|
RB, 6'0, 200, 4.5, 340 bp
Millington, TN
Nickname: AG
High School: Millington
HS Number: 22
AL Number: 29
Official Visits: Alabama
Second Choice: Nebraska, Notre Dame, Michigan, Florida
Host During Alabama Visit: Tony Dixon
Committed: November 25, 1997
Roommate To Be: Victor Ellis
Academic Status: Qualified
Stats
HS Junior Season
Rushing
HS Senior Season
Rushing
Honors
- Two-time All-Region
- Two-time All-State
- Runner-up Mr. Football in Tennessee
- Two-Time All Metro
- USA Today Honorable Mention All-American
- Prep Star All-American
Stories
His Prized Possession
It’s not his speed. It’s not his powerful running style. It’s not his consecutive seasons of 2,000-yards rushing.
Ahmaad Galloway’s prized possession cannot be found on the football field.
"It’s my salvation through Christ," Ahmaad says. "I cherish my salvation more than anything."
This past year some of the top schools in the nation -- schools like Alabama, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Michigan and Florida -- offered him a football scholarship. They rolled out the red carpet for him. But through it all, Ahmaad never changed.
"You can have talent. You can be in the limelight. You can have everything the world offers," he says. "But it can all be taken away very quickly. All that stuff doesn’t mean much."
Last Fall Ahmaad learned how quickly life can change. In the moment of a tackle, his friend and teammate Mario Reed was permanently paralyzed.
"It just goes to show that you never know when something will be taken away," Ahmaad says. "But there is one thing that can never be taken away -- that’s a person’s salvation."
Ahmaad Says Thanks
[TI Editor’s note: The following letter appeared in the Sunday, December 21, 1997 edition of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal.]
By Ahmaad Galloway
Millington HS
I want to write this letter to thank everyone who has supported the Millington Trojans football team this past season. I have personally received many awards and wish to publicly thank my family, coaches, teammates and school for all of their help and support, because I could not do anything without them.
But I would like to say more than this concerning our team:
I can honestly say that I know what it feels like to be blessed. During this past football season while our team experienced success, we were also touched by adversity that stretched into the entire Memphis metropolitan area. On September 12, a Friday I will never forget, many people gathered at Millington Central High School to watch the Trojans play the Houston Mustangs. In the beginning the ball game was everything a Millington fan could possibly want, but the game would take a drastic change of course.
While dropping back to throw a pass, the Houston quarterback, Matt Frazier, was hit and unable to regain his feet. We were all shaken by the injury and hoped he would be all right. After he was taken from the field and to a hospital another injury happened two plays later. On this play Mario Reed, my friend and teammate, was seriously injured with paralysis. This devastating tragedy caused everyone at the game to think about their own mortality.
It has been said that God works in mysterious ways and now I think I understand that a little better. I feel like God took the most talked about sport in Millington and the toughest player on the team and blended them together to bring unity to our community. Our school has been given a bad name because of racial tensions in the past, but with the help of a Trojan who has been so courageous and a champion through all of this, people stopped seeing color for a while.
I thank God for Mario Reed and pray for his health and well being. I deeply believe that God has a reward for him in his future. I would like to thank everyone from all over Memphis who has helped Mario to this point, and would encourage you to follow his example of positive thinking. I thank everyone for remaining strong, and hope that it will continue as Mario moves forward in his life and tries to overcome his new challenges.
In Honor of Mario
Ahmaad Galloway will honor his friend and former teammate Mario Reed by wearing Reed’s high school number at Alabama.
"Wearing number 29 will represent not his current condition, but his struggle and his will to overcome in this battle," Ahmaad says.
He’s the "Alabama Type"
Nebraska, Notre Dame, Michigan and Florida saw his athletic ability. But Alabama saw more.
"Alabama talked about my desire and will to succeed," Ahmaad says.
