THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 23, 1994 TAG: 9408230540
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines
He is Green Run High's all-time leading passer and has yet to throw his first completion as a senior. And with 2,813 yards, he is on the cusp of South Hampton Roads' top-10 list of all-time passers.
Glenwood Ferebee's arm is area football's worst-kept secret.
``If anyone around here is surprised this year that Glenwood can throw the ball, that would be like being surprised that Troy Aikman can throw the ball,'' Green Run coach Elisha ``Cadillac'' Harris said.
It's Ferebee's feet, however, that could prove to be the difference in Green Run's Beach District title hopes.
Until the end of last season, Ferebee had run only when absolutely necessary. In almost three seasons as Green Run's starting quarterback, he had tallied minus-54 yards on 67 attempts.
The Green Run coaching staff knew going into last year that Ferebee needed to expand his arsenal. But Ferebee admitted to a huge mental block when it came to running the football.
``I was only 5-6 and 115 pounds when I was a freshman,'' Ferebee recalled. ``I definitely wasn't going to run then. What was I supposed to do? Go around end where I'd run into a 265-pounder?
``I figured I wasn't big enough. I would have gotten broken up.''
That thought remained throughout all of his sophomore season and much of his junior
season, even though Ferebee was getting bigger and faster.
Harris realized he had to get Ferebee's mindset on the fast track.
Harris pulled out old films of 1986 Tidewater player of the year Alton Grizzard.
Harris asked Tommy Rhodes, Green Run's former head coach, to work with Ferebee and teach him the tricks he'd once taught Grizzard.
Harris even went as far as to shake the raw facts in Ferebee's face.
``I held up the newspaper (after the eighth game of last season) and said, `Glenwood, here we are an option team, and you've run for all of 3 yards. Where's the problem?' '' Harris recalled.
``I figured a picture would be worth a thousand words. So I went back to the film of Grizzard and started comparing what Griz did in certain situations to what Glenwood was doing in similar situations.''
Finally, Ferebee ran.
First he tallied 77 yards on five rushing attempts in a 34-3 victory over Tallwood in Green Run's ninth game of the season. Then, in the Stallions' season-ender against Kempsville, Ferebee ran for 98 yards on 11 attempts in a 36-29 win.
``I didn't even know if I could run the ball,'' said Ferebee, whose Stallions won their last four games a year ago to finish 7-3. ``And I didn't figure I was as fast as anyone else we had in our backfield.''
Since then, Ferebee has discovered he has more than enough speed. He ran a leg on Green Run's state champion 400-meter relay team last spring. And if he's quick enough for that . . .
Rival coaching staffs have seen enough of Ferebee in the previous three years - ``I feel like he's been there forever,'' Salem coach Bill McTyre said - but this may be the season when the total package emerges.
Even though he has been Green Run's starting quarterback since his freshman year, Ferebee is still only 16 years old; he doesn't turn 17 until after the regular season. And at 6-foot-1 and 164 pounds, he is just starting to look like a young man, although the rest of his body still hasn't caught up to his Popeye-like arms.
Green Run will be favored to win the Beach District when it opens its season Sept. 9 against visiting Maury.
But if it's a personal goal Ferebee seeks, there is always Green Run's ultimate quarterback measuring stick: the multifaceted Grizzard's senior year.
Grizzard led Green Run to an 8-0-2 regular-season record in 1986, passing for 1,159 yards and 13 touchdowns and rushing for 500 yards and 11 touchdowns.
``I'm going to run if I have to,'' Ferebee said with a smile. ``But we have a good tailback (Cedric Warren) and a good fullback (Larry Jordan). So I might not have to.''
Still, the mere thought that Ferebee might run should give Warren and Jordan more running room. Defenses will be forced to honor Ferebee as a running threat. And with the luxury of a line that averages 260 pounds per man, chances are Ferebee will feel the desire to run.
Where Ferebee's feet end up taking him is anyone's guess, but his speed, combined with his strong arm, have a slew of colleges interested in acquiring his services.
Currently at the top of his ever-changing list of favorites are South Carolina, North Carolina, N.C. State, Florida and East Carolina.
Harris is hoping Ferebee's more immediate path leads to the postseason.
``Until someone gets us to the playoffs and gives us a chance to win the whole thing, Alton Grizzard will be Green Run's measuring stick at quarterback,'' Harris said. ``I'd like to have a new measuring stick.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
CHARLIE MEADS/Staff
Glenwood Ferebee, still just 16 years old, is already Green Run's
all-time leading passer.
by CNB