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B-CC's pick of the class

Sophomore free safety Rashean Mathis shares the Division I lead with 11 interceptions, but it's his coach's mark - and a win over FAMU - that he has a bead on.

By JAMAL THALJI

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 14, 2000

How fitting, Rashean Mathis recalls, that the astute prediction was first made by his coach, Alvin Wyatt.

"He told me at the beginning of the season that if I catch everything that touches my hands," the Bethune-Cookman defensive back said, "I should be leading the nation this season."

He has, and he does.

Mathis is tied for the Division I lead with 11 interceptions as he leads B-CC into Saturday's Florida Classic against Florida A&M in Orlando.

At stake: the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship and automatic entry into the I-AA playoffs.

The Rattlers (8-2) are No. 15 in the Sports Network I-AA poll; the Wildcats (8-1) are No.22.

Mathis has staked out his territory for Saturday's game at the Florida Citrus Bowl.

"I own the middle, between the hash marks," he said. "Nobody is allowed."

It also will be Mathis' last chance -- this season, anyway -- to grab one of the most storied records at B-CC: 13 interceptions, the most in a season at B-CC, set in 1969 by a player named ... Alvin Wyatt.

Wyatt also holds the school career record for interceptions (34 from 1966-69). By the end of his career, Mathis could break that record, too. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound sophomore preseason All-MEAC selection from Adel, Ga., has 13 in two seasons.

All the talk of individual excellence will be for naught if B-CC doesn't defeat FAMU for the first time in the Wyatt era and for the first time since 1994.

But now that Mathis, a 20-year-old accounting major, has exceeded his preseason goal, he cannot help but raise the bar even higher.

"My goal coming into the season was to have at least eight interceptions," he said, "and now I've topped that ... I'm trying to shoot for head coach Alvin Wyatt's season record."

What makes Mathis' success more impressive is he had to learn two distinctly different positions in two seasons.

As a freshman last season, Mathis played cornerback. He responded with 37 tackles, two interceptions, nine pass breakups and a fumble recovery. Then Wyatt moved Mathis to free safety in the last two games of '99, where he has remained this season.

"Last year, we were kind of short at the cornerback slot," Mathis said. "(Wyatt) thought I could play corner; he thought I had the athleticism to play corner."

Mathis has 36 tackles and five pass breakups this season. His best game was Oct.7 against Delaware State when he made four interceptions.

For all his athletic talent -- he runs a 4.4 in the 40-yard dash -- Mathis is at heart a technician.

Adjusting between the two positions has required him to learn different techniques and approaches that don't complement each other.

"Playing corner and safety, well, corner doesn't help you playing safety. You're on an island all by yourself," Mathis said. "It's a whole (different) technique, really.

"I just try, when I play at free safety, I'm always looking in the backfield. But as a corner I have to bring a whole different approach. I actually have to stay away from the backfield. You're going man-to-man.

"I heard you need to have a short memory because every corner is going to get caught. You just have to put it behind you."

So has Mathis been caught? "Yes, I've been caught."

Still, there's nothing else Mathis would rather do.

"I'm a very hard worker, I take pride in what I do," he said.

"I love what I do."

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