The Paladin Walk Blog

62 Days Till Kickoff Meet # 62 Reggie Goolsby

Reggie Goolsby  | C
6-1  281  | SR
Monticello H.S.

Reggie's 2006 season had highs and lows. The UNC game and the Western game were dominating performances. Then the wheels started to come off, ankle and leg injuries to Goolsby, Gray and Felton. The trio's return to health and staying healthy the entire 2007 season will play a big role in the Paladins being more than just a playoff contender.

Sports excellent strength and technique...recorded a bench press of 405 pounds, a squat of 515 pounds, and a hang clean of 330 pounds in spring testing. 2005 -- Registered action in all 14 games and totaled 125 snaps working almost exclusively behind All-America right guard Patrick Covington...came off the bench to record 27 snaps and 88.9 blocking percentage in Furman's 37-35 season opening win at Jacksonville State...also notched winning grades with 24 plays (91.7 blocking percentage) against Gardner-Webb (48-31 win), 22 snaps (95.4 blocking percentage) versus Elon (45-6 win), and 22 snaps (86.4 blocking percentage) against Chattanooga (56-35 win). 2004 -- Logged action in all 13 games...totaled 81 snaps on the offensive line and also on special teams...notched a season high 22 plays versus The Citadel (33-14 win). 2003 -- Member of scout team...awarded redshirt and extra year of eligibility...recipient of Furman's Purple Pounder Award (scout team player-of-the-year) following season.

Calhoun High Players Stand Out

You can read the entire article from the Calhoun Times here, posted below are some of the highlights.

Last week at the annual Furman University Offensive Camp, the Yellow Jackets walked away with various awards. Competition involved 480 players representing at least seven southeastern states.

“It’s probably the best camp at Furman since I’ve been going there from Calhoun,” Jackets’ head coach Hal Lamb lauded. “This was my ninth one.”

Calhoun’s Tre Lamb captured the honor as top quarterback of the camp. Other individual accolades went to Jimmie Broomfield, tops in the lower division (ninth and 10th graders) as a wide receiver and 40-yard dash; Cody Ralston, No. 1 in the 40-yard dash for tight ends; and David Clemons, top junior lineman.

64 Days Till Kickoff Meet #64 Nic Ayoob

Nic Ayoob  | OG
6-2  296  | RSFR
Oconee County H.S.

Nic is another talented young big offensive lineman. Nic should provide backup duties in 2007.

2006 graduate of Oconee (3A) High School...football coach was Neal Auer...played offensive and defensive line and also served as a long snapper...attended Furman's Offensive Lineman Camp...two-year starter on the offensive and defensive fronts...named first team All-Northeast Georgia as a tackle in 2005 after making the same team as an offensive guard his junior year...served as co-captain in 2005...two-time recipient of Oconee County's Scholar-Athlete Award...helped his squad go 8-4 in 2004, capture the Region 8-AAA championship, and advance three rounds into the state playoffs...committed to Furman last fall after also drawing interest from Georgia Southern, The Citadel, and Coastal Carolina.

Getting Ready 4 Two-a-Days: Safeties

This post kicks off my totally biased reviews by position of the 2007 Furman Paladins.

Free Safety
Starter: Thomas Twitty 5-11, 200  JR  |  Mountain Brook H.S. Birmingham, AL
Twiity’s task will be to replace All-SoCon Jeremy Blocker. I think Thomas will be up to the task. Twitty was highly recruited out of Mountain Brook, and will continue the Furman tradition of physical free safeties. Twitty Outlook: I think Twitty will benefit from improved defensive line play in 07, allowing Twitty to make plays. 2008 Pre-Season All-Southern Conference candidate.

Reserves: Julian Hicks 5-9, 182  SO  |  RIverwood, H.S. College Park, GA
Hicks saw a lot of action as a true freshman in 2006. Hicks has moved from cornerback to safety. A move that I think takes advantage of his de-cleeter style of play. Hicks Outlook: Backup to Twitty, Hicks will play a key role on special teams and nickel packages. Who knows what surprise roles the versatile Hicks will play in the 2007 defense.

