NCCU's Peterson drafted in NFL's fifth round
t
Defensive end becomes
first Eagle drafted in
almost 20 years
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
North Carolina Central
University defensive lineman
h Greg Peterson was selected in
the fifth round (No.141), by
the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, of
. the 2007 NFL Draft. The
Criminal Justice major is the
first NCCU player selected
, since Robert Massey, who
? roamed the Eagles' secondary
from 1985-88, was the 46th
player taken in the i989 draft.
Peterson was not even
watching the television cover
age of the NFL Draft when he
became the school's first draft
pick in 18 years.
n Projected as a sixth or sev
enth round selection, Peterson
had just taken a shower and
was hanging out with his
grandmother, Betty Pickett, at
her home in Techey, N.C.
when his phone rang.
On the other end was
Tampa Bay Buccaneers head
coach Jon Gruden, who asked
Peterson what he promised
him when the two met earlier
this year. "I told him that 1
would lead the team in effort,"
. Peterson recalled.
Then Gruden said,
"Congratulations
After receiving more con
gratulatory wishes from the
1
NCCU photo
NCCU't Greg Peterson was drafted by Tampa Bay in the fifth round of the NF Draft.
Buccaneers defensive line
coach and defensive coordina
tor, Peterson spoke with some
reporters from the Tampa Bay
area who asked him about
being drafted from.a Division
II school.
"It doesn't matter where
you play," Peterson said. "1
gave everything I had on the
field and stayed out of trouble.
1 wasn't looking to get drafted.
1 just wanted a chance. Now I
have that chance."
Peterson then gave praise
to NCCU, where he earned
all-conference, all-region and
Black College All-America
honors and played on two
CIAA Championship teams.
"It was an honor to
play at North Carolina
Central, and I am thankful to
coach Broadway (former
NCCU head coach Rod
Broadway) and coach Yoshida
(former NCCU defensive
coordinator/defensive line
coach Clifford Yoshida). They
taught me a lot. They are a big
reason 1 am where I am
today."
A 6-5 , 286-pound native of
Beulaville. N.C., Peterson had
a monster 2006 season for
NCCU, ranking 13th in the
NCAA with 19.5 tackles for a
loss ( 1 .6 TFL per game), while
adding a team-high two fum
ble recoveries. Peterson uti
lized brute strength, solid
technique and distinct quick
ness to amass 7.5 sacks,
another team-high, from his
defensive tackle position in
the Eagles' 4-3 defensive
alignment.
During the 2006 season.
Peterson, a graduate of East
Duplin High School and trans
fer from Hinds Community
College in Raymond,
Mississippi, received a myriad
of conference, regional and
national awards.
He was voted All
Conference (Central
Intercollegiate Athletic
Association) First Team,
Daktronics NCAA Division II
All-Southeast Region Second
Team and SBN Sports Black
College All-America Team, as
NCCU finished its perfect
regular season en route to a
No. I seed in the Division II
playoffs.
With the aid of Peterson
dominating the interior line,
the Eagles were crowned
Sheridan Broadcasting
Network Black College
Foptball National Champions
for the first time in the 33-year
history of the poll.
Massey, who ranks third
on NCCU's all-time intercep
tions list, was drafted in the
second round by the New
Orleans Saints and was select
ed to the Pro Bowl in 1992.
As of the 145th pick in the
draft, Peterson is the lone
CIAA player taken.
Aggies
"from pa fie A 7
Bland. Bland, who broke
the school's single-season
scoring record as a sopho
more, was named the
department's Female
Athlete of the Year. Bland
led the conference in scor
ing and the Aggies to a sec
ond-place finish in the
ME AC.
The department's other
senior award went to base
ball player Charlie Gamble.
Gamble's season has not
' ended, but he is batting .397
with seven home runs and
47 RBI. He has 33 career
home runs, 183 career RBI
and 281 career hits, all
? school records.
