Nov. 4, 2006
By Ryan Powell
College football is an emotional sport. Day in and day out, starting with the first Saturday in September, people's emotions across the nation cover the entire spectrum of highs and lows. It does not matter if you are a coach on the sidelines, a drummer in the band, or a painted fan in the bleachers - when fall arrives, the emotions escalate and nothing seems as important as the success of your team.
The thrill of a single win could last all week or even all year in some cases. For some it lasts only until the ball is teed up for the next game. And the anguish of defeat can simmer just as long. Wins are cherished, losses bring sorrow.
On the surface that is what the sport is all about - wins and losses. Those become trivial though when one digs a little deeper and sees the core of what college football is really all about - the student.
The athlete is the one scoring touchdowns, picking off passes, making big tackles or drilling game-winning field goals. The student is the one, however, using athletics to build his character, develop his work ethic in and out of the classroom and ultimately fulfill the vast potential that lies within him.
Take a closer look at UCF free safety Sha'reff Rashad. The redshirt sophomore has provided an exciting level of play on the field in the early part of the 2006 season for the Golden Knights. He was responsible for the team's first three defensive turnovers, combining to intercept a pair of passes and force a fumble in the first two games alone. But those plays are not what UCF defensive coordinator Lance Thompson was beaming about just two days after a tough loss in Gainesville. There is a lot more to the person underneath the helmet, the pads and the No. 29 jersey. It is what lies underneath that made the third-year defensive coach stop mulling over the defeat to the Gators and reflect candidly on one of his finer pupils.
"I love Sha'reff Rashad," Thompson said. "He is a great kid. He is a yes-sir, no-sir type and he is going to succeed. He is a good player for us on the field, but he is an even better person off the field."
Rashad's play is steadily improving on the field, but his strong academic performance off the field has been intact for several years. The criminal justice major, whose interest in the field stems from a project as a grade-schooler when he shadowed a judge, carries a 3.6 cumulative GPA in his two-plus years at UCF and his devotion to academics started early.
"There was never really much pressure from my parents, but I knew what they expected, my mom wouldn't come home and ask how did I do on this, how did I do on that," Rashad explained. "She just knew I would tell her if I was having trouble. She just expected A's or B's on every report card."
Rashad does not make a habit of letting people down and that carries over to the football field. His confidence is growing as he develops into an integral part of what is a young and exciting defensive backfield for UCF. Teamed with fellow sophomores Johnell Neal and Joe Burnett, the trio is becoming one of Conference USA's best units, along with junior Marlon Williams.
Rashad was talented enough out of Episcopal High School in Jacksonville to earn a start as a true freshman for first-year head coach George O'Leary in 2004. However, his first career appearance as Golden Knight quickly turned sour on the opening play of the game.
"I just remember going in for the tackle and there was a big pile and I just pretty much dove into it," Rashad said. "I remember when I got up and my hand was bothering me. At first, I felt my thumb and it really wasn't that bad, but it started swelling up and that's when I realized I had done something to it."
He managed to finish the game despite a broken hand, but the injury would force him to the sidelines for the rest of the season. Fortunately for the Golden Knights, Rashad was granted a medical redshirt, meaning the 2004 season would not count against his four years of eligibility.
Instead of getting down on himself, Rashad took the initiative to watch and learn from his predecessors as they finished out the 2004 season.
"I learned a lot," Rashad said. "It was good for me to be able to go to practice and learn stuff while I was injured."
Rashad took those lessons learned to the field when he returned to the starting lineup in 2005 in yet another hostile environment. The Golden Knights traveled to Columbia, S.C., for their season opener against the Gamecocks in Steve Spurrier's debut as South Carolina's head coach.
Rashad would go on to start six contests and play in 10 overall as UCF made a surprising run to the 2005 Conference USA East Division title and the school's first-ever bowl appearance. One of his finer moments was a seven-tackle performance in a game against Marshall that snapped the Golden Knights' 17-game losing streak. Rashad added his first-career interception in that contest.
He closed out his season by making a career-high eight tackles in the overtime-loss to Nevada in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. His performance on the field as a redshirt freshman provided him the opportunity to gain confidence and win the starting free safety spot outright this past spring.
All the while, his performance off the field was equally impressive. He is a six-time member of the Athletic Director's Honor Roll, a two-time Dean's list honoree and one-time member of the President's list for carrying a perfect 4.0 GPA. Following last season he earned spots on both the Conference USA Academic honor roll and a position on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team.
Fast forward a few months and his late-season and strong spring efforts have carried over nicely into the first two games of the 2006 campaign and Golden Knight fans are seeing a player who has become a consistent force in the UCF secondary.
Rashad makes it sound simple. "In college, as long as you are on schedule, you're fine," Rashad said. "You just got to make sure you can't get behind. I just find myself being on time; as soon as I get something, I'll get it done and out of the way. I just try to stay ahead of everything." Being ahead is exactly where Rashad finds himself, both as an athlete and, even more importantly, as a student.