Story by Joel Anderson Photos by Josh Rodriguez
I believe in working hard all the time," Tomlinson said. "I have faith that working hard is going to get me where I want to go." Hard work has put Tomlinson at the peak of his game this season as the nation's second-leading collegiate rusher. Through three games, Tomlinson has rushed for an average of 178 yards per game, including a career-high of 269 yards on 40 carries during the Horned Frogs' 24-21 victory over Arkansas State Saturday. But faith has always been the driving force in the life of the Horned Frogs' junior tailback. As a freshman, Tomlinson had faith when TCU suffered through an embarrassing 10-loss 1997 campaign. He had faith when he hesitantly moved to fullback at the beginning of his sophomore season. He also had faith when Forest Hill police placed him in handcuffs during his July arrest for drug possession and evading arrest. But faith allowed Tomlinson to realize that the best things in life are the ones that are attained only through hard work. Tomlinson's faith hasn't come blindly, though. It comes from his best friend, counselor and pastor - Loreane Chappell, Tomlinson's mother. "Faith is a strong word in my life," Tomlinson said. "That's one thing my mother has always stressed to me. To live by faith and walk by faith. Now I try not to worry about things I can't control and focus on things I can control. "And I know I can control some things by working hard." Faith in self Tomlinson's current success on the gridiron overshadows the fact that he has been a second-string tailback for the majority of his football career.
"L.T. was a real good back, no doubt about that," said Tomlinson's high school coach Leroy Coleman. "But we had a guy called Lawrence Pullen who was a senior and a talented guy, too. (Pullen) ended up going on to play at a junior college." The last time Tomlinson was given the starting tailback job during preseason drills, he was a 195-pound senior in high school. That season, Tomlinson rushed for 2,554 yards and 39 touchdowns, leading his team to the semifinal round of the state playoffs and their best record in school history (12-2-1). But due to his relative anonymity on the recruiting scene before his senior year, Tomlinson wasn't heavily recruited by most of college football's major powers. Instead of the Florida States and Michigans of the world, Tomlinson was intensely courted by smaller programs like Baylor, North Texas, Texas-El Paso, Kansas State and TCU. "In recruiting terms, I would have been called a sleeper," he said. "But I've always believed that I would be able to contribute on the college level." While Tomlinson has what he calls "God-given ability," his work ethic is one of the reasons he is more than just another "contributor." Since his senior season of high school, Tomlinson has bulked up to a 5-foot-11, 217-pound block of muscle. His dedication to weightlifting has helped him capture four of six Horned Frog weight room records for running backs, including a 430-pound bench press and 365-pound incline press. "L.T. is an extremely hard worker," said TCU running backs coach Mike Schultz. "You don't get those kinds of numbers without being a hard worker." His numbers on the football field are equally impressive. Tomlinson's 269 rushing yards against Arkansas State was the third-highest single-game total in school history. At his current rate of 178 yards a game, Tomlinson would smash the TCU single-season rushing mark by more than 300 yards. "With my size and speed, my ability to make moves and great vision, I sometimes feel like it's an unfair advantage over the defense," Tomlinson said. "I want all those schools that didn't recruit me to say, 'Man, we should have tried to recruit him.' When we play schools like Arizona and Northwestern, it motivates me to rip their defense up." Count Arizona coach Dick Tomey as one of the regretful many who didn't invest much effort in recruiting Tomlinson. Tomey watched in awe as Tomlinson ravaged his defense for 170 yards in the Horned Frogs' 35-31 loss Sept. 5. "I'm sure all of us schools that didn't recruit him are sorry now," Tomey said. "He is big, strong, fast and very elusive. He's got it all. He certainly is as good a tailback as we will play all year long." Faithful teammates From the time Tomlinson stepped onto TCU's practice fields, he was penciled in on the depth chart. With Mitchell as the only established presence in the Horned Frog backfield, the coaches gave Tomlinson the ball from day one and gave him the opportunity to play. "He had to play right away as a freshman," said senior quarterback Patrick Batteaux. "From the first year, I've really seen L.T. grow up as a player. He always does the little things. "He's not just a great athlete, but he is also a really smart football player who is good at reading defenses. He makes this offense and me look better." Tomlinson said he knows without his experienced and talented offensive line that what he has accomplished thus far would be nearly impossible. "My line is great," he said. "All of those guys come to play every week, and they blow things up out there. It makes it easier for me to pick holes when my line blocks the way they do." Junior offensive tackle David Bobo said Tomlinson has handled the transition from backup to star tailback gracefully. "I think Basil (Mitchell) helped to bring him along, kind of like a mentorship," Bobo said. "No disrespect to Basil, but when he left I didn't worry about our tailback position at all. L.T. is a tough back, and as long as we hold our blocks, we know he'll get some yards." When TCU coach Dennis Franchione took over TCU's program in 