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Tucker takes his pick

Eight games into his final college season, Maurice Tucker finally gets an interception.

By PETE YOUNG, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published November 8, 2002

South Florida's Maurice Tucker glided a half-stride ahead of the receiver and gracefully cradled the pass from Charleston Southern quarterback John Muller.

The interception on Saturday's opening play triggered a 56-6 rout. It was another of countless occasions since his college career began, in 1998 at Indiana as a true freshman starting cornerback, that Tucker responded when challenged.

There was a difference this time: He actually caught the ball.

"It was a long time coming," Tucker said of his first career interception.

In nearly four seasons as a top-flight cover cornerback, two at IU and the past two at USF, Tucker never had made the defensive back's signature play, the interception.

In the eighth game of his senior year -- finally -- he got one. It came with high marks for style and degree of difficulty.

"I was very excited and relieved," Tucker said. "At the beginning of the season I was thinking about it, but I can't force the issue -- I'm the last line of defense. I can't be selfish and put the team in a bad spot.

"After a while, when it doesn't happen, it gets to a point where you're not even thinking about interceptions. My goal is just to have no catches on my side of the field."

He frequently succeeds. Tucker, who turns 23 Sunday, quietly has been a primary reason for the Bulls' strong defense and 14-5 record the past two seasons.

It was his distaste for losing that had Tucker, a Bartow native, wanting to come home from Indiana in the first place.

"Once you get used to losing and not having fun, once losing becomes normal, it's time for a change," Tucker said. "My love for the game was deteriorating."

He transferred after two injury-plagued seasons, but the man he expected to be his position coach, Andre Waters, left USF before Tucker arrived.

"That's what happened at Indiana, and everything went downhill from there," Tucker said. "It was deja vu all over again."

This time, though, Tucker developed a good relationship with the new position coaches, first Rich Rachel, then Rick Kravitz. After sitting out the mandatory transfer year in 2000, Tucker was a standout in 2001, typically matching up against the opposing team's top receiver. He started 10 games and had 10 passes defensed ... but no interceptions.

He had an interception in the spring game but started slowly this fall. Tucker sprained an ankle in an off-field incident over the summer and it lingered through the opening game. Since then, he essentially has been in a three-man rotation at the two cornerback spots, with Ron Hemingway and D'Juan Brown.

Tucker is the most experienced and talented of the trio. At 6 feet 1 and 190 pounds with sub-4.5 40-yard speed, he hopes to follow former Bulls cornerback Anthony Henry's path to the NFL.

Tucker, who as a running back helped Bartow High to a state title in 1996, is one of seven USF seniors chosen to play in January's Gridiron Classic all-star game in Orlando.

"Maurice's style is in-your-face," USF receiver Ryan Hearn said. "He's going to physically dominate you. If you do happen to get by him, he has great make-up speed. He's always right there. And he never makes the same mistake twice."

Tucker credits much of his success to a meeting with Dolphins cornerback Sam Madison, who encouraged him to watch game tapes.

"That's his secret, knowing his opponent and what's going to happen before it happens. That stuck with me," Tucker said. "I love watching film of my competition. It's like a fetish. It really helps. It makes the game a lot easier."

Tucker said his interception was the byproduct of knowing Charleston Southern's tendencies through his study of film. If that's the case, then Memphis might want to change its patterns for Saturday's game, because Tucker will know the Tigers' offensive scheme inside-out.

"I'm going to be stuck in my room all week, watching two, three games a night," Tucker said. "They throw a lot, and they've got some good receivers. I don't think they're going to shy away from me."

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