A year ago, Mack Brown and Brian White had adjoining lockers in the Colorado University football dressing room.

Now Brown, who transferred to Baker University last summer, and White are both gone. White left the Buffaloes over the weekend, saying he planned to switch to another school.

“That’s very surprising,” Brown said from Baldwin after hearing of White’s decision. “Last spring, he was the best quarterback on the team. He was No. 1 coming out of spring ball.”

Nevertheless, first-year coach Dan Hawkins used James Cox under center in the Buffs’ stunning season-opening loss to Montana State, then changed to Bernard Jackson for last Saturday’s game against Colorado State, another defeat. White had slipped to third string.

“Obviously, it’s a tough situation,” Brown said. “But coach Hawkins put himself in that situation by having his son there.”

Hawkins’ signing of his son Cody, also a quarterback, played a role in Brown’s decision to leave the CU program.

“It wasn’t really handwriting on the wall,” Brown said. “Coach Hawkins treated me great. But when it came down to it, new coaches want their own guy : like at Kansas State.”

Brown was referring to the fact three quarterbacks have left K-State since Ron Prince took over for Bill Snyder following the 2005 season.

Brown, a former first-team All-Sunflower League selection at Shawnee Mission North, said he was being recruited by Kansas University until Kerry Meier of Pittsburg High gave the Jayhawks an oral commitment.

Now Meier and Brown, both red-shirt freshmen, are the starting quarterbacks at universities located only 20 miles apart on the map, if not on a competitive plane.

“I still believe Colorado was the right place for me out of high school,” Brown said. “I loved the campus and I had great trust in coach (Gary) Barnett. It was like a big family, a challenge because of all the things that had happened there.”

Barnett was suspended temporarily after the 2004 season in the wake of reports that recruits were enticed with sex and alcohol, as well as dismissive comments Barnett made about former placekicker Katie Hnida, who alleged she had been raped by a teammate.

Colorado started with a 7-2 record in 2005 – the year Brown red-shirted – but then the Buffs suffered losses to Nebraska, Iowa and Texas and Barnett was fired.

Soon thereafter, Brown began to look for another school closer to home. He visited Washburn, Emporia State, Northwest Missouri State and Baker. Two of his SM North teammates were on Baker’s roster, and an older sister had graduated from BU in 2004.

“I was real comfortable on the campus,” Brown said, “and I felt the situation was right.”

Baker slipped past Benedictine, 17-13, in Brown’s debut as the Wildcats’ QB two weeks ago. In his second game Saturday, Graceland edged the ‘Cats, 21-17, at Liston Stadium.

“I’ve been pleased with him,” BU coach Mike Grossner said of the 6-foot-3, 220-pound rookie. “He plays with great calm. I couldn’t be happier. I think he’ll get better and better.”