Post by Sly Fox on Oct 12, 2005 12:28:42 GMT -5
Since he obviously has found his niche at RB and has left QB behind for now, I felt it was time to start a new thread. Here's is Chris' Wednesday story from the fishwrap:
www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=LNA%2FMGArticle%2FLNA_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1128767489159&path=!sports
Terrell finds a home at running back
By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
October 12, 2005
He won the Heisman Trophy as college football's best player. At 6 feet, 180 pounds, he had blazing speed and stunningly good vision. And he was only a freshman.
OK, so it's not true. It was really just Zach Terrell programming himself into EA Sports' NCAA 2006 PS2 video game. Since Liberty University isn't part of the game, Terrell placed himself on Tennessee's roster and he was unstoppable.
Real life doesn't vary much from video game life for Terrell. Ask Chattanooga's defensive players. The LU freshman was close to unstoppable last Saturday night, rushing for 241 yards on 32 carries, which in itself is tantalizing enough.
Consider this: Terrell never played running back before, not in high school at least, where he led Manassas Park to a state championship as an athletic quarterback.
That really didn't bother Terrell, though. The new role didn't give him the sort of jitters he went through as a sophomore in high school when he ran for 60 yards against Amelia County the first time he touched the ball as a varsity quarterback.
"There's nothing he doesn't think he can't do," Manassas Park coach Greg Lloyd said.
After a failed stint as LU's starting QB, Terrell was jettisoned to the bench. Terrell knew he didn't belong there. He called Lloyd, with whom he speaks on a weekly basis, and got the answer he wanted.
Just hang in there. Be patient.
His Liberty coaches wanted Terrell on the field, too. They were so frustrated with LU's lack of a ground game that they were ready to try something drastic.
Last Monday, Flames coach Ken Karcher took away Terrell's red quarterbacks jersey, and the experiment began.
As a quarterback in high school, Terrell never had to set up behind an offensive line and run counters and traps. The Cougars ran a spread set that allowed Terrell to find an open receiver or take off on the ground in open space.
Things are a bit more complicated as a college QB, as Terrell found out. He struggled to read defenses. When his primary receiver was covered, it wasn't easy for him to switch to a secondary one. He had trouble learning the entire offensive playbook.
He didn't light up the world the way he thought he would.
At running back against Chattanooga, everything changed. Terrell's instincts took over. He waited for holes to open and hit them hard. Once he got into the open field, he juked and slashed his way to several long gains, including a 42-yard run.
"He's got vision that the great ones have," said Marshall Roberts, Liberty's defensive backs coach. "He can see it before it happens."
Roberts played an integral role in getting Terrell to commit to LU. Lloyd said 32 schools looked at Terrell while he was in high school, including some of the big boys.
"Marshall, Virginia, Virginia Tech, UConn," Terrell said, ticking off some of the names of quality Division I programs that showed interest.
Virginia gave him a chance to walk on, but Terrell wanted a scholarship. Defending I-AA champion James Madison thought it had Terrell sealed up. But at the last minute, JMU reduced its scholarship offer.
Instead of a full ride, JMU offered him a 75 percent scholarship. Terrell lost interest, especially after his two-day visit to Liberty.
"They checked up on my last semester grades (at MPHS), and I guess they said they weren't good enough or something," Terrell said. "They said they would take a certain amount away.
"I didn't want my mom or dad to have to pay for me to go to school. Once Liberty kept their offer on the table, I accepted."
The Division I schools that passed on Terrell did so because he wasn't tall enough, neither as a quarterback nor a defensive back.
It was no knock on his athletic ability. But at that level, football becomes a cruel numbers game. The guy who is 6-2 often gets more looks than the guy who is 6-0.
"I really do believe there were a bunch of Division I schools that missed on him," Lloyd said.
Liberty is glad it didn't. Roberts knew Terrell was much more than an athletic prep quarterback. He was a good quarterback who could cover athletes as a defensive back, tackled well, punted and returned kicks.
