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Thurman Ward

Nickname: Pop
Birthday: 8-9-82
High School: Starkville
HS Mascot: Yellow Jackets
HS Coach: Chuck Friend
HS Position: QB, FS
HS Number: 1
AL Number: 1 or 36
Official Visits: Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU, Miss St., South Carolina
Second Choice: South Carolina
Host During Alabama Visit: Tony Dixon
Committed: 1-18-99
Roommate To Be: Chris James

This season Thurman played quarterback and defensive back.

He was a mainstay in the Starkville secondary where last season he had 25 tackles and five interceptions. During his career he had 10 interceptions.

As a junior, Ward had 75 tackles and three interceptions as his team went 10-3.

As a quarterback in his senior year, he had 2,197 yards of total offense -- 1,100 passing and 1,097 rushing. He passed for 13 TDs and rushed for 12. He led Starkville to an 8-3 record and an appearance in the state playoffs.

He was the No. 15 safety prospect in the nation by Rivals 100 and was an Atlanta Journal Southern 100 pick.

What Experts Say about Thurman Ward

Tom Lemming: "A major talent on both sides of the ball."

Forrest Davis: "Dominating athlete. All-South, All-American."

Q&A with Thurman Ward

TI: In November, you committed to Alabama but said you wanted to take some visits before making a final decision. Then you made a firm commitment to Alabama in January. Did you know all along that you were going to Alabama?

TW: I felt all along that I would end up at Alabama, but I wanted to take some visits to make sure that's what I wanted to do. There was a time when I was thinking seriously about South Carolina. I was interested in the opportunity they were offering for me to play quarterback. But after I took the visit to Alabama [1/14] I knew that's where I was going. Alabama promised to hold my scholarship while I took some visits and they kept their word. I kept my word to them too.

TI: I've heard there's an interesting story about how Alabama found out about you.

TW: Some people think that Alabama knew about me because I was from the same high school as Freddie Milons, but that's not it.

Last April I went over to Alabama for the A-Day game with my high school coach. Alabama didn't know I was coming over. Alabama didn't even know who I was. They had never heard of me. I went up and introduced myself to Coach Harbison. I told him I was interested in Alabama. He asked me where I was from, what position I played, my size, speed and stuff like that. I gave him my phone number and he said he'd be in touch. That's how it got started.

TI: Did Freddie Milons influence you to Alabama?

TW: He didn't have much influence at all. It was good to see that someone from Starkville was having success at Alabama, but he didn't influence me.

TI: What was the main reason you chose Alabama?

TW: Coach Cheeze [Harbison] was the main reason. He's so down to earth. When he calls me we hardly talk about football. He asks me about my girlfriend and how I'm doing in school. I feel like I can talk to him about anything.

TI: What position do you expect to play at Alabama?

TW: Mainly free safety, but I will work some at corner. I doubt I'll play any offense, but that's up to the coaches. Free safety has been my position since I was freshman in high school. I started for three years at free and played a lot as a freshman, so I'm comfortable with it. I know that Alabama needs some help in the secondary, especially at safety. They need someone who can come in and play at least in a backup role next season, and that's what I'm expecting to do.

TI: Is there a game or play that you consider the highlight of your high school career?

TW: The play that really sticks out to me came against South Panola. They were one of the best teams in the state. I had a 71-yard run for a touchdown. I had 178 yards rushing against them.

My best game was probably the first game of the season against Meridian. It was the first time I had ever played quarterback. I remember that I was very nervous. I thought I was going to forget the plays and everything. But as the game went on I started getting real comfortable. I threw a 65-yard touchdown with 56 seconds left to send the game into overtime. We ended up winning and I ended up throwing four touchdowns and running for a touchdown.

TI: By the end of this past season, many of the recruiting experts were calling you the South's most underrated player. What do you think about that?

TW: That's probably true. I don't know exactly why I was underrated, but I feel that I was.

TI: Did it bother you that you didn't get as much recognition as you deserved?

TW: No, it didn't bother me because I used it as motivation. I grew up liking Tennessee -- I liked Alabama too, but I always liked Tennessee. But they didn't even call me or contact me one time. I didn't make the Dandy Dozen list [of top prospects] in Mississippi, even though I know I'm one of the best athletes in Mississippi. At first I didn't get chosen to play in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game [Ward received a late invitation to play in the game but turned it down]. I look at all of that as motivation.

TI: During recruiting there reports were that you and Chris Young had become friends and that the both of you discussed the possibility of playing together at Alabama. Did you guys talk about that?

TW: Yes, we did talk about it. We both knew that Alabama needed some help in the secondary. We were probably the top two defensive backs Alabama was recruiting. When Chris and I visited Alabama we talked a lot about playing for Alabama. He told me that he was coming to Alabama. That's where he wanted to go, but there was a lot of influence from his older brother to go to Vanderbilt. I think there was a lot of pressure on him.

I also talked to Chris James a lot. After I committed to Alabama, he called me and asked if I was a firm commitment. I told him yes. He said he was a firm commitment too. We became good friends. I'm pretty sure we're going to room together next year. I've talked to some of the other freshmen and we're all excited about being a part 2000 group at Alabama.