Came across this article on Brent Rawls. His struggles only continued after dropping out of Oklahoma. What is he doing these days? Anything?
The guy's arm was as strong as any you'll ever see. Looked great in high school and even the all-star games. Chuck Long thought he had a real jewel. He did, of course. Just a slightly different type of jewel.
Guess he never found the right mentor.
By George Schroeder
The Oklahoman
He smiled and waved, acknowledging the crowd.
Wasn't it
supposed to be this way? Well, not quite. This wasn't exactly how Brent
Rawls had envisioned his Oklahoma football debut.
This was indoor, minor-league football. Rawls entered the game as the holder on a field-goal attempt.
And those were boos.
Saturday night,
two years after he was a contestant in the Oklahoma Sooners'
quarterback derby, Rawls held for placekicks and saw mop-up action at
quarterback with the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings of arena football
2.
"It didn't turn out the way I wanted it to," Rawls said.
He was
referring to his three-interception performance in a loss to the
Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz at the Ford Center. He could as easily have
been talking about his career.
Seems strange
now. But as spring turned to summer in 2003, Oklahoma's sports-talk
radio buzzed with speculation: Who would be OU's quarterback? Who should
be?
Both Jason
White, who was coming off his second knee surgery, and Rawls, who had
performed well during spring practice, had fiery, vocal proponents. But a
sizable contingent of fans believed it should be Rawls.
"It's been a while since then," Rawls said Saturday.
Bob Stoops
ended the controversy, uncharacteristically releasing a quarterback
ranking six weeks before the start of fall practice. White was the
Sooners' starter. Rawls was No. 4. Not quite three months later, Rawls
transferred to Louisiana Tech.
Last weekend
marked Rawls' first return to the state. Rawls said he hasn't spoken
with OU coaches since his departure. He said he has no regrets, that he
doesn't think much about his ill-fated tenure in Norman.
"If I lived in
the past, I'd want to shoot myself every day just because of the fact of
where I should be now and what could have happened," Rawls said. "But I
don't give it any thought."
A Parade
All-American out of Shreveport's Evangel Christian Academy, Rawls signed
with great fanfare in December 2001, but never took a snap for the
Sooners.
His career
detoured in 2002 when he tore thumb ligaments, then suffered a
concussion when he fell out of the back of a pickup truck. Then, despite
an impressive spring performance in 2003, he was dropped to the bottom
of the depth chart because of, sources said, off-field actions and
generally immature behavior.
Rawls never
played for Louisiana Tech, either. Last November, he gave up his final
year of college eligibility when he signed with the Battle Wings. He
understood it was perhaps his last chance at football.
The Battle Wings were tantalized by something Rawls has long had: potential.
"We thought it
would be a good opportunity for him to rekindle his football career,"
Battle Wings coach Keith Barefield said. "We think he's got a world of
talent. He's got some learning to do. He's got some refinement in
technique to do. We think that eventually he'll develop into an
outstanding quarterback.
"It would be a shame to see all that natural, raw ability to play football, just to see it not have an opportunity to develop."
Barefield noted one other difference from Rawls' stints at OU and Louisiana Tech.
"This is not
necessarily a knock on him, but just the fact of the matter is, at both
OU and Louisiana Tech he had difficulty going to class," Barefield said.
"Here, he just has to show up for practice every day."
Of course,
Rawls missed a couple of those, too. He began the season as a backup.
When the Battle Wings released their starter and replaced him with a
former league all-star, Rawls briefly left the team, though he returned a
couple days later.
He said
Saturday night the season has been frustrating, "just because of the
fact I'm not playing. But I can't just sit around and quit or pout about
it just because I'm not playing. I've just got to bide my time."
Before
Saturday, Rawls had played only as a holder for kicks and in two mop-up
situations: He was 3 of 5 for 29 yards, with one interception. When the
Yard Dawgz grabbed a big lead in the fourth quarter, Barefield inserted
Rawls.
The results
weren't great. Rawls completed 6 of 7 passes, if you count three
interceptions. Two of those were returned for touchdowns.
"He definitely
got his baptism tonight," said Barefield. Both he and Rawls noted it was
the quarterback's first extensive action since the fall of 2000, his
senior season in high school.
"I've
definitely learned the speed of the game is a lot different than it is
in practice," Rawls said. "Getting out there and having guys come at you
and hit you is different."
And then there
were the boos, and assorted other jeers. After the third interception,
Rawls argued briefly with a fan in the first row behind the visitors'
bench. And as he left the field after the game, another fan leaned down
and yelled: "Hey, Brent Rawls! Nice job!"
Rawls' reply, as he waved: "Thank you! Thank you!"
Rawls said he expected the negative reaction.
"I told
everybody before I got here, "As soon as they say my name, everybody's
gonna boo me,'" said Rawls afterward, smiling wryly.
He laughed about it later. But Rawls said he's glad to be getting one more chance.
"Football is
what I like," he said. "I definitely want to get to the point to where
I'm starting every game and being able to have the feel of playing four
quarters. Hopefully, there's a future in this and then, hopefully, to go
to the next level from here."
Rawls fidgeted. The bus was idling outside.
Long ride back to Louisiana, someone observed.
"Yeah," Rawls said. "And it's not gonna be fun, either."
