It’s halftime in Berkeley on a warm fall day at California Memorial Stadium. The marching band leaves the turf, and spectators grab concessions and wait for the second half to begin.
An empty field is filled by a handful of players in gold and navy blue who run out from the home team’s tunnel.
One of the players, Brandon Madueno, tosses a football back and forth with a teammate, warming up his arm. With his back facing north, he puts a football down close to midfield. Stretching his feet out wide, he looks between his legs at the punter behind him, places his hands on the football below him and, on cue, snaps the ball back.
Madueno, a fifth-year senior, is the backup long snapper for the Bears. And just like for 11 of his teammates, Saturday’s game against USC will be his last at home as a Cal football player.
But unlike those other seniors, Madueno has yet to play in a game.
At Damien High School in Southern California, Madueno started playing football during his freshman year. He was on the offensive and defensive line, and because of his arm strength, built from years of baseball, he filled in at long snapper.
Not knowing that long snapping was a set position, Madueno didn’t take the job seriously. He then attended a high school football summer camp at UC Berkeley after talking to his cousin and father’s longtime friend, David Ortega. A former Cal football player, Ortega was working for the school’s athletic department. And when he found out Madueno was long snapping, he encouraged him to stick to it. It wasn’t just any position on the field but a way for him to get into Cal.
Madueno started practicing the position more, and he even looked up videos online to help with his technique. He also returned to the high school football camps in the summers before his junior and senior years, and he impressed the Bears’ coaches enough to be offered a walk-on spot on the team.
For his family, that was huge. His father, Larry, a crane operator, and his mother, Diane, a travel agent, did not go to college.
“Once we got the letter of acceptance, it totally blew us away,” Larry Madueno said. “It was a dream come true.”
On Madueno’s first day of practice at Cal, in 2009, he was thrust onto the field with the first team. After seeing him play, Jeff Tedford, the head coach at the time, introduced himself and offered Madueno a job as the team’s backup long snapper. In a matter of moments, he went from a walk-on to earning a traveling spot on a Division I football team.
He redshirted that season, and he missed the 2010 campaign when he broke his navicular bone in his right foot. “I don’t really know how it happened, but I remember when it got bad,” Madueno said. “I was running and kind of pivoted and just heard something.”
When he returned from injury, Madueno had his closest chance at playing. Before the 2011 season, he was healthy and competing with starter Matt Rios for the first-string job. But the uncertainty of whether he would play his first game affected his snapping in practice.
“I was really nervous,” Madueno said. “I was having some bad snaps here and there. I kind of fell apart mentally.”
Rios went on to start the season opener against Fresno State. And Madueno’s job as second on the depth chart also became a competition. A new snapper, then-freshman John Sheperdson, challenged Madueno and moved to second on the depth chart. When Rios did not play in the Holiday Bowl that year, it was Sheperdson who took his place.
“He had to really search for why he was on the team and what success meant for him,” said Giorgio Tavecchio, who was a kicker for the Bears from 2008 to 2011. “And that is why I respect him so much: because a lot of guys wouldn’t have stuck it out.
While his spot on the depth chart varied, Madueno focused more on academics.
Through Ortega, Madueno connected with Stephen Etter, a continuing lecturer at the Haas School of Business. Although Madueno took engineering classes, he wanted to switch majors. So Etter mentored him, advising Madueno on which classes to take and on his application for the program. In spring 2012, he was accepted to Haas.
“Ever since then, I’ve taken the opportunity to new levels and dedicated myself to business,” said Madueno, who wants to pursue a career in corporate finance. “And as a backup long snapper, I was able to.”
But Madueno still had to prepare as if he could play in any game. In 2012, he again competed for the first-string long snapper position, but he still couldn’t surpass Sheperdson. “I’ve always had one day off here or there, and that’s a part of snapping. But he’s never had an off day,” Madueno said. “And that’s what makes him great.”
He was again shut out from playing, as Sheperdson held on to the starting job all year. With an option for a fifth year still available, Madueno wrestled with the decision to stay on the team or to focus completely on school.
“I don’t need football,” Madueno said. “I’ve proved to myself that I can play at this level already. And I don’t need to prove it to anyone else.”
Still Madueno recognized that staying on the team had its benefits; the support services, such as tutoring and early registration, helped him find direction as he focused more on academics.
It wasn’t until he returned from winter break, however, that he solidified his decision to come back for a fifth and final year. Madueno and a handful of players were recognized for academic success during the fall semester. But instead of getting team gear, as in previous years, Madueno received a scholarship for the spring.
“We were watching TV, and he called and was really emotional,” Diane Madueno said. “He cried and we cried. We were so proud.”
With that moment, Madueno was sold. Even though he did not make the final cut for the team’s fall camp, where he missed out on the opportunity to practice and bond with his teammates, he stayed on. He was at peace with his role.
“When my number is called, I will go out there and perform to the best of my ability,” Madueno said. “But until that chance is there, I’ve got to concentrate on getting my degree. That’s why I came here.”
In May, Madueno moved one step closer to achieving that goal: He walked at graduation. And when he completes the fall semester, he will have his degree in business administration.
Madueno’s possibility of playing in a game for Cal is not over, but because he has not traveled for every road game this season, he is unsure whether Saturday will be his last ever game in a Cal uniform.
His family, friends and mentor will be rooting for him to get in — just for one play.
“Every punt, extra point and field goal, I watch to see if he comes out,” Etter said. “I’d rather see his number called than win a ballgame.”
Stephen Hobbs covers men’s water polo. Contact him at shobbs@dailycal.org.
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