Have to say, one of the parts of this job that I absolutely love is getting the chance to talk to former players that were my favorite players or my dad's (every time I talk to Dierdorf or Simpkins I can reflect on stories my dad told me about them). Tshimanga is one of my all-time favorites. I was a sophomore in high school when he went off for 1,818 and 313 vs. OSU. We're doing a feature on that single-season record so it was great catching up.
A few things I learned and wanted to share.
1.) Biakabutuka banged up his left shoulder very badly in the first game and had to play through it for four weeks before it started getting better. He had 32 carries against Boston College in week four despite the fact that he said he couldn't put his pads or jersey on by himself and needed help because he couldn't lift his arm over his head.
2.) As much as we talk about Jon Runyan, Jon Jansen and Rod Payne from that offensive line, he said that Joe Marinaro was the toughest SOB he ever knew. He said running behind that guy at right guard was like running behind a dump truck. No one wanted to mess with him.
3.) He wishes things would have been different after his junior year. He said Lloyd told him if he came back for his senior season he would have been the Heisman frontrunner, and now, 20 years later, he wishes he would have played his senior year, gone after the 1,818-yard record and lived like a king, but at the time his family was in bad straits financially (remember some of the family emigrated from Africa to Canada) and he had a chance to make a lot of money and really help them out.
4.) He thinks Mike Hart would have broken his record in 2007 had he not gotten hurt (Hart was on pace until a week-eight injury against Michigan State) but thinks the record is safe for awhile with college football moving more and more to pass-first offenses.
5.) He had some good things to say about Tyrone Wheatley but also said that the two of them had bad tempers and were extremely competitive in the two years they overlapped. Said they almost came to blows multiple times and that Fred Jackson had to send them to opposite corners of the practice field one time. He also joked that Wheatley used to fall asleep during film sessions and position-group meetings so he laughed about the idea of him running a meeting now. He also said that Wheatley loved the locker room like no player he ever knew and that he has the type of personality that he thinks kids will flock to.
A few things I learned and wanted to share.
1.) Biakabutuka banged up his left shoulder very badly in the first game and had to play through it for four weeks before it started getting better. He had 32 carries against Boston College in week four despite the fact that he said he couldn't put his pads or jersey on by himself and needed help because he couldn't lift his arm over his head.
2.) As much as we talk about Jon Runyan, Jon Jansen and Rod Payne from that offensive line, he said that Joe Marinaro was the toughest SOB he ever knew. He said running behind that guy at right guard was like running behind a dump truck. No one wanted to mess with him.
3.) He wishes things would have been different after his junior year. He said Lloyd told him if he came back for his senior season he would have been the Heisman frontrunner, and now, 20 years later, he wishes he would have played his senior year, gone after the 1,818-yard record and lived like a king, but at the time his family was in bad straits financially (remember some of the family emigrated from Africa to Canada) and he had a chance to make a lot of money and really help them out.
4.) He thinks Mike Hart would have broken his record in 2007 had he not gotten hurt (Hart was on pace until a week-eight injury against Michigan State) but thinks the record is safe for awhile with college football moving more and more to pass-first offenses.
5.) He had some good things to say about Tyrone Wheatley but also said that the two of them had bad tempers and were extremely competitive in the two years they overlapped. Said they almost came to blows multiple times and that Fred Jackson had to send them to opposite corners of the practice field one time. He also joked that Wheatley used to fall asleep during film sessions and position-group meetings so he laughed about the idea of him running a meeting now. He also said that Wheatley loved the locker room like no player he ever knew and that he has the type of personality that he thinks kids will flock to.
