t faced a corner in the Big 12 the caliber of Douglas, eit | Forum
Mitglied wzh123
Feb 13 '19
EAST LANSING, Mich. http://www.49ersrookiestore.com/49ers-Garrett-Celek-Jersey/ . -- Jim Harbaugh has Michigan marching toward a special season, winning its first seven games and climbing to No. 2 in The Associated Press college football poll for the first time in a decade.Michigan State , meanwhile, has lost five straight for the first time since 1991.The Spartans are not afraid to say spoiling the Wolverines season adds to their motivation to win.Yeah, I think it definitely does, linebacker Riley Bullough acknowledged.Michigan State receiver R.J. Shelton took it a step further.This is a game right here that can turn our season around, Shelton said.The Wolverines (7-0, 4-0 Big) are not just expected to beat Michigan State (2-5, 0-4) Saturday at Spartan Stadium. Theyre expected to dominate a game theyre favored to win by more than three touchdowns.Even though Michigans fourth-year seniors such as cornerback Jourdan Lewis are 0-3 against the Spartans, who have won seven of the last eight games in the series for the first time, they refused to publicly say it was more important than any other game.We cant look at Michigan State as the end all, be all, Lewis said. If we win the Michigan State game and lose the other games, it really doesnt matter.Here are some things to watch when the rivals meet:QUESTIONABLE QB: Michigan State might have to start freshman Brian Lewerke for a third straight game because both fifth-year senior Tyler OConnor and redshirt junior Damion Terry have been slowed by lingering injuries. If Lewerke plays, he will face quite a test. Michigans defense leads the nation in five categories, including holding teams to an average of 10 points, 207 yards, 111 yards passing.Spartans tight end Josiah Price said he believes Lewerke can get the job done.Brian plays fearless, Price said. Hes not afraid to just throw the ball around, take shots, let it go. As you can see with his scrambling and the way he runs, hes not afraid to take a hit. Hes not afraid to lower his shoulder and try and dive for the chains.TERRIFIC TRIO: Michigans offense, which is averaging a Big Ten-best 48.7 points a game, has a talented and senior-laden group of targets in the passing game. Amara Darboh leads the team with 30 receptions for 499 yards and five touchdowns. Tight end Jake Butt ranks just behind him with 26 catches, 310 yards receiving and four TDs. And when teams try to take them away, Jehu Chesson is more than capable of taking advantage. Chesson has 18 receptions for 275 yards and a score. The Spartans are giving up 225 yards passing a game, ranking 13th in the Big Ten, and nearly 30 points on average to rank 12th in the conference.WEAK LINK: The Spartans lost three starters from last years offensive line and simply havent been able to replace them. A look back the 2013 recruiting class, a group of players in their fourth year, shows a possible reason there is a problem. Michigan State signed only one offensive lineman, Dennis Finley, that year and he has started only one game in his career.REGULARYL RELENTLESS: If Michigan builds a big lead and stays aggressive, it probably wont be because Harbaugh wants to run up the score against a rival. Harbaugh showed last week, again, that he will do everything he can to win every play regardless of the score. Leading Illinois 34-0 in the fourth quarter, the Wolverines faked a punt from their 45. In control of the game with a 41-8 and a little more than 2 minutes left, Harbaugh challenged a spot and complained publicly after the video review not going his way after the game and again two days later.A LOOK BACK: Mark Dantonio has helped Michigan State win seven games on a final play, including last years game at Michigan Stadium. The memorable game ended with a bobbled snap on a punt with 10 seconds left and ended when Jalen Watts-Jackson scored on a 38-yard return off the fumble.We had a plan, Dantonio said. It was a plan thrown together at the time and our players believed in the plan. When I looked out there, I saw confidence faces when I went out there. They were going to do their best. They were going to try to defeat the guys across from them.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org---Follow Larry Lage on Twitter at www.twitter.com/larrylage http://www.49ersrookiestore.com/49ers-Carlos-Hyde-Jersey/ . Sgt. Eric ONeal says most of the arrests at Monday nights game were for public drunkenness, though one person was taken into custody on suspicion of trying to steal a seat from the stadium. http://www.49ersrookiestore.com/49ers-Roger-Craig-Jersey/ . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. http://www.49ersrookiestore.com/49ers-Ray-Ray-Armstrong-Jersey/ . Andrew Luck lost his favourite target and the Indianapolis locker room lost one of its most revered leaders when Reggie Wayne was diagnosed Monday with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that will cost him the rest of the season. Rasul Douglas path to becoming the top defender on a Big 12 title contender included weekends at the bowling alley, a bus stop and sometimes only a dollar a day for food.And now hes one of the biggest reasons why West Virginia has emerged as a dark-horse hopeful for the College Football Playoff heading into a Saturday showdown with ninth-ranked Oklahoma (8 p.m. ET, ABC).Hes just a kid that keeps fighting, said West Virginia defensive coordinator Tony Gibson.On the field, as perhaps the