Ahmaad’s statistics -- two consecutive seasons of over 2,000 yards rushing -- are impressive. But he says that his stats are merely a reflection of his work ethic.
"I’m not one of these guys who can just step on the track and run a 4.3 or a 4.4," he says. "I’ve gotten where I am by hard work. I’ve made myself a player."
Galloway Sweeps Left, Cuts Back, …
It was just before halftime. Millington was on the verge of blowing away Bolton.
"Coach told me that if I was going to make something happen, I’d better hurry because he wasn’t going to play me in the second half," Ahmaad recalls.
Millington was backed up to their eight-yard line. Ahmaad took a handoff on a sweep play to the left.
"I saw daylight and cut it up," he recalls. "I broke it 92 yards for the touchdown."
That was the longest play of Ahmaad’s brilliant HS career.
The Trojans Win
The game was in overtime and Millington had just scored a touchdown to cut Houston’s lead to one point. Millington coaches chose to go for two.
"Four years earlier we were in the same situation against them," Ahmaad recalls. "Marlon Barnes [who later played at Colorado] was our running back. Houston stopped him on the two-point conversion and we lost."
It was now Ahmaad’s turn. He took a handoff over right guard, hit the hole, and spun around.
"I remember landing on my back," Ahmaad says. "I didn’t know if I had made it into the end zone or not. Then I heard the P.A. announcer say, ‘The Trojans win.’ I got up and threw the ball to my mother in the stands."
On The Recruiting Trail …
Did Tennessee Offer?
Alabama did. So did Nebraska, Texas, Michigan, Notre Dame and Florida. But Tennessee didn’t?
"They kept calling me after I committed to Alabama," Ahmaad says. "Tennessee recruited me right up until the end. I could’ve gone there."
"Coach [Pat] Washington recruited me real hard. He was great. Nothing against Tennessee, they have a good program, but I was never interested in becoming a part of it."
When Ahmaad committed to Alabama, Tennessee fans went into denial, denial that they had ever wanted Ahmaad Galloway. They couldn’t stand to lose another top in-state player to Alabama. Last year they lost Shaun Bohanon, and this year they had already lost Jerome Morehead. Little did they know that they would later lose Eric Locke.
Q&A
TI: Ahmaad, is there a well-known running back you would compare yourself to?
AG: Terrell Davis of the Denver Broncos. I like to run between the tackles, but I can bounce it outside too. And when I bounce it outside, I never run out of bounds. I’m looking for a defender to run over.
TI: Watching you on film, we noticed that you like to lower your shoulder.
AG: That’s football. It’s a contact game. My father and my high school coach instilled in me that there are slasher-type running backs everywhere. They told me that what the colleges like is toughness.
TI: There are some critics who question your speed.
AG: Well, track speed and football speed are totally different. There are fast guys who aren’t good football players. I’d say that I have good football speed.
TI: What is your consistent 40 time?
AG: I’ve worked hard to get it down to around 4.48. I’ve been consistently timed at 4.5.
TI: Considering Alabama’s depth chart, it appears that you may have an opportunity to get some playing time next season.
AG: That’s true. At this point there’s not a clear backup for Shaun Alexander. I’m working hard and hope that I get that opportunity. But the main thing is to help the team in any way I can.
TI: Would you consider playing another position?
AG: When I signed those scholarship papers it was to play football at Alabama regardless of position. If they need me to play nose guard then I’ll do it. I just want to help the program. But I’m pretty sure I’ll stay at running back.
TI: We understand that you’re good friends with Jerome Morehead and Victor Ellis. Tell us a little about those two guys.
AG: Kindal, or Jerome, is a class act. He grew up in a tough area in Memphis, but he’s kept himself going in the right direction. As an athlete he’s got to be among the nation’s elite. He’s big and can run. Victor Ellis is going to surprise some people. He likes to deliver a blow. He’s naturally a thick-bodied person. I can see him doing well at linebacker or wherever they decide to put him.
|