Chris Stone 6-1, 185  JR  |  Eastside H.S. Greenville, SC
Local product Stone is very athletic. Chris will see plenty of special teams and could see action based on matchups. Stone Outlook: Stone is a great role player and is very versatile, hell he could play quarterback if needed.

Strong Safety
Starter: Andrew Thacker 6-1, 200  SR  |  Gainesville H.S.  Cumming, GA
Thacker has all the tools; speed, size and smarts. Andrew had a fantastic freshman year earning SoCon Frosh Honors. Thacker didn’t played bad in 2005 and 2006, it’s that expectations were so high after his play in 04 some fans have been disappointed. I think Thacker has been a solid, reliable strong safety that could deliver big in 07. Thacker Outlook: A faster more experienced defensive line will also help Thacker.

Reserves: Max Lerner 5-11, 190  RSFR  |  Hoover H.S. Birmingham, AL
One of the most popular and buzzed about football players in 2006 and he never saw the field. 2007 will be the first season of play for the reality show star. Lerner is much more than hype. Lerner was a star on one of the best high school teams in the country. He also had an MVP performance in the Alabama/Mississippi All Star Game. Now we get to see what Max will do as a Paladin. Lerner Outlook: Big upgrade for the future, time will tell but Lerner has the potential to be an All-American Safety.

John Castleberry 6-0, 187  SO  |  Gainesville H.S. Cumming, GA
John’s another player that has moved from corner to safety. Castleberry is another hard hitter with excellent size. Castleberry should see action in certain matchup situations and play a key role on special teams. Castleberry Outlook: John provides much need depth a position that is physically demanding. I hope John gets in the mix.

Safety Position Outlook: Six quality players for two safety positions is a good thing. In the past injuries to starting safeties have proven devastating. This bunch is a little inexperienced but the talent is there. I also think Furman will show improved overall physical play at safety. Grade B

Team Felton

Jerome continues to get respect in the blogosphere this time in Micky Plyler's Blog. Micky reviews the opposing team running backs on the Clemson Tigers 2007 schedule. I'm sure Felton appreciates all the publicity but the 2007 Paladins are more than a one-man team.

From TigerNet:
Furman
The Paladins run the ball and will continue to be committed to the run. Cedric Gibson will try to improve upon his junior season that included 937 yards and four touchdowns. Jerome Felton is a 250-pound bruising fullback that had 797 yards and 23 touchdowns a year ago. Felton is an NFL-type back that is one of the most exciting players in college football to watch. He runs over defenders with an attitude. I know some are not excited about Furman but you need to be about watching Felton.

65 Days Till Kickoff Meet #65 Heath Cockburn

Heath Cockburn  | OG
6-2  295  | SO
Northwest Whitfield H.S.

It was fun to watch Heath Cockburn last season. Cockburn and offensive-line teammate Tyler Haynes showed plenty of muscle during their freshmen seasons. What excites me about Cockburn is his fearless attitude, I’ve always liked to see an offensive lineman that will mix it up with the defense and Cockburn shows plenty of promise.  Benched pressed 425 pounds and recorded a squat of 545 pounds, the third highest mark in the program, in spring testing 2006.

2005 graduate of Northwest Whitfield (AAAA) High School...football coach was Mike Falleur...saw action at offensive guard and defensive tackle...served as team captain and earned all-area, all-region, all-tri-state, and Atlanta Journal-Constitution All-State honors in 2004 after helping lead Northwest Whitfield to a 9-3 record and second round appearance in the state playoffs...squad's 28-27 win over North Clayton marked first playoff victory in school history...was selected to play in Georgia's North-South All-Star Game...was also recruited by Western Carolina, Tennessee Tech, and Eastern Kentucky.

66 Days Till Kickoff Meet #66 Kyle Rae

Kyle Rae  | OG
6-0  265  | SO
John T. Hoggard H.S.

