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WVU's Douglas Has All-American Look
November 28, 2016 04:21 PM | Football
West Virginia University senior cornerback Rasul Douglas has the look of an All-American, doesn’t he?
His eight interceptions in the best passing conference in the country certainly pass the eye test, as do his 60 tackles and seven pass breakups.
Shoot, the Big 12’s best cover corner also has a sack.
But there are a handful of plays he’s made in the last three weeks that really seal it in my eyes.
Two of them happened three weeks ago in the win at Texas, and both came in the second half when the Mountaineers needed their defensive playmakers to step up and preserve a slim lead.
In the third quarter, Douglas pulled the football right out of the arms of Texas wide receiver John Burt along the Longhorn sidelines for a pretty interception - his sixth of the season.
Later in the game, with Texas needing five yards on fourth down to keep a drive alive, 6-foot-6-inch, 212-pound Collin Johnson caught a short pass in front of Douglas a yard and a half in front of the first-down marker.
All Johnson had to do was fall down, or stick his long arm out and extend the football past the sticks to make the first down.
Douglas wouldn’t let him do it, slamming him down hard to the turf.
A week later against Oklahoma, Douglas climbed over the back of OU’s Dede Westbrook to make an incredible, athletic interception - No. 7 of the year.
Last week, WVU cornerbacks coach Blue Adams described the play to Allen Taylor of West Virginia MetroNews.
“He recognized split (formation), and based on split he knows he has certain routes. So he eliminated them based on down and distance, which I thought was phenomenal,” Adams said. “Once he saw (the route developing) he stayed top-shoulder. A lot of times, some young guys they’ll see the route, they’ll anticipate the route and they go jumping it, which leads to other problems.
“But he had perfect leverage, he had perfect drive angle and at the last minute he made a play on the ball.”
Last Saturday, Douglas was at it again, intercepting his eighth pass while also making one of those amazing effort plays that defensive coaches will put on a loop and show their guys for years to come as an example of how to play the game.
It occurred late in the third quarter with West Virginia comfortably ahead, 35-19. Iowa State running back David Montgomery ran to his left, got beyond the second-level defenders and broke free down the far sideline.
Hustling from behind was Douglas, who caught up to Montgomery 45 yards downfield at the WVU 15 where he punched the football out of Montgomery’s arms from behind. Teammate Maurice Fleming was right there to recover it at the 12.
It was purely an instinctive play on Douglas’ part.
“He had it up in the air because he kind of like stiff-armed one of my teammates so I just kept running and I saw him put it out there and I knew I could get it if I just punched it,” Douglas explained afterward. “I just wanted to catch him and keep him from scoring.”
How does a stat sheet explain that?
West Virginia has had some pretty good corners around here through the years. Daryl Worley is now doing his thing with the Carolina Panthers, Keith Tandy was certainly a dandy, and Pacman Jones is probably the most explosive pure athlete in school history. But in my opinion, the corner Douglas most closely resembles is Aaron Beasley.
Douglas, like Beasley, has the lean, tall frame the pro scouts love.
Douglas, like Beasley, has tremendous ball skills.
Beasley played fearlessly out on the edge and took calculated risks when he saw opportunities to attack the football. More often than not, he came up with the ball and once he got his hands on it, he looked to score. Beasley turned into a running back when he made a pick, weaving and juking his way down the field like he once did back in his pee-wee football days.
Senior Rasul Douglas is tied for the national lead in interceptions with eight heading into Saturday's regular season finale against Baylor.
Douglas hasn’t done much of that this year, but he does possess great athleticism and strong hands just like Beasley did, and that comes from once playing wide receiver in high school.
And Douglas, like Beasley, is a diligent worker who is constantly perfecting his craft.
“He really works at it, now,” Adams said of Douglas.
Douglas can be found after practice catching at least 100 balls from the JUGS machine - all types, too … over-the-shoulder balls, deep balls, quick slants, you name it.
Beasley worked it as well. I remember him once telling me a story of how he used to work out at night with his car lights shining on the football field because the prep school he played at didn’t have lights.
Now that's dedication.
But where Douglas may have a little bit of an edge on Beasley is straight-line speed. Beasley was a low 4.5, high 4.4 guy where Douglas might be a step faster than that.
Adams, who came to WVU from the Miami Dolphins, believes Douglas has all of the attributes pro scouts crave.
“Yeah, he has redeemable qualities,” Adams said. “He’s a prototype. I think he has the height and the weight. He’s strong, plays physical and I think he has good change of direction - good acceleration and good deceleration for a big man. Normally, you don’t see big guys transition that well.”
One other thing Douglas has in common with Beasley - outward humility.
“I’m just trying to make as many plays as I can when the play comes to me - not try and do anything over what I usually do, just be me and make plays,” Douglas shrugged.
That’s something I could hear Beasley saying back in the day, with perhaps a wink and a smile to go along with it. Internally, Bease was all competitor, all the time. So, too, is Douglas.
“He’s not a rah-rah guy on game day, but when I look at him I know he’s locked in - it’s different,” Adams said.
In a couple of weeks, perhaps Rasul Douglas will have something else in common with Aaron Beasley - consensus All-America honors.
Beasley is one of 11 players in school history to be recognized as such, and the only one to do so as a cornerback.
Mr. Douglas has the credentials - and the body of work this season playing in the No. 1 passing conference in the country - to make that two.
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