celticdb15
Hall of Famer
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2007
- Messages
- 8,469
[h=1]Talented FCS QB
WOODY: For a change, Richmond's Corp deserves a good break[/h]
By: Paul Woody
Published: August 23, 2011
» 0 Comments | Post a Comment
Aaron Corp has had more than his share of breaks during his college football career.
Unfortunately for Corp, most of those breaks have been bad.
He was set to be the starting quarterback for the University of Southern California Trojans, one of the country's most storied programs, in 2009. Then, a 300-pound offensive lineman rolled up
Corp's leg during preseason, breaking Corp's fibula.
Corp lost the starting job to freshman wunderkind Matt Barkley.
Corp decided to transfer, far from his native Southern California, well out of his comfort zone. He came to the University of Richmond, a Football Championship Subdivision school, a level below USC.
After four games last season, Corp seemed to be hitting his stride.
Then, he suffered a major knee injury, and his 2010 season was over.
Now, in his final year of college, Corp has to compress several years of football into one. He has to avoid injuries, play well, help Richmond win and influence pro scouts in the span of 11 games.
"I don't think about it like that," Corp said. "If we're winning, if we're having success on offense, things will take care of themselves."
At Southern California, catching the eyes of the NFL scouts would have been simpler. At USC, even backup quarterbacks — Matt Cassel for example — can get drafted.
But Richmond has put players in the NFL. And four of the NFL's 32 starting quarterbacks come from FCS schools.
Corp has not fallen off the grid. He was a bona fide USC player, and NFL scouts don't lose track of quarterbacks with potential.
Still, Corp has to play well this season.
"No one is going to put more pressure on Aaron Corp than he puts on himself," UR coach Latrell Scott said. "He says everybody expects a quarterback from USC to throw for 3,000 yards and 40 touchdowns. I don't think those are his expectations.
"He wants to win games. If he has to throw 10 times and hand off 50, he will. If he has to throw 35 or 40 times a game, I'm sure he can."
Corp never went "big time" on the Spiders. He didn't try to dazzle anyone with the glitz and glamour of USC. Instead, he focused on the team rather than himself. He won the starting job last year and impressed his teammates even more after he was injured.
"I didn't think he was going to play this season," said wide receiver Tre Gray. "A lot of people in his situation, coming back from a broken leg then tearing his ACL, would have hung it up.
"He didn't. He fought through it. The guy was hungry. He was in the training room all day, every day, trying to get better to lead this team. And he's a great leader."
Corp deserves a break, a good one for a change
WOODY: For a change, Richmond's Corp deserves a good break[/h]
By: Paul Woody
Published: August 23, 2011
» 0 Comments | Post a Comment
Aaron Corp has had more than his share of breaks during his college football career.
Unfortunately for Corp, most of those breaks have been bad.
He was set to be the starting quarterback for the University of Southern California Trojans, one of the country's most storied programs, in 2009. Then, a 300-pound offensive lineman rolled up
Corp's leg during preseason, breaking Corp's fibula.
Corp lost the starting job to freshman wunderkind Matt Barkley.
Corp decided to transfer, far from his native Southern California, well out of his comfort zone. He came to the University of Richmond, a Football Championship Subdivision school, a level below USC.
After four games last season, Corp seemed to be hitting his stride.
Then, he suffered a major knee injury, and his 2010 season was over.
Now, in his final year of college, Corp has to compress several years of football into one. He has to avoid injuries, play well, help Richmond win and influence pro scouts in the span of 11 games.
"I don't think about it like that," Corp said. "If we're winning, if we're having success on offense, things will take care of themselves."
At Southern California, catching the eyes of the NFL scouts would have been simpler. At USC, even backup quarterbacks — Matt Cassel for example — can get drafted.
But Richmond has put players in the NFL. And four of the NFL's 32 starting quarterbacks come from FCS schools.
Corp has not fallen off the grid. He was a bona fide USC player, and NFL scouts don't lose track of quarterbacks with potential.
Still, Corp has to play well this season.
"No one is going to put more pressure on Aaron Corp than he puts on himself," UR coach Latrell Scott said. "He says everybody expects a quarterback from USC to throw for 3,000 yards and 40 touchdowns. I don't think those are his expectations.
"He wants to win games. If he has to throw 10 times and hand off 50, he will. If he has to throw 35 or 40 times a game, I'm sure he can."
Corp never went "big time" on the Spiders. He didn't try to dazzle anyone with the glitz and glamour of USC. Instead, he focused on the team rather than himself. He won the starting job last year and impressed his teammates even more after he was injured.
"I didn't think he was going to play this season," said wide receiver Tre Gray. "A lot of people in his situation, coming back from a broken leg then tearing his ACL, would have hung it up.
"He didn't. He fought through it. The guy was hungry. He was in the training room all day, every day, trying to get better to lead this team. And he's a great leader."
Corp deserves a break, a good one for a change