By DEREK REDD, Special to The Palm Beach PostTALLAHASSEE — Today's Florida A&M-Tennessee State game in Atlanta matches two of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's and Ohio Valley Conference's top running backs, but FAMU freshman Phillip Sylvester isn't concerned with a one-on-one battle with Tigers running back Javarris Williams.
"Really, when I go into a game, I don't try to compare myself to anybody else or compete with him," Sylvester said.
"What he does has nothing to do with what I'm going to do or what I'm capable of doing."
Still, fans at the Bank of America Atlanta Football Classic will have eyes on both runners.
Williams ran for 229 yards and a touchdown last season against FAMU (1-2), although his fumble allowed the Rattlers to kick the winning field goal in overtime.
"He's a very smart back." FAMU linebacker Dannel Shepard said of Williams. "He reads his linemen. He knows how to cut to his holes very fast and he's a hard runner."
Yet Shepard is confident in the FAMU defense."We have that mind-set and that courage and that camaraderie on our defense to the point that if one man steps up, everyone will step up," he said.
"You see one orange jersey and there will be 10 others coming around."
Sylvester wasn't on the field last season, but he is gaining ground. Two weeks ago, he ran for 222 yards in a 30-17 win against Howard.His 120.7 rushing yards per game is second-best in the MEAC and he's averaging 7.9 yards per carry.
"The first thing is the offensive line," he said. "They block really well. Even in high school, I didn't average 10 yards a carry in any one of my games."
No comments:
Post a Comment