Chris Poullard ready to carry the load
9/8/2007 1:00:00 AM | Football
By Cody Stark
Huntsville Item
Assistant Sports Editor
There is no secret as to why Sam Houston State came within a game of claiming its third Southland Conference championship since 2001 last season. One has to look no further than 2006 SLC offensive player of the year D.D. Terry.
Terry, a converted linebacker at the beginning of the season, rushed for a school record and conference high 1,328 yards and 15 touchdowns behind a spectacular offensive line. But Terry is gone, leaving the Bearkats in search of a replacement to fill his big shoes.
And that job rests on the shoulders of a promising young talent ? sophomore Chris Poullard. The Killeen Shoemaker product shined in his first career start in SHSU's 17-13 victory over Angelo State last week, rushing for 131 yards on 22 carries, an eye-popping 6 yards a touch.
“I knew I was going to be the starter coming into the summer,” Poullard said. “So I stayed up here all summer, worked hard and that's why I'm in this situation. As far as D.D., he did a lot of big things last year, and I'm trying to do the same. I'm just taking it one game at a time. I wasn't expecting to get the ball as much as I did (against Angelo State), but I did and did some good things with it.”
While Poullard isn't quite as big or has the track-star speed of Terry, he has the same great vision and balance which allows him to find the holes to pick up extra yardage. Poullard also gets a quick, powerful burst off the snap which resulted in only one carry for a loss against Angelo State.
Another thing that makes Poullard a viable weapon on offense is his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. He was the Bearkats leading receiver in the victory over Angelo State, reeling in five catches for 71 yards.
Poullard has all the tools to be the next great SHSU back, and the scary thing is he still has three years to get better.
“I see a lot of similarities in Chris and D.D.,” SHSU head coach Todd Whitten said. “Chris also has great vision even though he doesn't quite have D.D.'s speed and hasn't gotten as big, yet. But nevertheless, I think he can be just as effective.
“Again, he hasn't played much and (last Thursday) was his first real opportunity. With each game and each practice, he is going to get better and better.”
One of the reason's for Poullard's success has been a strong work ethic that his step-father, Terrance Stewart, cast upon him at an early age. When Poullard was a kid, he moved with his family to Killeen from Louisiana because Stewart is in the military.
It was then that Poullard was introduced to football and thanks to strong family values and support, decided his ticket to success would come on the field.
“My mom (Angela) is my biggest fan, and my dad ? he is my step-dad ? stepped in when I was 10, put a ball in my hands and taught me how to be a man,” Poullard said. “He showed me a lot and took care of my mom and my sisters. I came from a small town in Louisiana and when I moved (to Texas), I knew it was my best chance to get a scholarship.
“Every since I was in the eighth grade, I have worked hard on football and with my grades. My dad told me, ?It might not be there looking at you, but if you keep working it will be there.' That's what I did and it brought me here.”
With his family already behind him, it also helped that Poullard had someone like Terry to learn from. Ask anyone around the SHSU program and they will all point to Terry's success coming from his desire to be the best at everything he did.
Hard work made Terry the SLC's top running back and landed him a spot on the Jacksonville Jaguars' practice squad this season. Poullard had the chance to sit back and watch one of the SHSU greats, and he is ready to show what he absorbed on the field.
“I learned a lot from D.D.,” Poullard said. “He worked very hard at everything, even if it was track, football, in the weight room or the classroom. D.D. worked very hard. He took pride in everything he did, and I learned a lot from that.”
Whitten and his coaching staff realized Poullard's potential right away. They jumped at the chance to recruit him from day one.
Whitten said he knew Poullard could be a special player for the Bearkats, and his only regret is not redshirting the promising talent in 2006.
But who knew Terry, who hadn't played running back since his high school days at Willis, was going to have the kind of impact he did.
“We thought Chris was a fine back coming out of high school, and we immediately labeled him as a guy we really wanted so we offered him really early,” the coach said. “The big mistake that I made last year was not redshirting him. It was basically me not being as smart as I could have been.
“But going into the season, we didn't know what D.D. was going to do, and we knew Chris had some talent so we played him. We wasted a year, but we think he is going to be special.”
