At Sultana High in Hesperia, Calif., Paul Dombrowski played safety as a sophomore, then moved to running back the next season before taking over as Sultana’s starting quarterback his senior year.
Dombrowski set an NMSU school record in 2002, his redshirt-freshman season in Las Cruces, by rushing for more yards (868) as a quarterback than any Aggie QB before him.
Through three seasons, Dombrowski had rushed for 1,420 yards, thrown for 2,395. In 2004, he played quarterback, and saw some time at receiver, as well, hauling in 28 catches, scoring four touchdowns.
After new coach Hal Mumme arrived in the offseason, Dombrowski was given a shot to be the Aggies’ quarterback, but Mumme thought he was better suited to play the slot.
"Paul Dombrowski is a tremendous competitor," Mumme told the Albuquerque Tribune over the summer. "If he wants to play at the next level, he needs to be a slot guy, a running-back-type guy."
Dombrowski, in his senior season, made the move permanent in the spring. On Saturday, he was quarterback Royal Gill’s prime target, earning 15 catches for 127 yards in the loss to UTEP.