1997, he was excited about the possibility of inheriting a backfield with then-sophomore Tomlinson. "I noticed that he played as a true freshman," Franchione said. "He's as good as any running back I've ever coached. He's a fierce competitor, he has a lot of pride and he works hard." Tomlinson's running skills aren't the only thing he is appreciated for, Batteaux said. "We joke around a lot," he said. "I always call him 'Northside,' because ... you know how guys on the Northside of town are. They've got the grill (gold teeth) and the tattoos. It's kind of a running joke on the team." Faith in family One of the tattoos on Tomlinson's body isn't a joking matter. On his left shoulder is a tattoo of his mother, surrounded by the words "My Inspiration - Loreane." "I wish he wouldn't have done that," Tomlinson's mother said. "But I just left it alone; LaDainian's a grown man. He's been so responsible with every other decision in his life, I didn't want to bother him about it." "I'm inspired by my family, especially my mother," Tomlinson said. "She is always giving me encouragement." In fact, Tomlinson said his mother was one of the major factors in his choice of colleges. When she accepted a job as a real-estate agent in Dallas before his high school graduation, Tomlinson turned his attention to schools in-state and abandoned his dream at playing at a school out-of-state. "I always had liked the University of Miami (Fla.) growing up," Tomlinson said. "I started out wanting to go to a school outside of Texas, but I really wanted to be near my mother and family." "This has really been a blessing," Chappell said. "TCU has been so good for him, but I wasn't sure what he was going to do at first. I think I could have been one of the deciding factors, but I let him make his own decision. "Now I try to make it to every game that I can. Any time I have to miss a game, I hate it." Tomlinson said his love for football comes from a family that used to watch games together every weekend. "When I was little my whole family would sit down and watch football on TV," Tomlinson said. "When I was 2 or 3 years old, my father would set me down in front of the TV and go into another room sometimes. When he would come back, he would ask me what happened and I would be able to tell him." "That boy loves football so much," Chappell said. "He slept with a football in his bed since he was nine. He takes the game so seriously." But as Tomlinson grew older, his father was no longer there to watch games on television with him. When Tomlinson was about 9 years old, his parents divorced and his father moved out of the house. Over the course of several years, Tomlinson's father had infrequent contact with the family and eventually moved to Marlin, which is about 30 miles south of Waco. Due to extenuating circumstances, his father has never seen him play in a college football game. "I talk to my father every once in awhile," Tomlinson said. "I can't blame him for what happened. I still love him. Believe it or not, I learn more from him now than I did before. "Maybe one day he'll get the opportunity to see me play. I would love that." Tomlinson's mother was a pastor at Greater Life Gospel Church in Waco, and she leaned heavily on her two sons and daughter for help at the church, which has since closed down. "They were all a big help to me," she said. "He played a major role in the church. LaDainian just did whatever needed to be done. He was a deacon and he would lead prayer." Now Tomlinson is doing whatever needs to be done to counsel his 17-year-old brother, Lavar. Lavar is a senior at Dallas Samuell High School and is an impressive football player in his own right. Lavar is a 6-foot-2, 250-pound defensive tackle, who is being recruited by numerous colleges, including TCU. "During our bye-week I went to see him play in a high school football game for the first time," Tomlinson said. "He really impressed me. He had about two sacks and batted down some passes. It really meant a lot for me to be able to be there." "He's the biggest thing in my life next to my mother - as far as decisions go," Lavar said. "I'm glad that I was able to play a good game in front of him." Chappell said she hopes Lavar follows his older brother to TCU. "I just can't fathom that Lavar would go anywhere else," she said. "I hope he goes to TCU with all my heart. I can't imagine LaDainian being a senior at TCU and Lavar being a freshman somewhere else. I don't even want to think about that." Lavar said he has another potential motivation for signing with TCU than just being able to attend the same school as his brother. "I wouldn't mind getting the opportunity to tackle him," he said. "I kind of want to get him back for all the stuff he did when I was little." Fumbles vs. faith When Tomlinson pulled on his No. 5 jersey at TCU for the first time, he believed he was joining a program on the rise. But little did he know that he was joining a team that was destined for turmoil. "I felt TCU was an up-and-coming school," he said. "I knew with their running back situation, that I could play right away. But I had no idea that my freshman year was going to be that bad." Although Tomlinson rushed for 538 yards and six touchdowns that year, TCU lost all its games that season except for the season finale against Southern Methodist University. Along the way, Tomlinson suffered a couple of career lowlights. In the Horned Frogs' 31-10 loss to Brigham Young, Tomlinson lost a key fumble at the BYU 1-yard line when the game was tied 3-3. Replays appeared to show that he cleared the goal line, but it was too late. Momentum changed hands shortly thereafter and TCU had