowns and 32 interceptions, but those numbers could’ve been even more impressive if it weren’t for numerous injuries along the way.

Paus started seven games as a redshirt freshman at UCLA. He made his first start in the third game of the 1999 season against Fresno State and completed 9-of-12 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown before bruising his ribs on the last play of the second quarter and missing the second half and the next two games.

He returned to put up unprecedented numbers for a freshman with a couple of 300-yard passing performances, only to see his season come to an end when he fractured his collarbone. UCLA went on to lose the Rose Bowl to Wisconsin.

As a sophomore, he completed 134-of-241 passes for 2,154 yards and 17 touchdowns in eight games. His efficiency rating of 145.8 and his average of 250 passing yards per game would’ve ranked first in the Pac-10 if he had played enough games to qualify, but Paus separated his shoulder in the season-opener against Alabama and missed three games.

Then, in the Sun Bowl against Wisconsin, Paus completed 8-of-15 passes for 147 yards before again suffering a fractured left collarbone on the final play of the half.

In his junior season, Paus, who was a 6-2, 212-pounder during his collegiate career, was bothered by a thumb injury on his throwing hand and completed 101-of-194 passes for 1,740 yards, eight touchdowns and eight interceptions. He was demoted to third-string quarterback for the season-finale because of an off-field incident.

As senior, he completed 109-of-184 passes (59.2 percent) for 10 TDs, while throwing six interceptions before breaking his right ankle in a game against California and being carted off the field for what would be his final collegiate game.

“People may say I was injury prone, and they may be right, but I started 37 games and finished as the second-leading passer in the history of the school behind Cade McNown (and ahead of QBs such as Tom Ramsey, Troy Aikman and Tommy Maddox),” Paus said. “I could’ve been the No. 1 passer in the history of UCLA and may have been drafted in the first, second or third round and still be playing if I didn’t have some of those injuries.

"It’s definitely hard thinking about that. Being 6-1 and having 4.9 speed, everything had to come together perfectly for me to get a shot in the NFL. Barring my injury my senior year, I think I may have had a shot. I felt like I had the capabilities, but looking back, being the starting quarterback at a major Division I school like UCLA was a neat experience.”

Casey Paus didn’t have quite as much success as his brother.

After redshirting in his freshman season, Paus, who was 6-5, 225 during his playing career, earned his first letter as the No. 3 quarterback in 2002.

He then appeared in six games as a sophomore, including his most memorable performance as a Husky. Paus came off the bench to lead Washington to 35 unanswered points in a victory over Oregon when he completed 5-of-8 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. That performance played a part in Paus emerging as Washington’s starter in 2004.

Paus played in all 11 games, including eight starts, but the Huskies struggled through a 1-10 campaign. Paus completed 116-of-274 passes for 1,476 yards, five touchdowns and 17 interceptions.

He then saw very limited action as a senior when Tyrone Willingham took over as head coach.

“Roller coaster would be a good noun to describe my career,” said Paus, who is living in a northern suburb of Washington in the Seattle area as a sales representative for Stryker, which is one of the world’s leading medical technology companies. “I don’t regret anything. I met my wife in Washington and we have a 10½ month-old son. If I decided to leave and transfer, who knows if I would have that now. Playing-wise, I never really excelled to my full potential, but life-wise I had a blast. The culture and community were unreal and I have a beautiful wife and child now.”

Paus had to deal with three head coaches and four offensive coordinators during his time at Washington.

He was recruited by Rick Neuheisel, who left after the 2002 season and was replaced by Keith Gilbertson, who lasted two seasons before Willingham took over.

“If he went to a different college, and I think he made the right choice initially, you would’ve seen this kid still playing (possibly in the NFL),” Cory Paus said of his brother. “My physical capabilities fizzled over time, but he looked more like the pro-type quarterback.”

While the Paus brothers never got to face each other in a game in college, it nearly happened once in 2001 when Cory was starting for the undefeated and seventh-ranked Bruins, who were playing undefeated and 10^th-ranked Washington at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA.

“We crushed (Washington’s) starting quarterback and he had to go to the hospital,” Cory Paus said. “They put my brother up on the Jumbo Tron warming up. He never got in the game, but he almost did. Still, seeing him across the field in front of 85,000 people at the Rose Bowl was a big deal.”

Parents Rick and Nancy Paus saw nearly all of their children’s sporting events through the years.

“It was an amazing experience,” said Nancy Paus, who has a shrine of her children in the basement of their home in New Lenox. “We met so many wonderful people and it was fun to travel and be with them. I’m very proud of what they’ve done.

"All three of them overcame adversity, and I’m so happy they got to experience what they did. Not every child is able to walk away from their family, friends and their hometown, and I’m proud of all three of them being able to take that step, get out of their comfort zone, move across country, make new friends and find careers and spouses and everything. Sure, I miss them, but that’s why they make trains, planes and automobiles.”

No Regrets

After graduating from UCLA, Paus was a free agent with the San Diego Chargers, but never made the team.

He then had a short stint in the Canadian Football League.

“I remember (current New York Jets offensive coordinator) Brian Schottenheimer) telling me I pretty much needed to be the MVP of the Canadian Football League if I wanted to get a shot in the NFL,” Paus said. “Once I got over there, I had a hard time taking it seriously. It just wasn’t my game.

"I was used to playing in front of 100,000 people, throwing the ball, handing the ball off and having passes intercepted by players that are in the NFL. It was fun and it was nice to say I was a professional football player, but my football star had run out and it was time to do something else.

“Looking back, I wish I would’ve taken football in college a little more seriously and made the most of my opportunities. I made plenty of mistakes, had some good teams and (bad) teams, but I can look back and be proud of my accomplishments. If I got a chance to play in the NFL, I might not have gotten to meet my wife and I’d rather be married to the woman I love than play in the NFL.”

After Casey Paus’ discouraging finish in Washington, he attended Washington’s Pro Day where he worked out for scouts, but never got any calls.

Paus then headed to Stockholm, Sweden, to play in the European Football Federation, which was the highest level of football in Europe at the time outside of NFL Europe.

“Since my Washington career kind of ended on a sour note as far as playing, I still wanted to get out and play a little more,” said Casey Paus, now 28. “I spent six months in Sweden playing for the Mean Machines. We played in a Super Series in the Swedish Division and we won the national championship that year.

"We also played in a European-wide Euro Bowl where we played teams from Moscow and Finland, and we lost in the semifinals to a team from Australia. It was very gratifying and a great confidence-booster to go over there and be able to play another season. I played very well and got my confidence back.

"It was almost like closure for me because deep down inside I knew I could still play football and be one of the best players on the field. To be able to fulfill that help put closure on my career.”