Blake Terry: A Man on a Mission

I'm sure I wasn't the only person that did a double-take after reading this quote from true freshman linebacker Blake Terry:

These guys (Non-Freshmen) haven't had any competition,” he said. “We're here to show them their spot is not safe. They better be on watch every day. They think they have their spot (secured), but we know different. (via mysa.com)

Damn, son. My imagination played a sample of the gunshots on "Ether" after I read this quote. Talk about coming out on day one and making a statement.

There's no doubt that the former Kentucky commit, who enjoyed interest from several other SEC schools after his scholarship offer from Kentucky was rescinded, signed on at UTSA knowing that immediate playing time was in sight. And deservedly so. The 2010 Denton Guyer Homecoming King stands at a modest 6'0 but is built like a freight truck with 230 pounds of muscle. Blake is also a top-notch student who maintained a 3.5 GPA throughout high school. While many schools cooled their recruiting of Terry after his 40 yard dash clocked in at 4.7 seconds, Terry more than makes up for what he lacks in speed by pursuing near-perfect angles on ball carriers and maintaining correct defensive positioning. If you think his mediocre speed is a detriment to his game, take a gander at this highlight video, a prized selection in my UTSA Football porn stash.

So yeah. Any highlight vid that starts with someone possibly breaking EVERY BONE IN THEIR BODY is cool wit' me. Obviously, Terry is an extremely talented blitzer. We have to keep in mind that Terry is facing very strong 5A Metroplex opponents in this video, many of which likely have FBS scholarships. Terry (alongside fellow Roadrunner, Jake Smith) faced a Malcolm Brown-led Cibolo Steele in this year 5A Division II State Championship game at Cowboy Stadium. Blake racked up 6 tackles with 14 assists to hold Texas Longhorn Brown to one of his most unproductive games of the season at just 107 yards (3.8 YPC).

Terry's battle for a starting position is going to be one of the most intriguing on the team this fall camp, mainly because he faces some stiff competition. While every position is certainly up in the air at this point, it would be hard to find anyone with an interest in this program that doesn't think Eastern New Mexico transfer Steven Kurfehs will be leading the defense come September 3rd. Past Kurfehs, it's likely going to come down to either Terry or Pierce Junior College transfer Brandon Reeves. A slightly undersized linebacker out of Los Angeles, Brandon is a pretty cool story who worked exceptionally hard to earn a Division I football scholarship.

 

By his own admission, the first official member of UTSA's 2011 recruiting class was merely a “decent” player at Canyon High School in Santa Clarita, Calif.

Brandon Reeves started as a senior for the Cowboys, and with little demand for 6-foot, 195-pound linebackers in college, he did not receive any scholarship offers.

Reeves figured he was moving on at that point, accepting a paid internship with the same Beverly Hills Police Department that Eddie Murphy made famous in the mid-1980s.

 

But as much as he enjoyed portraying bad guys in mock car chases — “I just had to sit in the back and get arrested,” he said — it couldn't compare with the thrill of football.

“At first, I didn't think I was going to play again,” Reeves said. “I thought I'd be a cop, do some coaching, but I really missed the sport. It was around spring, and it really hit me. I wanted to play.”

Reeves did more than just play, leveraging two dominant seasons at Pierce College in Los Angeles into a scholarship with UTSA. Now up to 6-1, 220, Reeves is expected to make an instant impact on a team starving for depth and experience.

As you can see above, Reeves is a very strong linebacker that shares Blake Terry's knack for finding the pigskin. Reeves was one of the top JUCO linebackers in the state of California the past two years, racking up 202 tackles during his career at L.A. Pierce. Reeves brings a couple of years of maturity into the mix, but more importantly he has two years of experience in college football. Reeves was an early-enroll at UTSA which allowed him to partake in spring camp this past year and rack up two solo tackles in the Football Fiesta Spring Game.

Keep your eyes glued on this position battle the next couple of weeks because two outstanding linebackers are going to be butting heads and busting ass until kickoff.