IMPORTANT SEASON LOOMS

By Chris Lang
Sports writer
Published: July 25, 2008

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Both of Rashad Jennings’ brothers — Butch and Bryan — made it to the NFL, so it’s natural that the thought of playing professional football has crept into Rashad’s mind over the summer. He ran a personal best in the 40-yard dash during Liberty’s pro timing day this past March. He’s even changed his number from 3 to 23 to conform to NFL standards.

All of which will be meaningless, of course, if Rashad doesn’t live up to the hype during his senior season at Liberty. The expectations are considerable. After rushing for 1,113 yards and 15 touchdowns as a junior, Jennings was a no-brainer choice for Big South preseason player of the year honors at Friday’s conference media day. The Flames were the overwhelming choice to repeat as conference champions, garnering 12 of 13 first-place votes.

“All they did is put a target on me,” Jennings said. “Everybody’s going to be gunning for me. I’m going to take that to heart and work hard. I take (the award) humbly, and I’m just looking forward to the season starting.”

And as far as looking to the future?

“I’m starting to look at things more maturely in a business aspect,” Jennings said.

That’s a cryptic way of saying that pro football is on Jennings’ brain. He certainly has the size (236 pounds entering camp), speed and stats to at least catch the eyes of scouts. But he also understands that he won’t impress anyone unless he displays the same sort of work ethic that helped him become the Big South’s most dominating tailback.

“Rashad is as focused and conditioned as I’ve ever seen him, and really, he’s prepared as well as any athlete I’ve been around for the start of a season,” Liberty coach Danny Rocco said. “This has been a fun process to watch as Rashad has kind of begun to really take ownership of his performance on and off the field. He trains in the off-season with real purpose. The things I’ve seen him do this summer in the weight room are astonishing.

“We’re very hopeful this will translate into him being a game wrecker at the running back position.”

No Liberty player was drafted this past April, but Vince Redd and Stephen Sene signed rookie free-agent contracts and are currently in NFL camps. Because they were considered borderline pro prospects, 29 of the NFL’s 30 teams made their way to Liberty’s Williams Football Operations Center during the 2007 season to scout Flames’ players. So Jennings won’t enter the season as an unknown commodity.

“Bottom line is that I understand that I am the product,” Jennings said. “The agent can’t do anything for you. All he can do is promote you. If you’re not promote-able, you’re not going anywhere.

“It’s based on what you do between the whistles on Saturdays. But I’m not focused on that. If I focus on the simple goals that I have, that will take care of itself.”

As an offensive captain, Jennings has been active in team-building activities, especially those involving the Flames’ revamped offensive line. Sene, Eddie Pinigis and Marshal Ausberry were all-conference selections a year ago, and their size and experience (all played at FBS schools) were an anomaly at the FCS level.

“We’re going to miss those three guys, but they’re not irreplaceable,” Jennings said. “

Jennings has liked what he’s seen so far from the offensive line, especially Josh Weaver, Alex Stadler and Zach Davis. There will be an adjustment period for Jennings, just as there is an adjustment period for the linemen as they learn each others’ tendencies, strengths and weaknesses.

“You’ve got to understand who will be protecting you,” Jennings said. “You’re not just going to put any tread on your tires. You want to understand the roads you’re running on before you pick the tread. You don’t want chains on the road, you want chains in the snow. So you’ve really got to study the offensive line and understand how they’re working in order to make your cuts.

“Having a great center coming back as a senior (Mike Godsil), that’s critical. He makes all the key calls and he makes sure everybody’s in their right spot. If they come in with a working attitude, and they’re ready to play, we’ll be fine.”

If the line comes together and Jennings is able to get into the open field, like he did last season, opponents will have all sorts of trouble containing him.

“You can’t give him a three-way go,” Gardner-Webb linebacker Mario Brown said. “He’ll juke, cut right and left and run you over if you let him. You have to stay low and impose your decision upon him. He’s a big guy. If you don’t come with it, you’ll get embarrassed.”

Barring any unforeseen setbacks, Jennings will have a full 12-game audition to further add to his college resume.

He missed the first two games of the 2007 season after unwittingly violating an NCAA rule in regards to housing, and the missed time humbled Jennings.

“You’ve got to get into a groove,” Jennings said. “Speed, live tackling, it’s definitely different than practice. In the first game and your second, you get in a groove in your linemen, and I missed all of that. That kind of hurt. But I’ve made sure to double check everything this year, and I’ve made no mistakes. Being in all 12 (games) will help out a lot.”