Terry Glenn's story is an interesting one ranging from
his going to Ohio State as a walk-on to his sensational 1995 season and his mercurial NFL career which ranged from outstanding to disappointing.
However, in the wake of the death of Glenn, I learned more about his background and realized that sometimes players with troubled careers start with two strikes against them.
Terry Glenn was a welfare child, had his mother killed and discovered days later and was basically back and forth between family members that were less than caring.
That's not an excuse for failing drug tests, assaulting others and public intoxication, but it is enough to make you think a little bit about what some of the players that have off the field issues have been through in their life.
On the field at Ohio State, Glenn's first two years in Columbus weren't anything to write home about-15 catches for less than 300 yards and zero touchdowns are pretty pedestrian numbers and are more likely to see you play your professional football in Saskatchewan than Seattle.
Suddenly, Glenn became a deep threat that the Buckeyes needed to replace the departed Joey Galloway in catching 64 passes for over 1,400 yards and 17 scores on his way to winning the Fred Biletnikoff award for the nation's top wide receiver.
Glenn's breakout game came early in the 1995 season when he burned the Pitt Panthers for 253 yards and four touchdowns in a 54-14 wipeout that combined with the following year's 72-0 demolition of Pitt was the genesis of the Ohio State hate from a particular Pitt alum named Mark May.
Glenn's biggest play though was his catch and run for an 82 yard score that broke open the Notre Dame game in 1995.
Glenn's pro career started strong as he set records for a rookie with 90 catches and over 1,100 yards with the Patriots.
That didn't last long as he battled with Patriot coaches, first Pete Carroll and then Bill Belichick.
Glenn had a few good years (1999 and 2000), but injuries, coaching issues and off the field problems saw Glenn rarely play on the first New England Super Bowl championship team and even though he played in four games, didn't receive a Super Bowl ring.
Glenn was traded to Green Bay for a year and then was swapped to Dallas with decent but not great numbers for three seasons, before a return to dominance with tremendous seasons in 2006 and 2007 before a knee injury ended his career without a game played in 2008.
Glenn had several incidents after his career ended with various problems, but seemed to have turned his life around in recent years with his foundation that helped foster children.
A checkered pro career that featured some brilliant play and arguably the best one season career in Ohio State history will be what most remember about Terry Glenn.
A player that could have put up huge numbers as a pro, but didn't reach his full potential still gave some excellent memories.
I have a few posts planned for the next few days- A Friday in Texas football, the boxing challenge and results,David Cassidy and of course Ohio State vs you know who...
No comments:
Post a Comment