CENTER OF ATTENTION: WEEK 5
Robbie Powell (Sr., 6-5, 307), Purdue
According to the website, BoilerStation.com,
coming out of Cave Spring High School in Roanoke,
Va., the only college football programs recruiting
Robbie Powell were Division III schools.
Powell didn't want to give up on his dream to play
at the Division I level, so he enrolled at Fork
Union (Va.) Military Academy, with the intent of
playing at such a high intensity level that major
college coaches would take notice. His plan worked
and the offensive lineman ended up with a
scholarship to play football at Purdue.
"When Robbie first got here, he showed up with a
high motor and a lot of energy," Boilermaker
co-offensive coordinator Bill Legg said. "You
knew Robbie was going to be aggressive but, when he
first got here, you were just hoping he was going to
hit the right guy."
Said Powell: "I've always tried to play with a
lot of intensity. Coming in here, I played with so
much intensity, even coach Tiller made the comment
that I was playing out of control. Because I was
trying to go so hard, yet I didn't realize the
balance I needed." Besides having pretty much
mastered the mental demands of the position, Powell
has managed to harness his intensity in a positive
way.
"He's the energy of the offensive line. The heart
of the offensive line, literally," said defensive
tackle Ryan Baker. "When you walk up to the
line and you see him, you see someone who loves
football. He's got a smirk on his face, he's looking
around, and it's like this is where I want to be.
He'll get after you, and once he's done with you,
he'll go on to the secondary. He really loves the
game, and you can tell by the way he plays."
THAT'S WHY HE'S A CENTER
Texsa A&M senior center Cody Wallace (6-4,
296) should have gotten hazardous duty pay during
the Aggies loss at Miami last week. The Hurricanes
kicked the ball to Wallace three times on kickoffs,
and he fumbled twice. Wallace, playing an upback
position, fumbled the ball away late in the first
half, which set up a 45-yard Miami field goal.
Wallace fumbled the kickoff a second time in the
second half, but Anthony Lewis jumped on the
ball to prevent a turnover. Earlier in the second
quarter, Wallace caught the kickoff and made
positive yardage.
THEY SAID IT
"The speed of the game is faster in the Pac-10.
And I think we're a lot more physical. You see more
and more of those teams going to the spread offenses
and they're trying to pick up what we're doing. So
obviously we're doing something right."
-- Arizona State center Mike Pollak, a
6-4, 300- pound senior comparing the Pac-10 to the
Big 12.
DID YOU KNOW?
Western Michigan won last week 51-14 vs. Central
Connecticut State without the services of starting
center Robbie Krutilla - breaking a string of
38-straight starts for the 6-3, 308 senior center.
Krutilla, who missed due to a thigh bruise, is
expected to play this week against Toledo.
GAMES TO TIVO
This week's head-to-head match-ups of Rimington
Watch Listers (all game times are ET): Saturday,
September 29, 2007
- Penn State (A.Q. Shipley) at Illinois (Ryan
McDonald)
- Temple (Alex Derenthal) at Army (Trey
Mirrane)
- Notre Dame (John Sullivan) at Purdue (Robbie
Powell)
- Indiana (Ben Wyss) at Iowa (Rafael Eubanks)
- Air Force (Blaine Guenther) at Navy (Antron
Harper)
- Hawaii (John Estes) at Idaho (Adam Korby)
- Auburn (Jason Bosley) at Florida (Drew
Miller)