"He was just a football player," Roberts said. "He's the type of kid you need in abundance on your football team."
Whether it's a video game for Tennessee or real life for Liberty.
By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
October 12, 2005
He won the Heisman Trophy as college football's best player. At 6 feet, 180 pounds, he had blazing speed and stunningly good vision. And he was only a freshman.
OK, so it's not true. It was really just Zach Terrell programming himself into EA Sports' NCAA 2006 PS2 video game. Since Liberty University isn't part of the game, Terrell placed himself on Tennessee's roster and he was unstoppable.
Real life doesn't vary much from video game life for Terrell. Ask Chattanooga's defensive players. The LU freshman was close to unstoppable last Saturday night, rushing for 241 yards on 32 carries, which in itself is tantalizing enough.
Consider this: Terrell never played running back before, not in high school at least, where he led Manassas Park to a state championship as an athletic quarterback.
That really didn't bother Terrell, though. The new role didn't give him the sort of jitters he went through as a sophomore in high school when he ran for 60 yards against Amelia County the first time he touched the ball as a varsity quarterback.
"There's nothing he doesn't think he can't do," Manassas Park coach Greg Lloyd said.
After a failed stint as LU's starting QB, Terrell was jettisoned to the bench. Terrell knew he didn't belong there. He called Lloyd, with whom he speaks on a weekly basis, and got the answer he wanted.
Just hang in there. Be patient.
His Liberty coaches wanted Terrell on the field, too. They were so frustrated with LU's lack of a ground game that they were ready to try something drastic.
Last Monday, Flames coach Ken Karcher took away Terrell's red quarterbacks jersey, and the experiment began.
As a quarterback in high school, Terrell never had to set up behind an offensive line and run counters and traps. The Cougars ran a spread set that allowed Terrell to find an open receiver or take off on the ground in open space.
Things are a bit more complicated as a college QB, as Terrell found out. He struggled to read defenses. When his primary receiver was covered, it wasn't easy for him to switch to a secondary one. He had trouble learning the entire offensive playbook.
He didn't light up the world the way he thought he would.
At running back against Chattanooga, everything changed. Terrell's instincts took over. He waited for holes to open and hit them hard. Once he got into the open field, he juked and slashed his way to several long gains, including a 42-yard run.
"He's got vision that the great ones have," said Marshall Roberts, Liberty's defensive backs coach. "He can see it before it happens."
Roberts played an integral role in getting Terrell to commit to LU. Lloyd said 32 schools looked at Terrell while he was in high school, including some of the big boys.
"Marshall, Virginia, Virginia Tech, UConn," Terrell said, ticking off some of the names of quality Division I programs that showed interest.
Virginia gave him a chance to walk on, but Terrell wanted a scholarship. Defending I-AA champion James Madison thought it had Terrell sealed up. But at the last minute, JMU reduced its scholarship offer.
Instead of a full ride, JMU offered him a 75 percent scholarship. Terrell lost interest, especially after his two-day visit to Liberty.
"They checked up on my last semester grades (at MPHS), and I guess they said they weren't good enough or something," Terrell said. "They said they would take a certain amount away.
"I didn't want my mom or dad to have to pay for me to go to school. Once Liberty kept their offer on the table, I accepted."
The Division I schools that passed on Terrell did so because he wasn't tall enough, neither as a quarterback nor a defensive back.
It was no knock on his athletic ability. But at that level, football becomes a cruel numbers game. The guy who is 6-2 often gets more looks than the guy who is 6-0.
"I really do believe there were a bunch of Division I schools that missed on him," Lloyd said.
Liberty is glad it didn't. Roberts knew Terrell was much more than an athletic prep quarterback. He was a good quarterback who could cover athletes as a defensive back, tackled well, punted and returned kicks.
"He was just a football player," Roberts said. "He's the type of kid you need in abundance on your football team."
Whether it's a video game for Tennessee or real life for Liberty.
www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=LNA%2FMGArticle%2FLNA_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1128767489159&path=!sports
