SKYLER Mornhinweg hopes to land a job in sports, and perhaps he already has.
Shall we call him an unofficial coaching intern?
One of these Sundays or Mondays, maybe the Eagles will win a game with some spectacular play and coach Andy Reid will tell the media, "Gotta give credit to Mornhinweg for that one . . . Skyler. Not Marty."
Marty is the Birds' offensive coordinator. Skyler, a 6-3, 215-pound senior who's bound for Penn State, is the third-year quarterback (and fourth-year safety) at St. Joseph's Prep. Like his dad, he knows X's and O's are used for more than hugs and kisses.
The Mornhinwegs live in The Reserve at Packer Park, right near the Eagles' practice facility, and when Dad prepares the first 20 plays for each week's game, guess who's often sitting right beside him.
"I'm sure he does it more for me than for him," a smiling Skyler said yesterday under gloomy skies at Belmont Plateau, right before the Prep began practicing. "I'm sure he has it already [finalized]. But he'll call out a formation and ask me what play would look good. He likes to introduce me to the West Coast style.
"I've never studied the Eagles' playbook, but I'm a little bit comfortable with it."
As for the Prep's . . . He could probably read it backward.
Orchestrating a no-huddle spread under second-year coach Gabe Infante and offensive coordinator Tim Roken, Mornhinweg this season (3-0 record) has produced 702 yards of passing/rushing, along with 10 touchdowns.
Last Saturday night, in a 51-33 roasting of traditional suburban power North Penn, his right arm and feet were involved in all seven TDs. He ran for two, passed for four and even turned a fumble-return lateral into a score.
"We had respect for North Penn," Mornhinweg said. "But we knew if we followed our game plan, with the way our coaches coached us up, we'd be fine. We trusted each other. Our o-line let me throw and our receivers made some plays. It was great to click like that. We'll try to keep it going."
Because Mornhinweg made his first Prep dent on defense, posting four interceptions as a frosh, and because some viewed him as a great athlete who happened to play quarterback, more than a gun-for-an-arm QB natural, there was always a lingering thought that safety could wind up being his college position.
Infante would not quite scoff at that, but he knows what he has and what Penn State is getting.
"To me, he has the look of someone who has been groomed to be a college quarterback ever since he was tiny," Infante said. "He's an old-school, throwback type of kid with all those qualities you look for.
"He's physical. Never stops working and learning. And he's extremely accurate. He's able to get the ball into places where other guys have trouble.
"Kids like him, you can't do that [turn them into a defensive player]. You have to understand the passion and how much he wants to compete. How he wants to be out there, directing a team. And how good he is at doing that."
Said Mornhinweg, simply: "I'm going in there to play quarterback. I know I'm a quarterback. That's where I feel I can most help the team."
Mornhinweg's career passing totals show 246 completions in 499 attempts for 3,601 yards and 38 TDs. He has added 181 carries for 686 yards and 14 more scores.
Oh, and he's now a much better receiver than he was in 2010.
Late last season against La Salle, Mornhinweg was thrown the ball on a trick play and got dumped for an 8-yard loss. Last week against North Penn, he tossed a screen pass and - bam! - it got batted right back into his arms.
He fought for a 3-yard gain.
"Plus three! My receiving skills are coming along!" he said, laughing. "That was a crazy play. I did what I could with it.
"I would have liked to complete the screen more than a pass to myself, but it worked out a little."
As one would imagine, football dominates the Mornhinweg family. Mom is Lindsay and the way she puts it is, "Football in our house starts Monday morning and ends late Sunday night." The other children are two girls, Madi and Molly, and a boy, Bobby Cade, a blossoming seventh-grade gridder.
Mom fondly remembers Madi playing chase with the big offensive linemen, and dancing in weight rooms, at the University of Missouri (Dad was an assistant there from 1991-93), and she's proud that both gals trump her when it comes to football knowledge.
Marty, she said, always drummed into his children, "You do not have to be the best, but you must have the most hustle. Never walk on or off a field. You hustle and others will hustle with you."
She added, "It seems to work. They work hard and love their teammates."
The Prep's grunts include center Franny Grey, guards Chris Koilor and Peter Kelly, and tackles Luke Hutkin, David Tracz and Billy Dykan (part-time). Fourteen guys aside from Mornhinweg already have run and/or caught: D.J. Durant, Jim Hurley, Joe Lavalle, Tom Levy, Jawan McAllister, Eric Medes, Vincent Moffett, James Mooney, Andy Parker, John Reid, Dan Sherry, Peter Siki, Kevin White and Shane Williams.
Skyler acknowledged Dad might have suggested a play or three to Prep's coaches during his occasional visits to practices. And, yes, his tongue can sometimes be sharp during postgame assessments.
"Whatever he says, I'm listening," Skyler said. "I take everything I can from him. While he does point out what I did wrong, he also gives me praise for what I did well. I appreciate that. It's important to hear."
Mornhinweg is in regular contact with two Penn State assistants, Ron Vanderlinden and Jay "Son of Joe" Paterno, and hopes to make it to Happy Valley Saturday for the game vs. Eastern Michigan. (First, at 7 p.m. Friday at William Tennent, in Warminster, the Hawks will meet powerful Archbishop Wood.)
Soon, Dad and Skyler will again plant themselves in front of a televised pro game.
"I love it when the Eagles have a bye or play an early home game," Skyler said. "That's when we get to watch a late one together."
And constantly try to direct each team's offense?
"Nope," Skyler Mornhinweg said. "Usually, we just watch that one to enjoy the game."