Max
05-13-2003, 11:27 AM
Galloway motivated to succeed
By Woody Paige
Denver Post Sports Columnist
Monday, May 12, 2003 - When he shredded the ligaments in his knee last season, Ahmaad Galloway immediately thought about his friend, Mario Bell, his dad, Cornell Galloway, and his exemplar, Terrell Davis.
Galloway plays football for himself and Bell; he strives to excel at the game as Davis did; and he wants to make his dad proud.
Son of a career U.S. Navy enlisted man, Galloway was an honor student in English at Alabama, a law school aspirant, a campus and Christian activist, captain of the football team and cover boy for the media guide, the Crimson Tide's leading rusher for consecutive seasons and a potential prominent pick in the 2003 NFL draft.
In Alabama's game Sept. 21 with Southern Mississippi, Galloway's left knee was smashed by a tackler's helmet on a routine running play.
"I was diving for a first down. I did get it," he said Sunday afternoon.
The medial collateral and the anterior cruciate ligaments were torn. Galloway's college career was over, and his professional career was jeopardized.
"Nobody ever told me I was finished. I wasn't going to give up. I've been blessed by God."
In Galloway's senior season at Millington (Tenn.) High School, Bell, his close friend and teammate, was knocked out during a kickoff and couldn't move. He had to be airlifted from the field to a hospital and suffered a serious spinal cord injury. His legs were paralyzed.
Galloway wrote an open letter in a Memphis newspaper, saying he hoped students and adults in his community who had been unified in the aftermath of Bell's tragedy would be courageous enough to continue to work toward easing racial tensions. Galloway added that he would wear Bell's number, 29, at Alabama "to represent not his current condition, but his struggle and his will to overcome in this battle."
Although Bell was confined at home in a wheelchair, "He was with me every time I carried the ball."
After rushing for 2,000 yards twice in high school, Galloway was recruited earnestly by Notre Dame, Florida, Tennessee and Nebraska before he eventually decided on Alabama. At that time, five years ago, Galloway told an Alabama reporter his idol was "Terrell Davis of the Denver Broncos. I like to run between the tackles, but I can take it outside. I'll never run out of bounds. I'd rather look for a defender to run over."
He redshirted as a freshman in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and rushed for only 33 yards in a limited role the next year. He started 10 games in 2000 and had 659 yards rushing - 172 in one game - and seven touchdowns, then followed with 174 carries for 881 yards as a junior. He was named to the SEC's all- academic team and was voted the hardest-working player in the Tide's spring practices.
Galloway was ready for a big-time senior year. It ended abruptly in the fourth game.
"I felt bad about letting Mario down. I also thought about Terrell. I knew he was injured in college, but he was drafted and made it."
The knee was repaired in late September, and Galloway began rigorous rehabilitation. If his friend Bell could, in his own rehabilitation, regain some use of his hands, Galloway believed he could come back as a runner and impress some NFL team.
"I felt very fortunate that my knee responded. I'm a positive person, and I had a lot of encouragement from my family and Mario. I didn't want to give up football. Whatever I was going through wasn't as difficult as what Mario had to face."
He was an invited guest at the Senior Bowl, then, despite his knee's limitations, participated in predraft workouts for pro scouts and was able to perform almost every required drill.
College football's foremost running back, the University of Miami's Willis McGahee, had injured his knee in the BCS championship game, and there was so much attention on him last month on draft day. He was selected by Buffalo late in the first round.
There was no attention on Galloway. He still was available in the last round and was uncertain if he would be chosen at all. Then Broncos coach Mike Shanahan called. Denver had taken Galloway with its second pick in the seventh round.
"Coach Shanahan said I was the kind of back they liked, and they'd give me every chance to make the team. This is a team with a history of great backs - Terrell, (Olandis) Gary, Mike Anderson and now Clinton Portis. They put a lot of emphasis on the running game, and Coach (Bobby) Turner (in charge of the backs) is incredible to work with. He's spent a lot of time helping me. I'm lucky to be with the Broncos," a shy Galloway said at the conclusion of the Broncos' minicamp on Sunday.
He did impress the Broncos and will be competing for a spot on the roster with Oklahoma's Quentin Griffin, who was chosen in the fourth round, and Colorado State's Cecil Sapp, a free agent signed promptly after the draft. The Broncos surprised draftniks by grabbing Galloway instead of local favorite Sapp, but they're both starting even at the nadir of the depth chart.
The 23-year-old Galloway seems well-adjusted physically, but is trying to cope mentally.
W. PAIGE ON ESPN
Woody Paige can be seen regularly on "Around the Horn," which airs daily at 3 p.m. on ESPN and 12:30 a.m. on ESPN2. He can be heard from 5-6 p.m. Wednesdays on ESPN radio 560 AM. He can be e-mailed here and called at 303-820-1938.
"I'm about 90 to 95 percent. It's mostly my brain telling my knee to get used to taking a hit again."
At the team's minicamp during the weekend Galloway was wearing jersey No. 27, which didn't matter to anyone else. Hey, rookie, accept what you get.
Corey Chamblin, a free-agent cornerback with one season in the NFL, had first dibs on No. 29. But if he does survive the cut, the Broncos should give Galloway his and Bell's old number.
"It's all right. Mario's right here. I've got a '29' tattooed on my arm," Galloway said. "He's doing pretty good. He told me he was learning to drive, and I said when he does, just let me know. I don't want to be on the street.
"When (not if) I make the team, I'm going to ask my dad to come out for the first game. He's retired from the Navy. He only got to see me a couple of times because he was always away from home on a ship. And I'm going to bring Mario to Denver. I hope Terrell's there, too."
Ahmaad Galloway is a special young man. Cheer for his number.
