By RANDY ROSETTA, Advocate sportswriter
For Vince Lands to stand out on the football field at his size, he has to do something a little different, maybe even something special.
That’s never been a problem for the Southern University defensive end for a variety of reasons.
Lands is 6-foot-1 and 250 pounds — not small by any means, but a little undersized for a college defensive end. He’s heard about being too small ever since he can remember and his answer has been to work harder than most players.
As a sophomore last season, Lands’ work ethic allowed him to emerge as one of the Jaguars’ best defensive players. He started 11 games and recorded 62 tackles. Eighteen of those stops were behind the line of scrimmage, including six sacks — Lands led SU in both categories.
To overcome his atypical stature, Lands worked to make himself one of the Jaguars’ strongest players and has built himself into an end who is quicker and faster than most of his defensive line peers but equally as strong. When Lands shifts into a dropback end spot, similar to the role he played as a linebacker at Glen Oaks High School and in his freshman season, his blend of quickness and power make him dangerous on the spot as well.
“I have the speed of a linebacker and the strength of a defensive end, so no matter what my size is, I feel like I can have a big impact,” Lands said.
That impact seems to be felt more with Lands at an end spot rather than linebacker simply because it allows him to be engaged in the play longer.
As a linebacker, Lands roamed in open space and had to hunt down the action — something he proved capable of doing. On the front line, Lands is able to get a feel for the play before the snap.
“It might be a little selfish, but I want to be in on every single play and being on the line allows me to do that,” Lands said. “I can see things develop more quickly and put myself in position to make a play.”
Just in case his work ethic and tenacity aren’t enough to set him apart, Lands has a few other unique hooks.
First, he is one of Southern’s best students, and we’re not talking basket weaving. The personable 20-year-old is majoring in microbiology and minoring in chemistry with an eye on a career as a geriatric internal physician. On Thursday he was excused from practice to take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT).
“I think the coaches understood,” he said with a smile. “They didn’t mind me missing some work for that.”
The SU coaches don’t mind Lands’ other quirky trait, either.
Lands is the resident crooner on the Jaguars defense and he isn’t shy about breaking into song at any time.
His genre of choice is R&B and his favorite artists range from the Chi-Lites to the O’Jays to Earth, Wind and Fire.
“I sing during games to take my mind off the heat or being tired and sore,” Lands said. “It also annoys the offensive linemen and maybe distracts them.”
This is no solo act, either. Lands gets things started, linebacker Donald Steele joins in and before long the entire defense is involved.
“They all laughed at me at first, but then they realized I sing in order to motivate myself,” Lands said. “Once the ball is snapped, it’s time to go and I stop signing.”
That Lands sets the tone as a singer shouldn’t be a surprise. It’s the same tune in the weight room, class room and on the practice field.
“He’s so competitive and he wants to be better than the guy across from so he pushes himself as hard as he can at whatever he’s doing,” SU defensive line coach David Geralds said. “Not to say he’s not talented because he does have a lot of speed and quickness, but the real measuring stick for Vince is his determination. Other guys feed of off him because they see how hard he works.”
Hard work is all Lands knows.
Since he arrived at Southern, he has managed an impressive juggling act by taking at least 17 hours every semester in an academic discipline where easy course work doesn’t exist.
In high school, Lands took course work in Glen Oaks medical magnet program and worked at a local nursing home, taking the graveyard shift on Friday nights after he got done playing.
That experience helped him determine geriatric medicine was his future.
“Everything I’ve accomplished, I had to work hard for,” Lands said. “A lot of guys are more gifted athletically or are bigger, so I know the only way for me to stand out is to work harder and make myself as good a player as I can be. That’s something I’ve learned in school, too, and working hard in one part of my life motivates me to work hard everywhere else.”
For Vince Lands to stand out on the football field at his size, he has to do something a little different, maybe even something special.
That’s never been a problem for the Southern University defensive end for a variety of reasons.
Lands is 6-foot-1 and 250 pounds — not small by any means, but a little undersized for a college defensive end. He’s heard about being too small ever since he can remember and his answer has been to work harder than most players.
As a sophomore last season, Lands’ work ethic allowed him to emerge as one of the Jaguars’ best defensive players. He started 11 games and recorded 62 tackles. Eighteen of those stops were behind the line of scrimmage, including six sacks — Lands led SU in both categories.
To overcome his atypical stature, Lands worked to make himself one of the Jaguars’ strongest players and has built himself into an end who is quicker and faster than most of his defensive line peers but equally as strong. When Lands shifts into a dropback end spot, similar to the role he played as a linebacker at Glen Oaks High School and in his freshman season, his blend of quickness and power make him dangerous on the spot as well.
“I have the speed of a linebacker and the strength of a defensive end, so no matter what my size is, I feel like I can have a big impact,” Lands said.
That impact seems to be felt more with Lands at an end spot rather than linebacker simply because it allows him to be engaged in the play longer.
As a linebacker, Lands roamed in open space and had to hunt down the action — something he proved capable of doing. On the front line, Lands is able to get a feel for the play before the snap.
“It might be a little selfish, but I want to be in on every single play and being on the line allows me to do that,” Lands said. “I can see things develop more quickly and put myself in position to make a play.”
Just in case his work ethic and tenacity aren’t enough to set him apart, Lands has a few other unique hooks.
First, he is one of Southern’s best students, and we’re not talking basket weaving. The personable 20-year-old is majoring in microbiology and minoring in chemistry with an eye on a career as a geriatric internal physician. On Thursday he was excused from practice to take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT).
“I think the coaches understood,” he said with a smile. “They didn’t mind me missing some work for that.”
The SU coaches don’t mind Lands’ other quirky trait, either.
Lands is the resident crooner on the Jaguars defense and he isn’t shy about breaking into song at any time.
His genre of choice is R&B and his favorite artists range from the Chi-Lites to the O’Jays to Earth, Wind and Fire.
“I sing during games to take my mind off the heat or being tired and sore,” Lands said. “It also annoys the offensive linemen and maybe distracts them.”
This is no solo act, either. Lands gets things started, linebacker Donald Steele joins in and before long the entire defense is involved.
“They all laughed at me at first, but then they realized I sing in order to motivate myself,” Lands said. “Once the ball is snapped, it’s time to go and I stop signing.”
That Lands sets the tone as a singer shouldn’t be a surprise. It’s the same tune in the weight room, class room and on the practice field.
“He’s so competitive and he wants to be better than the guy across from so he pushes himself as hard as he can at whatever he’s doing,” SU defensive line coach David Geralds said. “Not to say he’s not talented because he does have a lot of speed and quickness, but the real measuring stick for Vince is his determination. Other guys feed of off him because they see how hard he works.”
Hard work is all Lands knows.
Since he arrived at Southern, he has managed an impressive juggling act by taking at least 17 hours every semester in an academic discipline where easy course work doesn’t exist.
In high school, Lands took course work in Glen Oaks medical magnet program and worked at a local nursing home, taking the graveyard shift on Friday nights after he got done playing.
That experience helped him determine geriatric medicine was his future.
“Everything I’ve accomplished, I had to work hard for,” Lands said. “A lot of guys are more gifted athletically or are bigger, so I know the only way for me to stand out is to work harder and make myself as good a player as I can be. That’s something I’ve learned in school, too, and working hard in one part of my life motivates me to work hard everywhere else.”
No comments:
Post a Comment