twhite1
New Member
GRAMBLING - Tramon Douglas' senior season hasn't gone precisely the way he had planned.
Knee surgery and three missed games weren't in the original script, but Douglas can soothe those frustrations with a big performance for Grambling State in Saturday's Bayou Classic against Southern.
The stakes in this bitter rivalry between Grambling (9-2, 6-0 SWAC) and Southern (10-1, 5-1) are high - winner takes home the Western Division crown of the Southwestern Athletic Conference and advances to the SWAC title game. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. in the Louisiana Superdome.
"Sometimes I can't sleep at night thinking about this game and what I can do to help the team win," Douglas said. "This is the biggest game of my career, bar none."
Douglas' excitement is doubled by the fact that for the first time this season he is completely healthy.
Douglas finally feels like the wide receiver who set school single-season records for receptions (92), yards (1,704) and touchdowns (18) in 2002.
From the start of the season, Douglas' right knee ached, but he played through the pain for the first four games.
The pain reached its peak on Sept. 20 in Grambling's 31-20 loss to McNeese State. The pain was so intense, Douglas thought he might be playing his last college game. He went out and set a school record with 17 receptions for 216 yards and three touchdowns.
It was a performance for the ages and one that further validated Douglas as one of the all-time great Grambling receivers.
"That was unbelievable to play against the No. 1 team in the country and put on that kind of display,"
Grambling offensive coordinator Melvin Spears said.
"It showed what kind of fortitude he had and put him in line with the great ones."
After the game, Douglas underwent arthroscopic surgery and missed the next three games.
"In the McNeese game, I was dying out there," Douglas said. "It was like I was a wounded animal and that's the worst animal you want to mess with. I didn't know if it was going to be my last game and I wanted to give everybody something to think about."
Douglas has definitely done that, not only in the McNeese game, but by his performance this season.
Despite missing three whole games and playing four more on a bum knee, Douglas is still the SWAC's leading receiver. The 6-0, 205-pounder from Baton Rouge has 68 receptions for 834 yards and 10 touchdowns.
"He has really developed a toughness that a lot of people could see after the McNeese game," Grambling receivers coach Sammie White said. "He is such a competitor. He wants to help the team win and that's the way he's been since he's been here."
Douglas came to Grambling as a running back and during his first two years found himself struggling to find playing time on a Tiger team loaded with receivers.
"He's waited his turn," White said. "When he first came here he was one of our biggest blocking receivers. I remember in the first (SWAC) championship game he had nine take downs. He showed his toughness then."
It's a toughness - both mental and physical - that has earned him the respect of his fellow teammates.
"Next to myself he's the heart and soul of the offense," quarterback Bruce Eugene said. "In a big game with a big down, I'm going to Tramon because he will find a way to get open. His ability is unreal. He has the mentality of a receiver 6-4 or 6-5 saying 'throw me the ball."' While Douglas sat out the three games letting his knee heal, he was constantly badgering the coaches to let him play. He finally returned on Oct. 18 on the road at Arkansas-Pine Bluff. He caught six passes for 60 yards and two touchdowns in the Tigers' 41-16 win.
"The one thing you need to know about Tramon - and that's what (former Washington Redskins coach) Joe Gibbs used to say - 'Tough sucker,'" Grambling coach Doug Williams said. "The last two years he's made some unbelievable catches, tough catches. In tough situations, he always comes up big."
Since returning from the injury, Douglas has 36 receptions for 430 yards and four touchdowns. He now has amassed 184 catches for 2,860 yards and 30 touchdowns in his career. He hopes to come up big once again this Saturday in the game of the year.
"I talked to him earlier this week and you can tell he's feeling it," Williams said. "He wished we played tonight."
Knee surgery and three missed games weren't in the original script, but Douglas can soothe those frustrations with a big performance for Grambling State in Saturday's Bayou Classic against Southern.
The stakes in this bitter rivalry between Grambling (9-2, 6-0 SWAC) and Southern (10-1, 5-1) are high - winner takes home the Western Division crown of the Southwestern Athletic Conference and advances to the SWAC title game. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. in the Louisiana Superdome.
"Sometimes I can't sleep at night thinking about this game and what I can do to help the team win," Douglas said. "This is the biggest game of my career, bar none."
Douglas' excitement is doubled by the fact that for the first time this season he is completely healthy.
Douglas finally feels like the wide receiver who set school single-season records for receptions (92), yards (1,704) and touchdowns (18) in 2002.
From the start of the season, Douglas' right knee ached, but he played through the pain for the first four games.
The pain reached its peak on Sept. 20 in Grambling's 31-20 loss to McNeese State. The pain was so intense, Douglas thought he might be playing his last college game. He went out and set a school record with 17 receptions for 216 yards and three touchdowns.
It was a performance for the ages and one that further validated Douglas as one of the all-time great Grambling receivers.
"That was unbelievable to play against the No. 1 team in the country and put on that kind of display,"
Grambling offensive coordinator Melvin Spears said.
"It showed what kind of fortitude he had and put him in line with the great ones."
After the game, Douglas underwent arthroscopic surgery and missed the next three games.
"In the McNeese game, I was dying out there," Douglas said. "It was like I was a wounded animal and that's the worst animal you want to mess with. I didn't know if it was going to be my last game and I wanted to give everybody something to think about."
Douglas has definitely done that, not only in the McNeese game, but by his performance this season.
Despite missing three whole games and playing four more on a bum knee, Douglas is still the SWAC's leading receiver. The 6-0, 205-pounder from Baton Rouge has 68 receptions for 834 yards and 10 touchdowns.
"He has really developed a toughness that a lot of people could see after the McNeese game," Grambling receivers coach Sammie White said. "He is such a competitor. He wants to help the team win and that's the way he's been since he's been here."
Douglas came to Grambling as a running back and during his first two years found himself struggling to find playing time on a Tiger team loaded with receivers.
"He's waited his turn," White said. "When he first came here he was one of our biggest blocking receivers. I remember in the first (SWAC) championship game he had nine take downs. He showed his toughness then."
It's a toughness - both mental and physical - that has earned him the respect of his fellow teammates.
"Next to myself he's the heart and soul of the offense," quarterback Bruce Eugene said. "In a big game with a big down, I'm going to Tramon because he will find a way to get open. His ability is unreal. He has the mentality of a receiver 6-4 or 6-5 saying 'throw me the ball."' While Douglas sat out the three games letting his knee heal, he was constantly badgering the coaches to let him play. He finally returned on Oct. 18 on the road at Arkansas-Pine Bluff. He caught six passes for 60 yards and two touchdowns in the Tigers' 41-16 win.
"The one thing you need to know about Tramon - and that's what (former Washington Redskins coach) Joe Gibbs used to say - 'Tough sucker,'" Grambling coach Doug Williams said. "The last two years he's made some unbelievable catches, tough catches. In tough situations, he always comes up big."
Since returning from the injury, Douglas has 36 receptions for 430 yards and four touchdowns. He now has amassed 184 catches for 2,860 yards and 30 touchdowns in his career. He hopes to come up big once again this Saturday in the game of the year.
"I talked to him earlier this week and you can tell he's feeling it," Williams said. "He wished we played tonight."