MEMORIES OF TROY
by DeMarcus Ware

Coming out of high school, I was only 195 lbs. and wasn’t really looked at by any schools. It was universally felt that I was an under developed player. Osi Umenyiora told Troy University that there was this local kid, Ware, coming out of high school that they should take a look at. He can be a pass rusher like me and a guy who I’ll take under my wing . Ultimately he convinced them that we could really do well together. So coach Blakeney heeded his advice and gave me a scholarship. It was just an athletic scholarship because they weren’t really sure at that point what to do with me. After all, I played wide receiver in High School. I wasn’t recruited by anyone else so it was an easy choice for me because no other schools were interested.

I  guess once they had a chance to think about it a little, they came to me and said “we know what we’re going to do with you. We’re going to stick you at defensive end.” I was like  “What? I’m 195 pounds!” But, like anything, I worked at it and started to excel. I wanted the number 94 because they told me I reminded them of a guy named Tim Betts. He was a great player. A small guy but a really fast guy too. He wore 94. So I said to them, “you know what, by the time I leave, you’re gonna forget about Tim Betts and when you think of 94, you’re gonna think about me.” So that motivated me to try to be better than Tim Betts. Freshmen year I probably played all of 30 plays.  I really thought I was going to be red-shirted but I wasn’t.  When my Sophomore year began, I was still a back up.  In my first game, a guy name Shelton Felton, who was in front of me,  got hurt and they put me in. I was ready and I played really well. When he was healthy, he wanted his job back. But I had played so well against Nebraska and UAB that they had to keep me on the field. So that’s really how I got my shot. I was waiting in the wings for my opportunity and when I got it, I made the most of it. After that, each year I got bigger and faster and the rest was history.

During college, I did my share of partying, but I didn’t party as much as some of the other kids. I think it’s probably because of the position my family was in, so instead I spent a lot of time working.  Coach Blakeney was my coach all 4 years. He was a family guy, kinda like Wade Phillips. He knew what the guys needed and did everything he could to help us. He nurtured us whether we needed help working out or tutoring or anything else. He made sure all the guys graduated.

Looking back, I would say that my defining game at Troy was the first one of my senior year against Marshall. I was all over the field that day. I had like 3 or 4 sacks, 11 tackles, 2 or 3 forced fumbles, batted down a few passes. That was BIG to open the season with that kind of performance against a big team like Marshall.