Casey Printers attended Texas Christian University (TCU) and Florida A&M University where he excelled as an outstanding college quarterback landing him in the CFL as the highest paid quarterback and later in the NFL with the Kansas City Chief as their back-up quarterback. While not attaining the marquise player for the Chiefs, Casey still took his role seriously as a member of the Chiefs and the Kansas City community as he began to participate as a volunteer in the public schools to inspire and encourage young students. Casey is once again the starting QB for the B.C. Lions and is poised to return to CFL stardom.One of the more intriguing quarterbacks to play at
Florida A&M University in the modern era is
Casey J. Printers, a DeSoto, Texas star who transferred to FAMU in 2002 for his senior season. Printers, in his own rights had already achieved much -- leading the TCU Horned Frogs to three straight bowl games (1999-2001) and was on schedule to graduate on time.
But, the Rattlers' high-powered Gulf Coast Offense had been putting up monster numbers and making ordinary quarterbacks Division I-AA All-Americans and household names -- like
Tony Ezell,
Jose Laureano,
Oteman Sampson,
Mike Morand,
Pat Bonner,
Quinn Gray,
JaJuan Seider and
Ben Dougherty. The receiving corps became widely known as the 'RAC Boys' (Run After Catch), who re-wrote the NCAA record books with names like
Jacquay Nunnally,
Cainon Lamb, Demetruis Bendross and
Tariq Qaiyim.
Nunnally was the best of the RAC Boys, going on to break
Jerry Rice NCAA 1-AA record for most receptions in a collegiate career with 362. Nunnally also was a three-time football Division I All-American at Florida A&M, who led the Rattlers to the NCAA Division I FCS (formerly I-AA) playoffs in 1997-2000. He is second all-time in the NCAA Division I FCS football record books in career pass receptions with 317 for 4,239 yards and 38 touchdowns. The four-times All-MEAC first team selectee was inducted in FAMU's Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.
Belle Glades, Florida (Glades Central H.S.) product JaJuan Seider had passed for a total of 137 yards in three seasons at 1-A West Virginia University where he sat mostly on the pine on game days. Seider jumped ship to the Rattlers in 1999 and passed for 2,512 yards and 27 touchdowns. In Seider's first collegiate start for FAMU, he powered the Rattlers to an embarrassing 76-17 victory over the Bulldogs of
South Carolina State University in the Orange Blossom - Palmetto Classic in Jacksonville, Florida.
The Bulldogs were coached by 2010 College Football Hall of Famer, SCSU Head Football Coach Emeritus,
Willie Jeffries who won 60 percent (Overall career: 179-132-6) of the college football games he coached. But, not on that day. Seider, who was starting in place of an injured future NFL quarterback -- Quinn Gray (Jacksonville Jaguars), completed 20 of 26 passes for 238 yards and three touchdowns in the first half and the rest was history.
Seider earned All-America honors, won the Doug Williams Award for National Offensive Player of the Year and the Jake Gaither Award (considered the Heisman Trophy of black colleges). He was also named the MEAC offensive Player of the Year and went on to be selected in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers.
Today, Seider is the Running Backs Coach/Recruiting Coordinator at I-A Marshall University, in Huntington, West Virginia. More so, Seider has earned a B.S. in physical education in 2000 and a master's degree in athletic coaching in 2010.
After reading about the exploits of Bonner, Gray, Seider, Dougherty and other FAMU All-American quarterbacks and receivers, Printers could not resist. The Rattlers also became more attraction for Printers as future FAMU Hall of Famer and National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Famer, coach
William "Billy Joe," was hitting his stride with D-IA transfers. Billy Joe, who had one of the greatest offensive minds in college football during that era, was striking fear in the minds of all opponents. For a time, no one could stop the Rattlers powerful offense but the Rattlers themselves through their own errors.
By no stretch of the imagination, Printers parlayed his injury prone FAMU senior season into a pro career starting with the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and now, the B.C. Lions. The former Rattler rose from third-string quarterback in 2003 to being named the Most Outstanding Player in the league for the 2004 season -- leading the B.C. Lions toward an appearance in the 92nd Grey Cup game.
In his second stint with the B.C. Lions, Printers is once again the starter, with high hopes of another Grey Cup run and a return to super stardom, after sitting out of football most of last season. During that time, Printers was marketing his self-help book, "From High School to the Pros." His off-the-field activities have been outstanding in working with young people.
In this morning "The Province" newspaper are a few excerpts from Printer's book. One of my favorite Printers' quote that did not make the book is -- "Listen, skeptics are going to be skeptics, critics are going to be critics and haters are going to be haters. "
Some of the others are:
- The greatest enemy of progress is your last success. If you marvel at what you have done, it will hinder what you could do.
- If I can't applaud my accomplishments, who can?
- It's not about whether your coach likes you. It's whether he can trust you. ... If you don't get along with your coach, be a businessman or woman and talk. Deflate your chest and become coachable all the time.
- Over the years I have met people who hold onto life's downs. To them, I say "take out the trash." The trash is what's in your head.
- The more humble you are, the more people will want to help you.
- Service to others, there is no higher purpose.
- When I stopped worrying about what has happened and what will happen my life became more meaningful.
- Team, to me, means you submit to the goals of the club, but you need individuals to do more from time to time.
- Wake up, young athletes: Spending thousands in a [night]club to be noticed is not the smartest thing to do. If you feel like giving your money away, go to a shelter or a home for children and bless the lives of someone else ... There is this perception, particularly when it comes to African-American athletes, that you are a sellout if you don't come back to your neighbourhoods. How about you get involved in a business that allows you to employ people? You can then go back with something to give your friends, a job and a future.
Note: Coach William "Billy Joe" is currently the head football coach at Miles College, Fairfield, Alabama.
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There is a wariness to Casey Printers born out of an unshakable belief that he's been plagued throughout his turbulent football career by the ill-formed perceptions of others. It's why, we suspect, that when approached after a long practice the other day by a reporter with whom he has no prior experience, he does not lay down his helmet and orange jersey-covered shoulder pads. No point it seems in conveying an "I've got time, ask away" message.
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