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WVU's Douglas Looking to Make His Mark
August 04, 2016 09:57 AM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Rasul Douglas came out of the spring as West Virginia’s No. 1 boundary corner - something he hopes will continue heading into his senior season this fall.
Douglas arrived in Morgantown two years ago after an All-American junior college season in 2014 at Nassau (N.Y.) Community College, but his two years spent playing JC football were far from glamorous.
Actually, for the former East Orange (N.J.) High star, junior college football was simply a means to an end.
“Junior college was very frustrating,” Douglas said. “There were days when I woke up and wanted to quit. I wanted to go home. I wasn’t eating. I couldn’t focus right. I was losing weight. I had to pay for books, rent - everything. It was very hard.”
Then one day, Douglas asked a couple of buddies who had signed with Central Florida and Florida State what they did to get noticed. “How did you get all of these offers?” he asked.
They told him he needed to work harder.
So he did.
Soon, Douglas caught the eye of former West Virginia assistant coach Brian Mitchell and the two developed a strong relationship.
“Coach Mitchell didn’t promise me anything,” Douglas said. “He said, ‘If you come here, I’m not giving you nothing. I’m going to throw you into the fire and see how you react. I’ve seen you play junior college but that’s not Division I.’”
Some of the other coaches recruiting Douglas were selling him the dream, and he quickly became skeptical.
“Every other coach was like, ‘Oh, we’re going to do this for you and that for you’ and I kind of figured, ‘Nah, you’re not going to do that. Why would you do that for just one player? You’ve got stars on your team, All-Americans on your team and you’re not even doing that for them,’” Douglas reasoned.
“When I came on my visit, (Mitchell) didn’t bash any other school. When I told him I was thinking about Louisville and he asked me, ‘Why are you thinking about Louisville?’ But he didn’t bash them. He spoke highly of them and he said, ‘Yeah, that’s a great reason.’”
What ultimately sold West Virginia to Douglas was the family-type atmosphere coach Dana Holgorsen has developed in his football program, and the opportunity to play in the Big 12 and cover some of the best wide receivers in the country.
Douglas figured if he could cover Big 12 receivers, he could cover anyone.
“When I asked (Mitchell) about the Big 12, he said, ‘You’re going to have to cover. That’s what cornerbacks do - cover.’ So I came here,” Douglas said.
Cornerback Rasul Douglas appeared in 11 games last season as a junior. All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo
Now, Rasul has an opportunity to become a starting cornerback during his final year of college football. Last season, he appeared in 11 games as a backup corner while also playing on special teams.
He made eight tackles, six unassisted, while intercepting a pass, breaking up another and forcing a fumble. Douglas also got a valuable education on the way football is played in the frenetic Big 12.
“It’s way faster,” he admitted. “In junior college I would get to the line, they would run a play, and we’d get like 10 seconds to breathe. In the Big 12 you can’t breathe. They’re coming back at you right now and they will throw the ball at you four straight plays so you always have to be ready.”
Especially teams like Texas Tech, TCU and Baylor - offenses that run waves of fleet wide receivers at defenses for an entire game until they wear down.
“Covering those guys … and then playing special teams, it was very hard,” Douglas admitted. “Plus, they’re lining up way outside the numbers.”
Having that year under his belt will help Douglas this fall as he battles a host of other contenders for the starting bandit corner spot. Junior college transfer Elijah Battle, another New Jersey native from Dodge City (Kan.) Community College, is listed behind Douglas on the depth chart heading into the fall.
Four-year transfer Maurice Fleming from Iowa is another possibility.
“Reece is a funny, weird guy, but that’s him,” Douglas said. “He’s my roommate so I sit down with him all the time and we watch film together and I teach him what’s expected on defense and how to play, so he’s learning. Actually, he’s picking it up fast.”
Douglas told Fleming the Big 12 is not the Big Ten so he better be prepared to do a lot of running. “I tell him all the time, ‘If that’s your guy, stay on him because you never know when the ball is coming,’” he said.
As for the group of corners defensive coordinator Tony Gibson has assembled this fall, Douglas says they all bring something different to the table.
“Me, I’m 6-2, so I bring length. (Antonio) Crawford brings speed, Nana (Kyeremeh) brings physicality - we all have our different games, but it’s all the same thing,” he noted.
Douglas says he is also learning different techniques from new corners coach Blue Adams. “Coach Blue wants you to get into his face - press him! Get him at the line, mess up their timing and play ball,” Douglas said.
Playing ball is something Douglas definitely wants to do a lot of this fall. The way he figures things, the clock is ticking on his football career.
“It’s either, (I’m) going to have 124 days to play football for the rest of (my) life or (I’m) going to have a great season and have a chance to play at the next level. It’s over after this,” he explained. “Most guys don’t go to the next level. The percentage is low.”
Therefore, with two years of junior college football and now one season of Big 12 ball under his belt, the question is: How is Rasul Douglas going to be a different football player for the Mountaineers in 2016?
“I guess you are going to have to wait until September 3 to find out,” he said. “I can say all of this and if it doesn’t happen then I’ve talked for nothing. I feel like a great season is coming out of me and our team, so we’ll see.”
We will see, because all eyes are going to be on those two starting corners when West Virginia takes the field that first Saturday in September for the season opener against Missouri.
And Douglas hopes he’s one of the two guys standing out there when the ball is first snapped.
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