THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 8, 1995 TAG: 9509080634
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines
It's an hour before practice and a cluster of Hampton University football players are standing outside Holland Hall, relaxing. You ask for Quincy Wynn and a call goes out:
``Big Q! Hey, Big Q?''
Wynn rounds a corner and immediately shreds any doubts about the origin of his nickname. He may be a hair shorter than the 6-foot-6 he's listed at in the Hampton media guide, but it's obvious that he's every bit of 300 and . . . how many pounds?
``The book says 350,'' Hampton coach Joe Taylor says. ``But I don't know if we can weigh him. At one point, his weight was beyond the scale. That's why we put 350.''
Massive as he is, it's hard to believe that not too long ago, ``Big Q'' faced a big question.
``Last year, during two-a-days, he began saying that maybe football wasn't his sport,'' Taylor says. ``He really struggled.''
Struggled with his weight. Struggled with his stamina. Practices were a burden. Games were draining. Wynn thought seriously about quitting football. ``It just wasn't making sense to me,'' he said.
It's making sense now, though. Wynn, a junior offensive tackle from Chesapeake, says he is in the best shape of his life. After playing four quarters in the season opener against Morehouse last week, he said he ``felt like I could play another quarter.''
More importantly, for the first time since arriving at Hampton three years ago, Wynn wants to play.
Wynn traces his turnaround to a meeting with Taylor at the end of last season.
``We talked, and he said that I had two things to work on. One was my conditioning. The other was being serious about football,'' Wynn says. ``Up until now, football has come very easily for me. I didn't have to work too hard because of my size. Basically, I could just overpower people.''
That was the case at Deep Creek High, where Wynn, already 300 pounds, was an All-Tidewater pick. Considered one of the top offensive line prospects in the Mid-Atlantic, region, Wynn signed with Pitt.
Things were going well until he learned that the entire coaching staff had been fired.
``The coaching staff was the reason I went to Pitt,'' Wynn said. ``From there it just went downhill. Johnny Majors and his staff came in. When a new staff comes in, they don't want to take too much stuff. I said some things, some things happened. I just made it a bad situation. I guess it was a lack of maturity.''
Wynn transferred to Hampton, where he was eligible immediately. He didn't play much, however, because he wasn't in shape. At one point, he ballooned to 370 pounds.
``I had talked to Majors a lot about him,'' Taylor said. ``He just thought he (Wynn) was a little bit lazy. We told him that the Lord had blessed him with all this size and ability, and he had to do something with what the Lord has given him and not let people call him lazy.''
Wynn, who turns 21 Saturday, says he's simply matured.
``I didn't want people looking at me and saying, `Why don't you play?' '' he said. ``I didn't want to end up doing nothing.''
Wynn began running and lifting weights last spring and is down to about 340 pounds, he thinks.
``If he could get down to about 325, 320,'' Taylor says. ``He's not slow, but certainly that extra baggage doesn't help.''
Still, Taylor says: ``When we need those yards straight ahead, he's the guy we're looking at.''
Wynn, not surprisingly, is a devastating blocker.
``His weakness is if he has to pull,'' offensive line coach John Wright said. ``He has trouble getting out there.''
Wynn hopes to remedy that. He talks about playing next year at his ideal weight: 305 pounds.
A mere 305? If he trims down that much, ``Big Q'' may need a new nickname. ILLUSTRATION: Deep Creek grad Quincy Wynn, an estimated 340 pounds, lives up
to the nickname ``Big Q.''
HAMPTON vs. HOWARD
Where: RFK Stadium (56,454) in Washington
When: 8:30 p.m.
Records: Hampton is 1-0, Howard is 0-1.
Radio: WHOV, 88.1-FM
Tickets: Available for $20, $10 for students.
Outlook: This 87-year-old rivalry was renewed last year after an
eight-year break. It will be an annual affair now that Hampton is
also in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Hampton won last year,
21-20, as Howard fumbled on a potential game-winning drive. The
Pirates have won eight in a row, including a 42-14 win over
Morehouse last week. Howard, meanwhile, was upset by
Bethune-Cookman, 25-15. Hampton quarterback Matt Williams, making
his first start, tied a school-record with six touchdown passes.
Howard, 4-7 last year, has just one senior starting on offense.
by CNB