THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 18, 1996 TAG: 9607170136
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 17 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 120 lines
FOR THE 13TH time since last September, Terrence Warren has left Suffolk to join an NFL football team, exuding confidence that this time, the team won't send him back.
Never mind the fact that, three years after being drafted, he's still looking to catch his first NFL pass. Or the fact that he missed virtually all the 1995 season. Or even the fact that the once-receiver-poor Jacksonville Jaguars, the team that signed Warren, also have signed just about every other free-agent pass-catcher they could lay paws on.
``I know what I'm capable of doing,'' said Warren, the former John F. Kennedy High and Hampton University football and track star who hopped into his Jeep Cherokee early Tuesday morning and started the 10-hour drive to Jacksonville's training camp. ``I'm healthy, I'm in the best shape of my career and I've got the right attitude. I think this is going to be a good situation for me.''
A year ago at this time, Warren thought he was in a good situation with the Seattle Seahawks, the team that had made him a fifth-round draft choice in 1993. But after two years of using Warren as a part-time special teamer, the Seahawks cut him loose a week before the start of the 1995 season, precipitating a futile, frustrating search to find another NFL home.
Less than a day after his release by Seattle, Warren was claimed by San Francisco, where he thought he'd been tabbed to be the eventual successor to Pro Bowler John Taylor. The 49ers thought otherwise, and released Warren two weeks later.
Dejected, Warren returned to Suffolk, which served as the take-off point for a series of failed auditions with other NFL teams.
``I had physicals and worked out for 12 teams,'' he said. ``It seemed like I actually played a whole season, because every week I was going to a different place.
``But the result was always the same. Thanks, but no thanks.''
Warren blamed a sore left Achilles tendon - ``nobody knew how much pain I was in'' - and being a victim of NFL politics for winding up on the outside looking in at the pro football scene.
He complained that the Seahawks encouraged him to bulk up his 6-1, 200-pound frame, then chastised him for being too muscle-bound. He said his arrival in Jacksonville could have come a year sooner, as the Jaguars wanted him. But Seattle snatched his name off the supplemental draft list.
``They were worried about getting (first-round pick) Joey Galloway, so they kept me as insurance,'' Warren said. ``As soon as they picked him, I knew my time was about up.''
And he said his 49ers release came because the team was trying to free up money for their unsuccessful bid to retain All-Pro Deion Sanders.
``There's a lot of things going on behind the scenes that people don't realize,'' Warren said. ``You just have to deal with it, and move on.''
Although Warren said he was so frustrated he considered giving up football, the time off helped him strengthen both his faith in God and his belief that things will work out, to the point where he's tattooed the word ``chosen'' under a pair of clasped hands on his right shoulder.
``The way I look at it now is, there's about 10,000 people eligible for the draft, and about 300 who get drafted,'' Warren said. ``I only played two years of high school ball, and really just one year in college. Look at the odds I was bucking. But I still made it. So tell me, is that God's plan, or what?
``God's been telling me that getting released was not a punishment but a blessing. As long as I keep my faith in Him, He'll show me the way.''
Jacksonville appears to be a good fit for Warren's skills. The Jaguars ranked 14th in the 15-team AFC in passing last year and completed only six passes longer than 30 yards. The speedy Warren averaged 27 yards a catch as a senior at Hampton.
He was also a two-time Division II All-American in track for the Pirates and a qualifier for the Olympic Trials in the 200. Now, with his Achilles injury healed, having shed some 20 pounds of Seahawk-inspired bulk and having a series of workouts with Norfolk State track coach Steve Riddick under his belt, Warren, who turns 27 Aug. 2, believes he brings just the kind of raw speed Jacksonville is looking for.
``I ran a 4.39 (40-yard dash time) for them at mini-camp,'' he said.
But the Jags hedged their bet on Warren by using four of their 10 draft choices on wideouts. Ten receivers will be on hand when Jacksonville opens camp today.
``That's what I like,'' Warren said. ``God willing, I'll stand to the challenge.'' ILLUSTRATION: File photo
Terrence Warren in 1988, when he was a track star for John F.
Kennedy High School.
IN HIS OWN WORDS
Terrence Warren on:
Michael Irvin: ``I understand what (Charles) Barkley means when
he says we're not role models, but when you go around acting as bold
and arrogant as Irvin, it shows you've lost appreciation for what
you've achieved. Now he's paying for it. He'll play and he'll still
make his millions, but his reputation is scarred forever.''
Jerry Rice: ``Very calm, very mild-mannered. It's amazing to see
a guy of his stature still taking advice from coaches and helping
out the younger guys. I can honestly say I learned more from him in
one week than I did in my entire three-year career.''
O.J. Simpson: It was my rookie season when I met him, and for
about two days he sort of took me under his wing, telling me
different things and giving me advice. I don't know what happened in
Los Angeles, and I really don't care. The justice system will take
care of that. I just know he was really good to me.''
His most humbling experience: ``When I was a rookie, they made us
sing for the veterans. We did the Village People and I was the
sailor and I had to act funny. It was kind of embarrassing, but
everybody goes through it when they're coming up. That's one of the
reasons I'm looking forward to training camp. These kids are going
to sing for me this time.''
Playing for dictatorial Jacksonville coach Tom Coughlin: ``I
quite enjoy his style of coaching. He just wants everyone to be
accountable. He's the type of guy who figures just because a guy
makes a million dollars it doesn't mean I can't chew him out,
because I chew everyone out. Sort of reminds me of (Hampton coach)
Joe Taylor. He was a beast, but I appreciate a coach being that
way.''
Making it in the NFL: ``It takes patience. That's what Jerry Rice
kept telling me, be patient. You look at guys like Tim Brown and
Cris Carter, they came on late. Sometimes it just takes a little
longer. I just know that when my time comes, I'm going to shock the
world. It may not be until the last game of my last season, but when
it happens, everybody's going to know it.'' by CNB