2006 graduate of John T. Hoggard (AAAA) High School...football coach was Scott Braswell...played nose guard and center...earned first team all-area and all-conference honors as a center on 9-2, conference championship team his senior year..tallied 52 tackles, 16 tackles-for-loss, two sacks, and two fumble recoveries as starting nose guard as a junior...two seasons of football at nearby Mauldin (S.C.) High School before moving to Wilmington...registered perfect attendance all 13 years of school since kindergarten.

Small School NFL Draft Prospects

I just found another interesting blog worth keeping an eye on.  The Small School NFL Draft Prospects Blog is the creation of Robert Bryant. I like what Robert has to say for the most part except he states that he will continue to refer to FCS teams as IAA. So be it, Kevin Richardson and Jerome Felton could play for most FBS teams. The highlights in corrected order☺

Jerome Felton, 6’ 0” 247 lbs. Furman (FCS)
Powerful running back/fullback that can get the football in the end zone. Felton has decent NFL potential due to his size and strength. Last year (2006) he rushed for 711 yards and an amazing 23 touchdowns. He raely gets tackled for a loss only losing four yards all year. He is also a solid blocker at the point of attack. Unlike a lot of these small school running backs, size will not be an issue with Felton.

Kevin Richardson, 5’ 9” 190 lbs. Appalachian State (FCS)
Appalachian State is such a football powerhouse loaded with stars, but the biggest star is running back Kevin Richardson. He currently holds six school rushing records, including single-season yards (1,676) and touchdowns (30), both set last year as Appalachian won its second-straight NCAA Division IAA national championship. He only needs 954 more rushing yards to break John Settle's school record of 4,409. Richardson is a little small which will hurt his evaluation from NFL Scouts.

Blast From The Past; Frankie DeBusk

Many Furman fans would argue with me on this, but if I was picking an all-time list ranking of Furman quarterbacks Frankie DeBusk would be my number one.  I saw Frankie play every game as a Paladin, including his final play against Reno-Nevada in 1990. Not many quarterbacks would want to wear #22 nor could they pull it off. But it seemed to always fit DeBusk, he was deceptive on the option and had an uncanny knack for buying time in the pocket to find a receiver in the back of the endzone or for an important first down. Two DeBusk plays stick out in my mind. The option play against Marshall in the playoffs in 88. DeBusk made a perfect downfield pitch that was oh so close to being a forward lateral but it was so beautifully timed I think the refs were too stuned to think about it. And the play that will always stick in my mind 'the opening play bomb to Donald Lipscomb in the championship game against GSU' the perfect call, and perfect execution.

DeBusk's injury during the 89 playoffs played a role in Furman not repeating as national champs. Furman has had many great quarterbacks but #22 was one of a kind.

Finding a Football Team

I ran across this story by Matt King for the Watauga Democrat. It’s Matt’s story about leaving Kentucky to go off to college (Appalachian State). Matt grew up bleeding Kentucky blue but after attending his first college football game at the ‘Rock’ it blew him away and he’s been a die-hard Mountaineer from that day forward.

Matt talks about the atmosphere, the buzz of the crowd, the students, the alums, and the locals. And he makes the point that every stadium needs a great nickname like “The Rock.” It probably helped a little that he also got see APP win two national championships.

I’m with Matt. I love walking out of the tunnel and into Paladin Stadium. The hedges around the field, the view of Paris Mountain and the helmet and tunnel that leads the Paladins out of the field house and onto the field, it gets my heart beating. Furman gets the rap at times for being a passive home crowd. And at times it is, but every now and then the volume gets turned up a notch, and when that happens ‘The Dungeon’ becomes a special place.

I can only imagine what it would be like for your 4 years of college to include 2 national championships. I found my football team Furman because of my father. Watching Furman lose as much as win. My father always seemed to make the day special no matter what happened. Maybe it was going  out for hotdogs after the game at The Clock or Pete’s or a real treat was stopping by Krispy Kreme.

September seems like a long ways off, but I can’t help dream about Football says past and this upcoming season.