PaladinFan
September 27th, 2006, 10:59 AM
Furman fullback a scoring machine
TODD SHANESY, Staff Writer
Published September 27, 2006
Wofford football coach Mike Ayers wasn't sure exactly how many touchdowns Jerome Felton of Furman has scored this season, but took a guess.
"About a gazillion, I think," Ayers said.
Close.
Twelve, to be exact, and that's still an extremely high number considering the season is just four games old. Felton, a 6-foot, 250-pound junior fullback, ran for four touchdowns against North Carolina two weeks ago and had five TDs by halftime last week in a whipping of Western Carolina.
He added No. 6, a Southern Conference record, on the first series of the second half and then called it a night.
"I really wasn't thinking about it," Felton said. "I was just sitting on the bench and then it was like, 'That's crazy. I just scored six touchdowns.' "
It also broke the school's oldest record set by William Gressett with five touchdowns in a game against Presbyterian in 1915. Felton, who finished with 102 yards on 20 carries, was named NCAA Division I-AA National Player of the Week.
Third-ranked Furman (3-1) has scored touchdowns on 16 of 20 trips inside the opponents' 20-yard line this season and a dozen of those are by Felton. Strategy near the goal is no big secret.
"It's going to be Felton right or Felton left," Furman coach Bobby Lamb said. "People know what we're going to do inside the 5-yard line.
"We're going to hand it to him some kind of way. They just can't seem to stop it."
"They even know what play we're going to run, actually," Felton said. "If we can stop them at the line and get me to a linebacker, I think I'll get in the end zone. Our offensive line has an attitude of getting it done. It's my job to get it in."
Felton, as well he should, gets a good-natured ribbing from his teammates about hogging all the touchdowns. Cedric Gipson, another all-conference caliber running back for the Paladins, leads the team with 342 yards (6.3 per carry) but is left with scraps in the red zone. Gipson has two touchdowns, one from 67 yards out.
"Sometimes the defense will say something to Ced about it," Felton said. "They tell him that he'd better break a long one because it's Jerome's ball down at the goal line. They mess with me about that. It's a big joke. But when we get in the game, that's what they want."
Jerome Jean-Marie Felton of Madisonville, Tenn., may get some of his power from his father, a former running back at Southern Mississippi; and has the balance of his German mother, a former professional gymnast. He was born in Germany and moved to the United States as a toddler.
"I take after my dad more. He was a powerful runner," Felton said. "But I do think I've got some light feet to get to the edge when I have to. … My mom doesn't know a whole lot about football. She really pushed academics. I always tried to do the best I could in school."
In seventh grade, Felton took the ACT as part of the Duke University Talent Search program and scored so high that he was allowed to attend classes at a local junior college. By the time he graduated from Sequoya High School, he already had 19 hours of college credit.
That was nothing compared to his younger brother.
Eamon Felton, 15, has already graduated from junior college and is working on his pre-med degree.
"I like to say I'm smart. I know how to get good grades," Felton said. "He's way more advanced than I am."
Felton rushed for more than 3,000 yards in high school, but didn't get much attention from college recruiters. He was impressive during a camp at Vanderbilt, however, where head coach Bobby Johnson gave a call to Furman, his former employer.
"We're fortunate to have Jerome," Lamb said. "He's a tremendous football player and a tremendous young man. He's the total package."
"Coming out of high school, I felt like I could play anywhere in the country," Felton said. "I was mad about the whole situation. I was bitter about it. But now that I'm here, I know it was meant to be and I'm happy. To a certain extent, though, I'm still trying to prove myself."
TODD SHANESY, Staff Writer
Published September 27, 2006
Wofford football coach Mike Ayers wasn't sure exactly how many touchdowns Jerome Felton of Furman has scored this season, but took a guess.
"About a gazillion, I think," Ayers said.
Close.
Twelve, to be exact, and that's still an extremely high number considering the season is just four games old. Felton, a 6-foot, 250-pound junior fullback, ran for four touchdowns against North Carolina two weeks ago and had five TDs by halftime last week in a whipping of Western Carolina.
He added No. 6, a Southern Conference record, on the first series of the second half and then called it a night.
"I really wasn't thinking about it," Felton said. "I was just sitting on the bench and then it was like, 'That's crazy. I just scored six touchdowns.' "
It also broke the school's oldest record set by William Gressett with five touchdowns in a game against Presbyterian in 1915. Felton, who finished with 102 yards on 20 carries, was named NCAA Division I-AA National Player of the Week.
Third-ranked Furman (3-1) has scored touchdowns on 16 of 20 trips inside the opponents' 20-yard line this season and a dozen of those are by Felton. Strategy near the goal is no big secret.
"It's going to be Felton right or Felton left," Furman coach Bobby Lamb said. "People know what we're going to do inside the 5-yard line.
"We're going to hand it to him some kind of way. They just can't seem to stop it."
"They even know what play we're going to run, actually," Felton said. "If we can stop them at the line and get me to a linebacker, I think I'll get in the end zone. Our offensive line has an attitude of getting it done. It's my job to get it in."
Felton, as well he should, gets a good-natured ribbing from his teammates about hogging all the touchdowns. Cedric Gipson, another all-conference caliber running back for the Paladins, leads the team with 342 yards (6.3 per carry) but is left with scraps in the red zone. Gipson has two touchdowns, one from 67 yards out.
"Sometimes the defense will say something to Ced about it," Felton said. "They tell him that he'd better break a long one because it's Jerome's ball down at the goal line. They mess with me about that. It's a big joke. But when we get in the game, that's what they want."
Jerome Jean-Marie Felton of Madisonville, Tenn., may get some of his power from his father, a former running back at Southern Mississippi; and has the balance of his German mother, a former professional gymnast. He was born in Germany and moved to the United States as a toddler.
"I take after my dad more. He was a powerful runner," Felton said. "But I do think I've got some light feet to get to the edge when I have to. … My mom doesn't know a whole lot about football. She really pushed academics. I always tried to do the best I could in school."
In seventh grade, Felton took the ACT as part of the Duke University Talent Search program and scored so high that he was allowed to attend classes at a local junior college. By the time he graduated from Sequoya High School, he already had 19 hours of college credit.
That was nothing compared to his younger brother.
Eamon Felton, 15, has already graduated from junior college and is working on his pre-med degree.
"I like to say I'm smart. I know how to get good grades," Felton said. "He's way more advanced than I am."
Felton rushed for more than 3,000 yards in high school, but didn't get much attention from college recruiters. He was impressive during a camp at Vanderbilt, however, where head coach Bobby Johnson gave a call to Furman, his former employer.
"We're fortunate to have Jerome," Lamb said. "He's a tremendous football player and a tremendous young man. He's the total package."
"Coming out of high school, I felt like I could play anywhere in the country," Felton said. "I was mad about the whole situation. I was bitter about it. But now that I'm here, I know it was meant to be and I'm happy. To a certain extent, though, I'm still trying to prove myself."