Brett Basanez attended St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois where he played quarterback on the football team. As a junior he passed for 2,277 yards and 30 touchdowns. As a senior he totaled 2,876 passing yards and 39 touchdowns, leading the team to the second round of the playoffs for only the second time in history. Brett served as the team’s captain and was named MVP following the season. Brett broke every school passing and scoring record during his time at St. Viator. He was selected to play in the National East-West all star game and the down under bowl in Australia. He was considered to be one of the top 10 quarterback prospects in the nation and accepted a scholarship to Northwestern where he sat out the 2001 season as a redshirt. He started nine games the following season, passing for 2,204 yards and 7 touchdowns with 7 interceptions. As a sophomore, Brett passed for 1,916 yards and 4 touchdowns with 12 interceptions, becoming only the fourth quarterback to lead Northwestern to a bowl game. As a junior he passed for 2,838 yards and 12 touchdowns with 9 interceptions on his way to honorable mention all-big ten honors. His senior season was his best season in college. He had career highs in attempts (497), completions (314), yards (3,622), and touchdown passes (21). Brett was named first team all-big ten for his play as a senior.

Brett Basanez has a great deal of experience, having been the starting quarterback at Northwestern for the past four seasons. During that time he has proven to be a durable player and a great leader. He has good intelligence and is a very hard worker. He has good field vision and will go through his progression. He has a quick release and solid mechanics. He has the mobility to evade the rush and he is one of the best at throwing on the run. He also has the ability to make a play with his feet when needed. Brett lacks ideal size and arm strength for an NFL quarterback. He has improved his decision making ability since earlier in his career but he can still improve more in that area. He needs to be more consistent with his accuracy—he looks great one week and not so great the next week. Brett Basanez has a chance to be a late round pick or be signed as an undrafted free agent.