WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — Holy Cross quarterback Dominic Randolph can rattle off the names of the small school passers who have made it to the NFL.

Tony Romo. Joe Flacco. Steve McNair.

“Ryan Fitzpatrick went to Harvard, and we played them,” said Randolph, who hopes to follow the former Football Championship Subdivision quarterbacks to the pros. “You always want to look for a little inspiration. Those are guys that came from I-AA and made an impact. You definitely pay attention to that.”

And people are paying attention to Randolph, a largely unrecruited high school backup who is the best to play at Holy Cross since two-way star Gordie Lockbaum earned a pair of top five finishes in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1986-87. Lockbaum was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the ninth round of the NFL draft, but he didn’t play in the pros.

Randolph, the Patriot League’s first-ever three-time Offensive Player of the Year, could do him one better.

“He’s a once every 15 years player at quarterback,” said Harvard coach Tim Murphy, who watched Randolph throw for two touchdowns and run for another in September.

“He makes it look so effortless. No question, he’s a legitimate NFL prospect,” Murphy said. “We call him ‘Mr. Automatic.’ If he’s got a guy open, he’ll find him and complete the pass. He’s a very special player.”

Under Randolph, the Crusaders have contended for the conference championship four straight years – losing the first three by a total of five points. This year, Randolph threw for 348 yards and two touchdowns in a drenching downpour as Holy Cross beat Lafayette 28-26 on Nov. 14 to clinch its first league title since 1991.

The 17th-ranked Crusaders (9-2) will play No. 2 Villanova (10-1) on Saturday for a chance to reach the national quarterfinals. When the season is done, Randolph will turn his attention to the pros.

Holy Cross coach Tom Gilmore said every team in the NFL has sent scouts to see Randolph – some as many as a half-dozen times.

“He is on everyone’s radar. He is not a secret to the NFL,” Gilmore said. “There are some talented players out there, but I don’t think have the football IQ that he possesses, the talent along with the decision-making. I truly believe he has the ability to play in the NFL.”

Randolph’s credentials are detailed in the Holy Cross record books:

He completed 279 of 434 passes this season for 3,429 yards — sixth-most in the nation, in either the bowl or championship subdivision — to go with 31 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He also led the team in rushing, running for 474 yards on 111 carries with six TDs.

“The records, sometimes he doesn’t even know about them. We bring it up more than anything,” offensive lineman Chris Smith said. “He’s very unassuming. When he walks around the campus, you wouldn’t know who he is. It’s like, ‘That’s Dom,’ not ‘He’s the starting quarterback.'”

And that translates to the field.

“He doesn’t get frustrated. It’s a very good quality for a leader,” Smith said. “You never see him freak out — ever.”

Since returning from an ankle injury midway through his redshirt freshman year, Randolph has thrown for more than 200 yards and at least one touchdown in every single game. In his four-year career, Randolph is fourth all-time in the FCS with 13,108 passing yards and fifth with 114 touchdown passes.

“Admittedly, we’re not playing at the highest level,” Gilmore said. “But you’re playing against some pretty sophisticated schemes. It’s not like he doesn’t have to read defenses. He’s seeing some of the same things he’d see in the NFL. I’ve seen people that didn’t have what Dominic Randolph possesses that have made it in the NFL.”

The odds were against Randolph making it even this far.

Attending high school at prep powerhouse St. Xavier of Cincinnati, Randolph was stuck behind blue chip prospect Rob Schoenhoft, who was recruited by Ohio State. Randolph was lightly recruited, and offered a spot at Holy Cross only after attending a summer passing camp on the hillside campus west of Boston.

“It was a little frustrating. As a kid you always want to play,” said Randolph, whose father went to the school and then played for Bo Schembechler at Michigan. “I wanted to play at that program. Unfortunately, there was another kid in my grade who was a little bigger and stronger. I enjoyed where I was at and just kind of stuck it out.”

Gilmore said they took a chance on Randolph after seeing “two game films and a day of summer camp.”

“He just impressed us as someone who had talent,” the coach said. “At the time, we didn’t know it would be at this level. I have to admit it was a little bit of a gamble. He turned out to be the better passer even though the Schoenhoft kid had more pure skills in the high school game.”

Schoenhoft, it turned out, had two unproductive seasons with the Buckeyes and transferred to Delaware.

“At the time, he was a great quarterback; our coach did the right thing,” Randolph said. “But it’s hard not to start. It always was a little motivational tool. It worked out perfectly.”

Randolph is a three-time finalist for the Walter Payton Award, given to the outstanding player in the FCS, finishing 12th and ninth in the last two years.

Gilmore is more impressed with his other honors.

Randolph was a nominee for the national Good Works Award given to players for volunteer efforts, and he won the Deranian Fellowship Award from the Central Massachusetts branch of the Big Brothers-Big Sisters for helping to recruit half of the football team to serve as mentors.

“He’s just an outstanding individual,” Gilmore said. “Character counts, and I think that’s where Dom is the best of the best.”

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