College football

Gator turns his life around

Jarvis Herring has gone from bad boy to a respected leader of the football team.

By ANTONYA ENGLISH
Published September 7, 2005

GAINESVILLE - Jarvis Herring stood in the middle of the Florida practice field in early August getting ready for the upcoming season. The temperature hovered near 100 degrees, but Herring said it felt like paradise.

There was a time not long ago when the senior from Live Oak was about 90 percent sure he wouldn't be a member of the 2005 football team.

Once the antithesis of the model student-athlete, he was at a crossroads when Urban Meyer took over as coach in January. With Meyer's reputation of demanding discipline, Herring knew he had two choices: straighten up or get out.

He chose to clean up his act.

When he took the field during fall camp, his emotions nearly overtook him.

"I'm not emotional, but probably the whole team, during two-a-days and workouts, all of them probably saw tears come out of my eyes," Herring said. "Being around the guys, I was like, "Boy, there was a possibility that I might not even be here.' "

Teammates say Herring has always been a good guy at heart, but he couldn't stay out of trouble.

Skipping class was routine. Last year he was arrested for resisting arrest without violence while trying to keep Gainesville police from arresting his teammate, Channing Crowder. He later accepted deferred prosecution. He also had to appear in court after being cited for public urination. He was on what he calls a path to nowhere.

"I didn't really have much discipline," he said. "I did back home, but I got here on my own, just being a kid. By last November, I thought I was going to be out of here soon. It was the way I was going. I wasn't going to class, I wasn't doing anything. Class was something I just hated. I finally woke up."

His wakeup call came in the form of stern lectures from his mother Wanda Owens; his cousin Andra Davis, a former Gator and now member of the Cleveland Browns; and being around Meyer.

"He's terrific," Meyer said. "I don't know the old Jarvis. I keep hearing this stuff, but the Jarvis Herring I know since I've been here has been phenomenal. I read that sometimes (about his behavior) and I have to look at him sometimes and shake my head. He's as good a person as I've been around."

Last season, Herring was an Associated Press All-SEC honorable mention selection and started 10 games (he was suspended for one). He led the Gators in interceptions (four) and was third in the SEC. He's credited for sealing the win over FSU with an interception with 10 seconds left.

But with his behavior, he risked losing it all. His family's words hit him hardest.

"(Andra) finally told me I'd better grow up or I'm going to have a sad life," Herring said. "I knew I could straighten up. My mama calls me and she's like, "Remember the trouble you were in this time last year?' I remember because I remember how scared I was. I wasn't scared because of class or whatever, I was scared because I was going to miss what I love the most - football. That's what really woke me up and made me realize what I could lose."

"I stayed on him," his mother said. "I told him, "Do you know how many people would love to be in your shoes?' If it weren't for his scholarship, he wouldn't be in school. I told him he had everything and he was about to have it taken away."

Co-defensive coordinator Charlie Strong has said he has high expectations for Herring, but what the Live Oak native is most proud of is the respect he has earned off the field.

Once the poster child for bad behavior, he's now a team captain (voted on by his teammates) and a role model for the young players.

"To me he's like my daddy," sophomore safety Kyle Jackson said. "He's older and talks to me like a son. He'll say listen, this is how this is. When I came here, he took me under his wing and has been pretty much my dad. I call him Poppa J-Bo. At one point they were talking about kicking him off the team, but Jarvis has been through a lot and he's come around as a leader on and off the field. He's come a long way."

Herring's not one to shy away from his past. If a player seems headed in the wrong direction, he is quick to say: "Don't go there."

"Jarvis has come a long way," said cornerback Vernell Brown, also a senior captain. "He's one of those guys that can also be called the "Face of Florida Football.' It's not about how you start, it's how you finish. He started out getting in trouble, not doing so well. Now he's on his game."

And hopefully doing the same for others.

[Last modified September 7, 2005, 01:02:19]