Huntsville Item
Assistant Sports Editor
There is no secret as to why Sam Houston State came within a game of claiming its third Southland Conference championship since 2001 last season. One has to look no further than 2006 SLC offensive player of the year D.D. Terry.
Terry, a converted linebacker at the beginning of the season, rushed for a school record and conference high 1,328 yards and 15 touchdowns behind a spectacular offensive line. But Terry is gone, leaving the Bearkats in search of a replacement to fill his big shoes.
And that job rests on the shoulders of a promising young talent ? sophomore Chris Poullard. The Killeen Shoemaker product shined in his first career start in SHSU's 17-13 victory over Angelo State last week, rushing for 131 yards on 22 carries, an eye-popping 6 yards a touch.
“I knew I was going to be the starter coming into the summer,” Poullard said. “So I stayed up here all summer, worked hard and that's why I'm in this situation. As far as D.D., he did a lot of big things last year, and I'm trying to do the same. I'm just taking it one game at a time. I wasn't expecting to get the ball as much as I did (against Angelo State), but I did and did some good things with it.”
While Poullard isn't quite as big or has the track-star speed of Terry, he has the same great vision and balance which allows him to find the holes to pick up extra yardage. Poullard also gets a quick, powerful burst off the snap which resulted in only one carry for a loss against Angelo State.
Another thing that makes Poullard a viable weapon on offense is his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. He was the Bearkats leading receiver in the victory over Angelo State, reeling in five catches for 71 yards.
Poullard has all the tools to be the next great SHSU back, and the scary thing is he still has three years to get better.
“I see a lot of similarities in Chris and D.D.,” SHSU head coach Todd Whitten said. “Chris also has great vision even though he doesn't quite have D.D.'s speed and hasn't gotten as big, yet. But nevertheless, I think he can be just as effective.
“Again, he hasn't played much and (last Thursday) was his first real opportunity. With each game and each practice, he is going to get better and better.”
One of the reason's for Poullard's success has been a strong work ethic that his step-father, Terrance Stewart, cast upon him at an early age. When Poullard was a kid, he moved with his family to Killeen from Louisiana because Stewart is in the military.
It was then that Poullard was introduced to football and thanks to strong family values and support, decided his ticket to success would come on the field.
“My mom (Angela) is my biggest fan, and my dad ? he is my step-dad ? stepped in when I was 10, put a ball in my hands and taught me how to be a man,” Poullard said. “He showed me a lot and took care of my mom and my sisters. I came from a small town in Louisiana and when I moved (to Texas), I knew it was my best chance to get a scholarship.
“Every since I was in the eighth grade, I have worked hard on football and with my grades. My dad told me, ?It might not be there looking at you, but if you keep working it will be there.' That's what I did and it brought me here.”
With his family already behind him, it also helped that Poullard had someone like Terry to learn from. Ask anyone around the SHSU program and they will all point to Terry's success coming from his desire to be the best at everything he did.
Hard work made Terry the SLC's top running back and landed him a spot on the Jacksonville Jaguars' practice squad this season. Poullard had the chance to sit back and watch one of the SHSU greats, and he is ready to show what he absorbed on the field.
“I learned a lot from D.D.,” Poullard said. “He worked very hard at everything, even if it was track, football, in the weight room or the classroom. D.D. worked very hard. He took pride in everything he did, and I learned a lot from that.”
Whitten and his coaching staff realized Poullard's potential right away. They jumped at the chance to recruit him from day one.
Whitten said he knew Poullard could be a special player for the Bearkats, and his only regret is not redshirting the promising talent in 2006.
But who knew Terry, who hadn't played running back since his high school days at Willis, was going to have the kind of impact he did.
“We thought Chris was a fine back coming out of high school, and we immediately labeled him as a guy we really wanted so we offered him really early,” the coach said. “The big mistake that I made last year was not redshirting him. It was basically me not being as smart as I could have been.
“But going into the season, we didn't know what D.D. was going to do, and we knew Chris had some talent so we played him. We wasted a year, but we think he is going to be special.”
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