lost its seventh game of the season. The day after the game, then-head coach Pat Sullivan resigned. Three games later, Tomlinson suffered through two fumbles in a 24-17 loss to UTEP. "I felt so terrible," Tomlinson said. "I thought I was the worst ball-carrier ever, but I got through that season. I just hated walking around campus and people would ask me what was happening. It hurt so bad because I didn't have any answers for them." Tomlinson's sophomore season held much more promise. The addition of Franchione and a team scarred by losing culminated in a 7-5 season, including a Sun Bowl victory over 16-point favorite University of Southern California. But at the start of the season, Tomlinson was moved to fullback in an effort to help the team put its best athletes on the field. He played as the blocking back in Franchione's offense for two games, running for a pedestrian 50 yards on 18 carries. Needless to say, he wasn't happy with his new role. "He just hated it," his mother said. "He looked down all of the time, and I knew it was just killing him inside. It really broke my heart. I just told him that the coach knew what he was doing, and that he would do what was for the best of the team. I knew eventually he would move LaDainian back to tailback." Franchione did, and in the next game, Tomlinson rushed for 99 yards in an upset 35-34 victory over nationally ranked Air Force. He finished the season with 717 yards, eight touchdowns and earned second-team All-Western Athletic Conference honors.
In July, Tomlinson and former TCU basketball star Lee Nailon were arrested on charges of marijuana possession and evading arrest. The case was eventually dropped, but the situation left Tomlinson miffed at what he felt was biased coverage by the media. "I take being a role model seriously," Tomlinson said. "I thought it was really unfair how I was treated. Most of the people didn't know me and prejudged me. When I was cleared that didn't get as much press as when I got arrested. But I was mostly hurt for my mother and family. I've just had to learn from it and move on." "When LaDainian called me and told me he had been put in jail, I knew it was some sort of mistake," Chappell said. "Anybody who knows him, knows he is not that kind of person. I just wanted to know how he felt about being in jail. When he told me that they handcuffed him I almost cried." Tomlinson said his family and friends stood by him throughout the ordeal. "I instantly knew it was a mistake," Coleman said. "LaDainian comes from a great family and strong background. I think he was caught up with the wrong crowd. The LaDainian I know wouldn't be involved in something like that." Schultz agreed. "L.T. was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said. "I just told him he couldn't worry about what he can't control. He is such a good kid. Anytime there is something to be done in the community, L.T. is the first to volunteer. People who judged him, really didn't know him." Faith in the future With Tomlinson's rocky beginning firmly behind him, he is eager to get started on what appears to be a promising future. "It would really mean a lot to me to finish as TCU's all-time leading rusher," Tomlinson said. "That is something that really pushes me. I want to continue the legacy of great backs here." If Tomlinson averages just under 110 yards per game for the remainder of his career, he will surpass Tony Jeffery's career rushing record of 3,749 yards at the end of his senior year. But he has other records to consider at the moment, such as Kenneth Davis' 1984 single season rushing record of 1,611 yards. Davis believes Tomlinson has a good chance of breaking the mark this season. "I think he's a very strong, powerful back. He has as good a chance as any to set the standard," said Davis, who is currently head football coach at Dallas Bishop Dunne High School. "He looks like the person who will finally get my record. They say a good record should last 15 to 20 years, and this is the record's 15th year. "He's definitely a TCU great, but if he stays healthy, he could be one of the greatest collegiate rushers, period. If he breaks the record, I would love to be there." Assuming he lives up to Davis' lofty expectations, Tomlinson could possibly be considered for some of college football's most prestigious honors. The Heisman Trophy, perhaps? "It does cross my mind occasionally, but my mother is always bringing it up to me," Tomlinson said. "Oh yes, I want to see him stay a little longer so he can get another bowl ring," Chappell said. "And if he wins the Heisman, of course I want to be there." But like all successful underclassmen college athletes, the beck and call of the NFL looms at the end of this season should Tomlinson continue his torrid rushing pace. But Tomlinson said he isn't considering that option at the moment. "The NFL is a league that's going to be there," Tomlinson said. "After the season I'll make a decision. Right now I'm just concerned about working harder to get better and the Fresno State game." Chappell said she is opposed to her son making such a move at the end of the season. "I wish he wouldn't do that," she said. "I want him to finish out his senior year. He's only going to college once. Once it's behind him, it's behind him. And if he stays another year, he'll have an opportunity to win some awards." Tomlinson said the ultimate reward for his football skills would be the opportunity to provide financial support for his family. "I think about my family first," he said. "I want my family to not want for anything. I would like to make sure they have no worries. "I have faith that things will work out."
