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...Counterpoint
By JAMAL THALJI, Times Staff Writer Greg, Comparing the Drew Weatherford-Ben Alford debate to the Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa debate is apt (even, surprisingly, for you). But for all of Sosa's accomplishments, in 1998, McGwire was still The Man. For all of Alford's feats in 2002, this year Weatherford is still ... that's right, everyone say it with me ... The Man. The gaudy statistics don't even begin to tell the whole story. Weatherford has completed 64 of 95 passes for 1,000 yards, 16 touchdowns and no interceptions. He's averaging 15.6-yards per pass. That's a first down every time he cocks his arm, and he's completing a whopping 67 percent of his passes to nine receivers. He's also Land O'Lakes' fourth-leading rusher with 35 carries for 125 yards and a touchdown. Physically, Weatherford is everything you want in the pocket. He's big and tall and strong (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) and he's also fast and elusive. He knows how long to stay in the pocket and when to get out. He's not afraid to put his shoulder down near the first-down marker. He is a defensive coordinator's nightmare. He can run and gun it, and there isn't a whole lot you can do to stop him (though Pasco tried, and he still beat the Pirates with nine seconds left.) Yes, he has a dynamite arm. He can throw nearly every route well, and deliver the ball accurately, with the requisite amount of touch, timing and velocity -- and he's a junior. Yes, he's surrounded by the best supporting cast in Pasco County. Yes, defending the pass is the hardest thing to do in high school football, given how rarely defensive backs face a real passing attack. Yes, undefeated Land O'Lakes hasn't exactly been playing the Associated Press' Top 25 every week. But mentally is where Weatherford stands head-and-shoulders above his peers. Make no mistake: Weatherford is the Gators' offense. Without him, they don't move the ball. If he doesn't set the run up with the pass, they can't run. Weatherford has not only shouldered the burden of having the entire offense built around him, he's excelled under that pressure. The Land O'Lakes' spread offense is much more wide-open, and more complicated, than it was last year. Yet Weatherford has risen to the mental challenge. He sees the field better and doesn't lock onto one receiver. And it is that ability to keep the play alive, to keep the drive going, that feeds his teammates. It's why they never give up on a block; it's why they never give up on a route. Not only that, but Weatherford has comfortably carried the burdens of stardom, of being the most hunted man on the field, for two consecutive seasons without faltering. Wesley Chapel fullback Tyrone Tomlin couldn't do it. With a surgically-repaired knee, with his teammates unfairly relying on him too much, he has stumbled this season. Let's be realistic. It's asking a lot of teenagers like Tomlin, Alford and Weatherford to be the focus week in and week out of an entire program's fortunes -- and the opposition's No. 1 target. Tomlin should get it back together soon. Alford still has to prove he can do it for an entire season. Weatherford, however, has shouldered the burden of stardom easily. He's still the same kid he was as a freshman, humble and fiery at the same time. And let's not forget Weatherford had offseason knee surgery, too. Hey, Alford's a great kid. So's Tomlin. But Weatherford is evolving into something entirely different. Something more akin to a (cue the recruiters) Darren or Troy Hambrick, or a Ryan Pickett. Weatherford can be all that, and so much more. He at least deserves to be Pasco County's midseason MVP.
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From today's Pasco Times Editorial Letters |
