Black College Sports Review 3SS
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Special To The Review
Jackson State quarterback Melvin
Pete Jr. is one of those non-descript
athletes who somehow manages to get
the job done.
Pete, a 6-foot, 165-pound redshirt
junior who is starting for the first time
this season, lacks outstandins size. He
doesn't possess a rocket-launcher for
an arm. He won't dazzle you with his
quickness. But through his patience
and heady play, he became Jackson
State's No. 1 signal caller during
preseason practice.
Entering preseason practice, Pete's
career stats read three attempts, zero
completions and one interception and
he was listed as the backup to
sophomore Shannon Boyd. But Pete
had his own ideas about who should be
No. 1.
When Pete arrived at Jackson State,
John McKenzie and Derek McCall
were battling to be the starting quarterback.
He waited and watched while
McKenzie won the job and went on to
set a Jackson State single-season
record for total offense, pass attempts,
completions and passing yardage.
"It was hard and discouraging,"
said Pete.
But Pete made the most of the situation.
Ever a student of the game, he
learned some of the more subtle
aspects of being a college quarterback
while watching McKenzie, and even
though he came out of spring practice
No. 2 on the depth chart, he knew he
was ready to take charge.
"I really didn't accept being a
backup," he said. "In spring practice,
we had the same hold system."
"I felt, if we got new coaches (Of
iciisivc v^ooruinaior Kaipn uisnop and
Quarterback Coach Ray Greene) and a
new system and I jumped on that
system and learned it as well as anyone
else, I could become No. 1. I never lost
confidence in my ability to play, even
though I hadn't played."
Pete's confidence was well founded.
Against Tennessee State, in just his second
collegiate start, he completed 24
of 43 attempts for 393 yards and four
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' "He threw quite a bit in high
school," said Greene, who is noted for
his knowledge of the passing game.
"You recruit talent. You can teach
anything you want, but if you can't
throw the ball ...."
Pete was a thrower and nothing else
when he played Provine High. Problem
was, the Rams were a running
team. The only time Pete played was in
obvious passing situations. Kenneth
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Pete dropping back to pass agains
by Mark Gail).
Breland, whonow plays defensive back
for Jackson State, was the starter.
"Our philosophy was to run the
ball," said Provine Coach Stanley
Blackmon. 44We didn't exploit his ,
talents."
Because his talents weren't exploited
at Provine, or in his first three years at
Jackson State, Pete is still learning the
ropes. It has shown on more than one
occasion, as tiis interception rate
reflects. He threw nine in a three-week
span.
Pete is still learning his receivers,
too. In some instances, that has cost
him. In one game tight end Victor Hall
noticed a certain coverage and signaled
it to Pete. However, Pete misread the
coverage and threw an interception,
thinking Hall was going to run his
regular route.
"It's like anything else you haven't
done for a while," said Pete. "You get
rusty."
J . ^
tiven at tnat, ureene, who came to
Jackson State from Alabama State,
where he was offensive coordinator
over the summer,, likes the quarterback's
development.
"He has a good feel for the game,"
said Greene. 'The main thing was
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Is patience i
^
t Mississippi Valley State: He doesn'
teaching him the system. He's still lear
ning. Each game is a new situation for
him. Like most young quarterbacks, he
wants to hold the ball too long.
4'You have to zero in on the guy you
want to go to and then be able to come
back to someone else if he's not open.
That's the thing that makes (Mississippi
Valley quarterback Willie) Totten so
tough.
"He's able to buy time and pick up
other people. Everything he's doing
now is the result of four weeks of practice
and getting ready for a game each
week."
Pete showed he is learning in one
game when he spotted Stacy Mobley, a
secondary receiver running free over
the middle, and hit him with a 43-yard
touchdown pass.
"He's not a great athlete," said
Greene. "He doesn't have a great arm.
But he's a comnetitrir T>?* ? 1:1?
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about him is he doesn't let things
bother him too much. If he throws an
interception, he comes right back
throwing. Even in adversity, he comes
back.
"I'm impressed with him. He
doesn't panic and throw the ball up for
grabs. He's on schedule, considering
the length of time he's played. He's a
said off
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t let mistakes get him down (photo
little bit better than I thought he would
be."
When Pete signed with Jackson
State in 1982, few eyebrows were raised.
It was written off as another case of
a coach's son getting a free ride.
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line coach.
But the fact that Grambling and
Tennessee State, a pair of schools that
know a good quarterback when they
see one, recruited him should have said
something about Pete's ability.
He was set to cast his lot with
Grambling when Jackson State
recruiter Bob Hughes showed up on
signing day. Because Pete wanted to be
close to his mother, he went with
Jackson State.
It's a decision he has not regretted,
but he has been through some tense
moments because he is a coach's son.
<i? -
i was a freshman," he said. "I'd
walk into a room and everyone would
get real quiet. That happened a couple
of times. But I didn't let that bother
me. I knew if I got the chance to play
and show what I could do, my teammates
would foDow me."
Roscoe Nance covers the SWAC for
The (Jackson, Miss.) Clarion-Ledger.