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~111~1385366,00.html#
By Woody Paige
Denver Post Sports Columnist
Monday, May 12, 2003 - When he shredded the ligaments in his knee last season, Ahmaad Galloway immediately thought about his friend, Mario Bell, his dad, Cornell Galloway, and his exemplar, Terrell Davis.
Galloway plays football for himself and Bell; he strives to excel at the game as Davis did; and he wants to make his dad proud.
Son of a career U.S. Navy enlisted man, Galloway was an honor student in English at Alabama, a law school aspirant, a campus and Christian activist, captain of the football team and cover boy for the media guide, the Crimson Tide's leading rusher for consecutive seasons and a potential prominent pick in the 2003 NFL draft.
In Alabama's game Sept. 21 with Southern Mississippi, Galloway's left knee was smashed by a tackler's helmet on a routine running play.
"I was diving for a first down. I did get it," he said Sunday afternoon.
The medial collateral and the anterior cruciate ligaments were torn. Galloway's college career was over, and his professional career was jeopardized.
"Nobody ever told me I was finished. I wasn't going to give up. I've been blessed by God."
In Galloway's senior season at Millington (Tenn.) High School, Bell, his close friend and teammate, was knocked out during a kickoff and couldn't move. He had to be airlifted from the field to a hospital and suffered a serious spinal cord injury. His legs were paralyzed.
Galloway wrote an open letter in a Memphis newspaper, saying he hoped students and adults in his community who had been unified in the aftermath of Bell's tragedy would be courageous enough to continue to work toward easing racial tensions. Galloway added that he would wear Bell's number, 29, at Alabama "to represent not his current condition, but his struggle and his will to overcome in this battle."
Although Bell was confined at home in a wheelchair, "He was with me every time I carried the ball."
After rushing for 2,000 yards twice in high school, Galloway was recruited earnestly by Notre Dame, Florida, Tennessee and Nebraska before he eventually decided on Alabama. At that time, five years ago, Galloway told an Alabama reporter his idol was "Terrell Davis of the Denver Broncos. I like to run between the tackles, but I can take it outside. I'll never run out of bounds. I'd rather look for a defender to run over."
He redshirted as a freshman in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and rushed for only 33 yards in a limited role the next year. He started 10 games in 2000 and had 659 yards rushing - 172 in one game - and seven touchdowns, then followed with 174 carries for 881 yards as a junior. He was named to the SEC's all- academic team and was voted the hardest-working player in the Tide's spring practices.
Galloway was ready for a big-time senior year. It ended abruptly in the fourth game.
"I felt bad about letting Mario down. I also thought about Terrell. I knew he was injured in college, but he was drafted and made it."
The knee was repaired in late September, and Galloway began rigorous rehabilitation. If his friend Bell could, in his own rehabilitation, regain some use of his hands, Galloway believed he could come back as a runner and impress some NFL team.
"I felt very fortunate that my knee responded. I'm a positive person, and I had a lot of encouragement from my family and Mario. I didn't want to give up football. Whatever I was going through wasn't as difficult as what Mario had to face."
He was an invited guest at the Senior Bowl, then, despite his knee's limitations, participated in predraft workouts for pro scouts and was able to perform almost every required drill.
College football's foremost running back, the University of Miami's Willis McGahee, had injured his knee in the BCS championship game, and there was so much attention on him last month on draft day. He was selected by Buffalo late in the first round.
There was no attention on Galloway. He still was available in the last round and was uncertain if he would be chosen at all. Then Broncos coach Mike Shanahan called. Denver had taken Galloway with its second pick in the seventh round.
"Coach Shanahan said I was the kind of back they liked, and they'd give me every chance to make the team. This is a team with a history of great backs - Terrell, (Olandis) Gary, Mike Anderson and now Clinton Portis. They put a lot of emphasis on the running game, and Coach (Bobby) Turner (in charge of the backs) is incredible to work with. He's spent a lot of time helping me. I'm lucky to be with the Broncos," a shy Galloway said at the conclusion of the Broncos' minicamp on Sunday.
He did impress the Broncos and will be competing for a spot on the roster with Oklahoma's Quentin Griffin, who was chosen in the fourth round, and Colorado State's Cecil Sapp, a free agent signed promptly after the draft. The Broncos surprised draftniks by grabbing Galloway instead of local favorite Sapp, but they're both starting even at the nadir of the depth chart.
The 23-year-old Galloway seems well-adjusted physically, but is trying to cope mentally.
W. PAIGE ON ESPN
Woody Paige can be seen regularly on "Around the Horn," which airs daily at 3 p.m. on ESPN and 12:30 a.m. on ESPN2. He can be heard from 5-6 p.m. Wednesdays on ESPN radio 560 AM. He can be e-mailed here and called at 303-820-1938.
"I'm about 90 to 95 percent. It's mostly my brain telling my knee to get used to taking a hit again."
At the team's minicamp during the weekend Galloway was wearing jersey No. 27, which didn't matter to anyone else. Hey, rookie, accept what you get.
Corey Chamblin, a free-agent cornerback with one season in the NFL, had first dibs on No. 29. But if he does survive the cut, the Broncos should give Galloway his and Bell's old number.
"It's all right. Mario's right here. I've got a '29' tattooed on my arm," Galloway said. "He's doing pretty good. He told me he was learning to drive, and I said when he does, just let me know. I don't want to be on the street.
"When (not if) I make the team, I'm going to ask my dad to come out for the first game. He's retired from the Navy. He only got to see me a couple of times because he was always away from home on a ship. And I'm going to bring Mario to Denver. I hope Terrell's there, too."
Ahmaad Galloway is a special young man. Cheer for his number.
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~111~1385366,00.html#