Big 12s best defensive back on the leagues leading defense.And before that, off of it.Im actually doing what I came here to do, Douglas said. I always envisioned it.The struggle is paying off.One of seven siblings raised by his grandmother in East Orange, New Jersey, Douglas grew up where, as he puts it, kids are lost to the streets.Thankfully for Douglas, he had a strong-willed grandmother, a little league coach who saw something special in him and an innate passion to play sports.Mike Davis, a P.A. announcer for East Orange High School sports and a mentor for at-risk youth in the area, first met Douglas while coaching him in little league baseball. The two immediately hit it off.I was hard on him as a coach, Davis said. Because he was so competitive, he took a liking to that.Davis made it his mission to prevent this kid brimming with potential from falling into trouble on the streets.It was like a vehicle, Davis said. There was a lot of trouble around in that community. Unfortunately, a lot of young people there were getting involved in gangs. Sports offered him something else.He was the one who took me out of the streets, Douglas said. He made sure we did what we had to do.Davis kept Douglas focused on sports. All sports. Any sport. One time that was the Vince Carter basketball camp. Other times, it was taking Douglas and his brother to the bowling alley.Time spent playing those sports didnt just keep Douglas out of trouble; they provided him with a foundation, turning him into a terrific all-around athlete by the time he reached high school.Douglas had dreams of playing basketball at the next level. But at 6-foot-2, he didnt have the height to draw the attention of college recruiters. He did, however, have the size as a defensive back to catch the eye of Nassau (New York) Community College coach Curtis Guilliam.Coach Guilliam, he kept hitting me up, What is he going to do? said Douglas high school football coach, Marion Bell. At the last moment, I finally convinced Rasul to take a shot at it.Nassau didnt have dorms. Instead, Douglas had to find an apartment located eight miles from the Garden City, New York, campus. Douglas didnt have a car, so he had to take the bus every day to class and to practice. And because his grandmother still had to take care of his younger siblings, Douglas essentially was on his own financially.That was probably the hardest part of my life, for sure, saiid Douglas. http://www.49ersrookiestore.com/49ers-Dontae-Johnson-Jersey/. . It felt like nothing was going my way. I couldnt ask my family for money, because they needed it. I didnt have a lot. I was struggling to eat.Sometimes, Douglas would just wait until the evening to eat. Other times, he would go to McDonalds, order off the dollar menu, eat half of the meal and save the rest for dinner.Douglas, however, remained determined, despite being redshirted that first year.He did what he had to do, Guilliam said. He made sure he got to class. He did the work. Got to study hall. Did everything he was supposed to do. We call it the juco grind. But he never complained and just continued to work.That mentality carried over into the weight room and onto the field. And by his second year at Nassau, Douglas was primed to shine.Early in the season against Lackawanna College -- which produced former West Virginia All-American wideout Kevin White and his brothers KaRaun and Kyzir, both starters now for the Mountaineers -- Douglas delivered a breakout performance.He picked off a pass, and it was like, Oh, shoot, this guy is going to be a dude, Guilliam said. Then he laid a hit on a receiver, knocked him clean out, and you were like, This guy was going to be a thumper.By his third year at Nassau, Douglas had turned into one of the top junior college corners in the country. He garnered scholarship offers from the likes of Florida State and Louisville, but after visiting Morgantown for the Mountaineers game against TCU in 2014, he knew West Virginia was where he wanted to be.Due in large part to Douglas, West Virginia leads the Big 12 in scoring defense, despite losing several key defensive backs off last years team. He is tied for second in the country with six interceptions, including one last weekend in West Virginias 24-20 win at Texas.Saturday, hell face off against Oklahoma wideout Dede Westbrook in what figures to be the premier matchup of the game. Westbrook has emerged as a Heisman contender after a scorching past two months. But Westbrook hasnt faced a corner in the Big 12 the caliber of Douglas, either.Im glad weve got him, said West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen. Right now, hes our best defensive football player. Hes continuously gotten better. Hes making big plays that have a big outcome on the game.I couldnt be happier or prouder of what Rasul has done.Though hes come far, Douglas hasnt forgotten the path he traveled or the people who helped him along.On Thanksgiving a few years ago, Davis was in the middle of calling the P.A. for an East Orange football game when he got a text that still touches him.It was Rasul just thanking me for keeping him on course, Davis said. Im in the middle of this game, and Im in tears.Ive been blessed to have been part of his life. Its been a wonderful privilege. Cheap Hoodies From China Discount NFL Shirts Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale China JerseysWholesale Jerseys From China Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Fast Shipping China Jerseys Stitched Jerseys ' ' '
