THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 23, 1996 TAG: 9610230401
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 75 lines
Although he admits to having a soft spot for the occasional Steven Seagal action flick, John Green was never a huge moviegoer.
Now he watches film the way Siskel and Ebert do - in volume, looking for all the little twists and turns a story line can offer.
His viewing selections are never Oscar contenders. Dialogue is virtually non-existent and the camera work can be downright pathetic.
But hey, we're talking college football game tapes.
``I was never much of a game-film watcher until this year,'' said Green, Norfolk State's 6-foot-2, 318-pound senior defensive tackle. ``Then after last season, I looked at my statistics and figured the one area I needed to improve in was sacks.''
Green asked assistant coach James Garland how he could get into the backfield with more regularity. Garland told Green the secrets were waiting in the VCR.
``I'd always been the kind of guy who just lined up and went hard,'' Green said. ``Now I pick the films apart.
``Is a lineman leaning? Where are his feet? Where does he put his hands? Is his weight on his hands for a run and does he lean back on pass plays?
``It's real tedious. I look for everything.''
Opposing linemen, meanwhile, just keep looking for Green, hoping he's lining up across from somebody else. He's burned just about everyone he's faced this season.
The 22-year-old senior from Beaumont, Texas, who had 2 1/2 sacks last season, has a team-high 10 in just seven games this year. He also has 16 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, also a team high, as the Spartans (5-2 overall, 5-1 CIAA) prepare to visit Elizabeth City State (4-3, 4-1) Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Green was never more menacing than against Virginia Union last week. He finished with 4 1/2 sacks, 11 tackles, caused one fumble that resulted in a touchdown and recovered another fumble, returning it 20 yards for the first touchdown of his career.
``A defensive lineman's dream come true,'' Green said. ``I had a chance to score once in high school, but I was tackled at the 5.''
Green remembers the play all too well, for it speaks volumes about his senior season at Beaumont's Westbrook High.
He had torn cartilage in his left knee while power lifting in the offseason. Then just weeks before football season, he strained ligaments in the same knee.
``The night I almost scored, I picked up a fumble at about the 25. I could hear that brace squeaking all the way as I ran for the end zone,'' Green said. ``When I got caught, I told myself if I ever got one like that again, I was taking it to the house.''
Before the knee injury, Green had received recruiting interest from Missouri, Louisiana Tech and North Texas. They all backed off when Green played his senior season with a bulky knee brace that started at mid-thigh and ended below his calf. Green ended up at Ranger Junior College, where the Spartans spotted him.
``I really just wanted to play football,'' Green said. ``Whether it was at Backyard U. or wherever, it didn't matter.''
It also doesn't matter which opposing lineman Green faces. By kickoff, he has a book on each of them. He breaks down ``a lineman a day'' on film.
``As soon as I get out of class, I'll go to coach Garland's office and sit in there watching film with him,'' said Green. ``If he has to go teach a class, he'll usually let me stay in his office and keep watching.''
Garland once returned to his office and discovered the remote control wasn't working; Green had worn out the batteries.
Garland said Green's success has made it easy to sell the team's underclassmen on the importance of studying game film.
``A lot of freshmen come in and think they should be able to compete on physical ability alone,'' Garland said. ``Then they learn that 90 percent of the game is mental ability and technique.
``They see what it's done for John and they start to understand.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color HUY NGUYEN photo/The Virginian-Pilot
NSU defensive tackle John Green, right, prepares for games by
watching films in assistant coach James Garland's office. by CNB