Then, he walked out the door and into the night.
The guy's arm was as strong as any you'll ever see. Looked great in high school and even the all-star games. Chuck Long thought he had a real jewel. He did, of course. Just a slightly different type of jewel.
Guess he never found the right mentor.
By George Schroeder
The Oklahoman
He smiled and waved, acknowledging the crowd.
Wasn't it
supposed to be this way? Well, not quite. This wasn't exactly how Brent
Rawls had envisioned his Oklahoma football debut.
This was indoor, minor-league football. Rawls entered the game as the holder on a field-goal attempt.
And those were boos.
Saturday night,
two years after he was a contestant in the Oklahoma Sooners'
quarterback derby, Rawls held for placekicks and saw mop-up action at
quarterback with the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings of arena football
2.
"It didn't turn out the way I wanted it to," Rawls said.
He was
referring to his three-interception performance in a loss to the
Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz at the Ford Center. He could as easily have
been talking about his career.
Seems strange
now. But as spring turned to summer in 2003, Oklahoma's sports-talk
radio buzzed with speculation: Who would be OU's quarterback? Who should
be?
Both Jason
White, who was coming off his second knee surgery, and Rawls, who had
performed well during spring practice, had fiery, vocal proponents. But a
sizable contingent of fans believed it should be Rawls.
"It's been a while since then," Rawls said Saturday.
Bob Stoops
ended the controversy, uncharacteristically releasing a quarterback
ranking six weeks before the start of fall practice. White was the
Sooners' starter. Rawls was No. 4. Not quite three months later, Rawls
transferred to Louisiana Tech.
Last weekend
marked Rawls' first return to the state. Rawls said he hasn't spoken
with OU coaches since his departure. He said he has no regrets, that he
doesn't think much about his ill-fated tenure in Norman.
"If I lived in
the past, I'd want to shoot myself every day just because of the fact of
where I should be now and what could have happened," Rawls said. "But I
don't give it any thought."
A Parade
All-American out of Shreveport's Evangel Christian Academy, Rawls signed
with great fanfare in December 2001, but never took a snap for the
Sooners.
His career
detoured in 2002 when he tore thumb ligaments, then suffered a
concussion when he fell out of the back of a pickup truck. Then, despite
an impressive spring performance in 2003, he was dropped to the bottom
of the depth chart because of, sources said, off-field actions and
generally immature behavior.
Rawls never
played for Louisiana Tech, either. Last November, he gave up his final
year of college eligibility when he signed with the Battle Wings. He
understood it was perhaps his last chance at football.
The Battle Wings were tantalized by something Rawls has long had: potential.
"We thought it
would be a good opportunity for him to rekindle his football career,"
Battle Wings coach Keith Barefield said. "We think he's got a world of
talent. He's got some learning to do. He's got some refinement in
technique to do. We think that eventually he'll develop into an
outstanding quarterback.
"It would be a shame to see all that natural, raw ability to play football, just to see it not have an opportunity to develop."
Barefield noted one other difference from Rawls' stints at OU and Louisiana Tech.
"This is not
necessarily a knock on him, but just the fact of the matter is, at both
OU and Louisiana Tech he had difficulty going to class," Barefield said.
"Here, he just has to show up for practice every day."
Of course,
Rawls missed a couple of those, too. He began the season as a backup.
When the Battle Wings released their starter and replaced him with a
former league all-star, Rawls briefly left the team, though he returned a
couple days later.
He said
Saturday night the season has been frustrating, "just because of the
fact I'm not playing. But I can't just sit around and quit or pout about
it just because I'm not playing. I've just got to bide my time."
Before
Saturday, Rawls had played only as a holder for kicks and in two mop-up
situations: He was 3 of 5 for 29 yards, with one interception. When the
Yard Dawgz grabbed a big lead in the fourth quarter, Barefield inserted
Rawls.
The results
weren't great. Rawls completed 6 of 7 passes, if you count three
interceptions. Two of those were returned for touchdowns.
"He definitely
got his baptism tonight," said Barefield. Both he and Rawls noted it was
the quarterback's first extensive action since the fall of 2000, his
senior season in high school.
"I've
definitely learned the speed of the game is a lot different than it is
in practice," Rawls said. "Getting out there and having guys come at you
and hit you is different."
And then there
were the boos, and assorted other jeers. After the third interception,
Rawls argued briefly with a fan in the first row behind the visitors'
bench. And as he left the field after the game, another fan leaned down
and yelled: "Hey, Brent Rawls! Nice job!"
Rawls' reply, as he waved: "Thank you! Thank you!"
Rawls said he expected the negative reaction.
"I told
everybody before I got here, "As soon as they say my name, everybody's
gonna boo me,'" said Rawls afterward, smiling wryly.
He laughed about it later. But Rawls said he's glad to be getting one more chance.
"Football is
what I like," he said. "I definitely want to get to the point to where
I'm starting every game and being able to have the feel of playing four
quarters. Hopefully, there's a future in this and then, hopefully, to go
to the next level from here."
Rawls fidgeted. The bus was idling outside.
Long ride back to Louisiana, someone observed.
"Yeah," Rawls said. "And it's not gonna be fun, either."
Then, he walked out the door and into the night.