Joel Anderson
By Matt Welnack staff reporter In a time where lopsided victories mean a better ranking in the national polls, Division I college football teams are looking for more ways to blow out their opponents. One way is to schedule weaker teams such as a Division II team. Another way is to develop a high-powered offense capable of confusing and blowing out opposing defenses. Coach Dennis Franchione has developed such an offense that is versatile enough to easily change from week to week to adapt to different teams. Franchione started his multiple offense in 1992 when he arrived at the University of New Mexico along with offensive coordinator Dan Dodd. He compiled a 33-36 record at New Mexico, but he took a 3-8 team in his first year to a team that played in the 1997 Insight.com Bowl with an offense that averaged over 30 points over a five-year span. Franchione said his multiple formation offense forces opposing defenses to consider several factors. "What makes it unique is the fact that we have some option in our offense," Franchione said. "What we try to do is be very multiple in our formations and the types of things defenses have to defend." There are eight basic types of plays TCU will run during the course of a game, Dodd said. When TCU runs the ball, they will run the ball between the tackles, run draw plays or they will run the option play when attacking the outside.
Dashes are sprint out passes from the shotgun formation and play-action passes come when the quarterback fakes a hand-off to trick the defense. Franchione said he believes that teams that have success running the ball will be able to throw the ball well. However, he said, teams that do not run the ball well will have trouble being successful. Last season, TCU's bread-and-butter on offense was the option play. The Frogs, led by tailback Basil Mitchell, averaged almost 240 yards rushing, compared to only 97 yards passing. Franchione said he would like to see a more balanced attack from his offense. His goal is to have a 50-50 ratio of rushing and passing. But Franchione's record when his teams rush for over 240 yards in a game is 23-4, and the Frogs went 6-1 last season when reaching that mark. Another barometer to measure the success of the offense, other than points scored, are what Franchione calls "explosives." Explosive plays are running plays that gain more than 12 yards and passing plays that total more than 16 yards. When TCU gains yardage in big chunks with these plays the offense has a better chance to put the ball in the end zone, Franchione said. Even with an offense that is capable of scoring 30 points a game and causing havoc on the field, Franchione said the offense's goal is a simple one. "Our only goal is to score one more point than the other team," Franchione said.
Matt Welnack
Senior quarterback Patrick Batteaux's injured thumb is healed enough to play this weekend, head football coach Dennis Franchione said. Franchione said both Batteaux and freshman quarterback Casey Printers will probably get some playing time against Fresno State this weekend. He would not comment on how or when each quarterback would be used. Franchione jokingly told reporters that both quarterbacks would start, but he would not divulge which one would get the first snap. Batteaux tore a ligament in his thumb on his left hand three weeks ago which opened the door for Printers to start his first collegiate game in the 24-21 win over Arkansas State last weekend. Printers made an impact in his starting debut against the Indians. His 50-yard pass to senior receiver Mike Scarborough was the longest pass since Franchione has been at TCU. |
Tomlinson apprenticed behind current Green Bay Packer Basil
Mitchell for the first two years at TCU and played sparingly at running
back his junior year at University (Waco) High School.
But Tomlinson gained national headlines this summer not
for his football skills but for an off-field incident that landed him in
jail.
When quarterback Patrick Batteaux drops back to pass, he
has five options. Built into the offense are three-step quick passes, sprint
out passes, dashes, play-action passes and straight drop back passes.| The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |