Five games into his first season on the varsity squad, Yale quarterback Brook Hart is already playing well beyond his years, leading all Ivy signal-callers in passing efficiency.
Thankfully, unlike a certain infamous Little Leaguer from his past, Hart's got the documentation to prove he's legit.
Indeed, it was Hart who, in August 2001, found himself at the center of the greatest youth sports controversy of our time, toeing the pitching rubber on national television against boy - strike that - teenage wonder Danny Almonte of the Rolando Paulino All-Star team from the Bronx.
Playing for the Mid-Atlantic regional championship and a spot in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa., Hart pitched valiantly for the State College team coached by his father.
Ultimately, though, with a primetime ESPN audience watching, he and his 11- and 12-year-old teammates succumbed, 2-0, to the 14-year-old Almonte's decidedly un-Little League array of sliders and cut-fastballs.
"We knew - or had a really good idea," Hart said of Almonte's post-pubescence. "When you looked at him, you were just like, 'There's no way this kid's 12.' Still, just to say I pitched against Danny Almonte is pretty sweet."
Seven years later, Almonte is a pitcher and outfielder for Western Oklahoma State. (Apparently, his electric stuff didn't translate to the regulation field; Almonte managed a bloated 5.59 earned run average last season, but did lead his team in hitting at .497.)
Hart, on the other hand, followed the sporting example of another athlete two years his senior: his brother, Brady, a quarterback-turned-defensive end for the Bulldogs.
During his sophomore year at State College High School, the younger Hart was third on the QB depth chart behind both his older brother and current Cornell backup Ben Ganter.
"When I went to make the home visit [to recruit Brady], Brook and Brady were coming home from basketball practice together," Yale coach Jack Siedlecki wrote in an e-mail. "When they got out of the car, Brook really stood out at 6-foot-5. I remember joking with the parents that I might be back in two years."
The words, of course, proved prescient. Brook spent last season honing his skills behind center with the JV team and entered this season as the primary backup to senior Ryan Fodor.
"After his frosh JV experience, we felt he was a year away," Siedlecki wrote. "But he has made great progress."
On his first snap of varsity collegiate play in the Bulldogs' season-opener against Georgetown, Hart connected with sophomore wideout Jordan Forney for a 41-yard strike.
Before the afternoon was over, Hart would complete 14 of 18 passes for 176 yards and three scores, helping lead the Bulldogs to a 47-7 route of the visiting Hoyas.
While Siedlecki is reluctant to commit to his sophomore as the program's unambiguous quarterback of the future, Hart feels well-positioned to seize the spot outright next fall.
"I think I've pretty much proven myself," he said. "It's probably my job to lose."
Yes, this time around it will be Hart who plays the role of the older, taller front-runner, fending off challenges from youthful adversaries out to undercut his clear advantages.
In college, you see, they allow that sort of thing.
