Play It Smart: Alumni Report

As part of an on-going series throughout the fall, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame follows the graduates of its Play It Smart program as they make their mark on the college gridiron.

Dennis Rogan (Fulton/Knoxville, TN) had 165 yards on six touches and notched six tackles and one pass deflection in Tennessee’s 30-6 loss to Florida.

True freshman LaVarus Williams (Ben Davis/Indianapolis, IN) had a game high eight tackles and one interception in Central Michigan’s 32-23 loss to Purdue.

Senior defensive back Bryan Williams (Akron Bucthel/Akron, OH) notched two tackles, one tackle for a loss, a forced fumble, and one fumble recovery in a 22-3 win over Army.

Northern Illinois senior defensive back Bradley Pruitt (Hyde Park Academy/Chicago, IL) returned an interception 54 yard for a touchdown 48-3 win over Indiana State. Pruitt finished the game three tackles.

Amara Kamara (Weequahic/Newark, NJ) recorded four tackles for Temple in a 45-3 loss to Penn State.

Air Force’s Anthony Wright (Maple Heights/Maple Heights, OH) recorded three tackles in a 30-23 loss to conference foe Utah.

Kendall Briscoe (Lincoln/Dallas, TX) contributed four tackles in a New Mexico 56-14 loss to Tulsa.

Sophomore flanker Terence Austin (Long Beach Poly/Long Beach, CA) had 155 all-purpose yards on 14 touches as UCLA fell to Arizona 31-10.

Sophomore defensive back Javier Arenas (Robinson/Tampa, FL) returned an interception 63 yards for a touchdown in Alabama’s 49-14 win over Arkansas. Arenas, who used several ankle breaking moves en route to the end zone, also finished the game with three tackles.

De’Mon Glanton (Benjamin Mays/Atlanta, GA) lead all Mississippi State tacklers with six in a 38-7 loss to Georgia Tech.

Senior running back Mike Davis (Columbia/Columbia, SC) accounted for 101 yards on 17 touches in South Carolina’s 23-10 win over Wofford.

Mike Wallace (O. Perry Walker/New Orleans, LA) electrified the home crowd with a 98 yard kickoff return. The Ole Miss Rebels came up short though, falling to conference foe Vanderbilt 23-17. Wallace finished the game with 240 all-purpose yards on nine touches.

High school teammate Kendrick Lewis lead all ball stoppers with nine tackles.

Florida International dropped its home opener in its new stadium to South Florida 17-9. Armond Willis (Booker T. Washington/Miami) recorded four tackles in the loss.

Sophomore flanker Greg Ellingson (Robinson/Tampa, FL) hauled in three passes for 21 yards in the losing effort.

Derrick Richardson (Chandler/Chandler, AZ) was named WAC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts against conference rival UTEP. Richardson recorded 21 tackles and one fumble recovery in the 34-33 New Mexico State win. Richardson currently leads the nation in tackles.

Dominique Faust (Clarke Central/Athens, GA) recorded three tackles in Louisiana Tech’s 41-26 victory over Southeastern Louisiana.

Mike McLeod (New Britain/New Britain, CT) lead the rushing attack of Yale with 78 yards on 22 carries and one touchdown in 47-7 win over Georgetown.

Samad Wagstaff (New Rochelle/New Rochelle, NY) recorded two tackles in Bryant’s 30-17 loss to Monmouth. DeMarcus Few (Henry Grady/Atlanta, GA) caught two passes for 25 yards and one touchdown in the Georgia Southern Eagles last second loss to Elon 22-20.

Teammate Marc Watts (Hillsborough/Tampa, FL) added two tackles in the defeat.

Shannon Davis (Benjamin Mays/Atlanta, GA) grabbed three passes for sixty yards in Eastern Kentucky’s 34-20 loss to Tennessee State.

Alphonso Smith (Pahokee/Pahokee, FL) notched three tackles, an interception and 4 pass breakups in Wake Forest’s 12-3 win at Florida State.

Thearon Collier (BT Washington/Miami, FL) had four receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown for Miami in their 41-23 defeat of Texas A&M.

Miami true freshman Travis Benjamin (Glades Central/Belle Glade, FL) had a key 44 yard punt return that led to Collier’s touchdown in the closing minutes of the first half.

Sophomore defensive tackle Marvin Austin (Ballou/Washington, DC) registered six tackles and a pass break for North Carolina as the Heels fell to Virginia Tech 20-17.

Chris Rucker (Warren Harding/Warren, OH) played a strong defensive game for Michigan State in their 23-7 win against Notre Dame recording nine tackles including two for a loss.

Running back Dan Herron (Warren Harding/Warren, OH) led the Ohio State rushing attack with 95 yards on 20 attempts as the Buckeyes beat Troy 28-10.

Defensive tackle Lindsey Witten (Glenville/Cleveland, OH) recorded two tackles and a sack for UConn in the Huskies 31-28 shootout victory over Baylor.

Sophomore wide receiver Troy Paceley (Alliance/Alliance, OH) scored the first touchdown of his career on a 13 yard reception for Louisville as the Cardinals defeated Kansas State 38-29.

With major financial support from the NFL and the NFL Players Association, and a broad-coalition of corporations, communities, individuals and organizations, the program has quickly become one of the most comprehensive and effective youth mentoring programs, achieving dramatic results that include:

96% of seniors graduating high school, compared to 76% of their peers;
79% of seniors enrolling in college compared to 63% of their peers;
Participants completing more than 69,000 hours of community service annually;
Participants earning more than $8 million a year in scholarships; and
190-plus graduates earning places among the elite collegiate ranks during the 2007 season on Football Bowl Subdivision rosters.
Prominent alumni include Ohio State’s Ted Ginn, Jr. (Miami Dolphins), Rutgers’ Ray Rice (Baltimore Ravens), California’s Desean Jackson (Philadelphia Eagles), Miami’s Leon Williams (Cleveland Browns), LSU’s Craig Davis (San Diego Chargers) and Super Bowl champion Jay Alford, who attended Penn State, and currently plays with the World Champion New York Giants. Play It Smart builds on the positive peer influences of team sports and a participant's interest in football. The program's academic coaches are trained in a set of guiding principles and a variety of tactics, which are designed to make academic achievement the norm. Working closely with the direct support of a team's head coach and others in the community, academic coaches hold one-on-one goal setting meetings, career and life skills sessions, mandatory study halls, SAT/ACT prep classes, community service projects and other team building events.

ABOUT PLAY IT SMART Play It Smart is an educational program established in 1998 by The National Football Foundation. The program's mission is to help student-athletes take responsibility for their futures through lessons learned on the playing field, in the classroom, and in service to others. At the heart of the program is a year-round academic coach, an official member of a team's staff, who serves as a direct link to the classroom by helping players and the team set and achieve their academic and personal development goals during the entire school year. Learn more at http://www.playitsmart.org./

ABOUT THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION & COLLEGE HALL OF FAME: With 120 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. The NFF presents the MacArthur Trophy, the Draddy Trophy and releases the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings. NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., Play It Smart, and scholarships of over $1 million for college and high school scholar-athletes. Learn more at http://www.footballfoundation.org/