The rookie awards from
the department went to
Charlie Gamble
women's basketball player
Ta'Wuana "Tweet" Cook
and former Glenn baseball
player C.J. Beatty. In
March, Cook became the
first N.C. A&T women's
basketball player to be
named MEAC Rookie of the
Year. Her year also included
a MEAC Player of the Week
recognition as a freshman
and second-team All-MEAC
honors. Cook also led the
MEAC in assists.
After a slow start, Beatty
has lived up to the hype he
had coming into Aggieland.
Beatty leads the MEAC in
home runs with nine and is
hitting an impressive .333
on the season. In less than a
month, he has increased his
batting average by 109
points.
Baseball and outdoor
men's and women's track
and field chose not to hand
out individual awards
because their respective
seasons are not over.
A&T's Rush impressed with his shooting all season
i
Photo by Caroline Fleischer
Here, McGriff winds up during a shot put attempt at the Appalachian State Invitational.
McGriff
perform effectively in
? December after months away
? from action. McGriff will still
admit that she's not where she
wants to be, but well on the
right path. After taking the
entire indoor season off.
McGriff has exploded back
onto the scene for North
Forsyth's track and field team
in the shot put and discus
throw in eight different meets.
During the annual city/ coun
ty track and field meet,
McGriff easily won both the
shot put and discus event.
TTiis past weekend,
McGriff also had a good out
ing at her conference meet.
She threw a distance of 35-6
in the shot put. She tossed the
discus 108-3 over the week
end, which was the furthest
she's thrown the discus since
the her injury. McGriff's best
discus distance was 125.8
feet.
"Last weekend let me
know that I'm on the right
track," McGriff said. "That let
me know that I can still get
there. I can get back to the
level I was once performing
on. My dad/ coach/ trainer,
has really helped me get
through this. He's pumped me
up from the start. He made
sure that I knew that I still had
it. I've had a great support
group through all of this."
Travis McGriff added:
"This has definitely been a
long process for all of us.
We're still paying the surgery
hills, the rehab bills and
aquatic rehabilitation. We've
got stacks of bills on the table.
Michaela has put in a Jpt of
work to get back to where she
needs to be. She's worked all
summer to get her legs strong.
She's almost where she needs
to be."
With only two meets
(regional and state meets)
remaining in her prep career.
McGriff hopes to improve
even more. She's set personal
goals that she's ready to reach
in her events. She said that
she's not even worried about
where she places. McGriff is
confident that if she reaches
her goals then that will take
care of itself.
"I just want to get back to
where I was," McGriff said.
"We only have two meets and
I want to make the best of
them. It's going to be compet
itive. I'm not worried about
placing because if I reach my
goals then that will take care
of itself."
McGriff to sign with App.
State
McGriff's top concern
was not being able to generate
enough interest from colleges
to earn an athletic scholarship
after the ACL tear last year.
McGriff had hopes of
gaining the interest of
Winston-Salem State
University before she was
injured, but never heard any
thing back after submitting
material.
"I tried to recruit Winston
Salem State, but I never heard
anything back from them,"
McGriff said. "I was worried
because I initially didn't
know if I had enough time to
get back to where I was to be
able to present myself to dif
ferent schools."
McGriff didn't realize that
she was already on
Appalachian State's athletic
radar, though. The university
wanted McGriff on what she's
already accomplished in shot
put and discus. On Friday.
McGriff will sign a national
letter of intent to attend ASU.
A signing ceremony will take
place at 4 p.m.
Wake
assistant
leaves
program
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
Wake Forest's Fred
Applin has accepted a posi
tion at the University of
Washington after serving as
the Demon Deacons' associ
ate head coach for the past
three seasons.
Applin will join the staff
of Tia
Jackson,
the for
m e r
Duke
assistant
who was
appoint
ed as the
Huskies'
new head
coach
earlier
this month
Applin
A 1985 graduate of Elon
and a native of Roseboro,
N.C., Applin was the associ
ate head coach under Mike
Petersen each of the past
three seasons.
"We're grateful for the
work Fred did while he was
here," said Petersen. "He cer
tainly did a great job of help
ing us with our recruiting
effort and was an important
part of our first staff we put
together. I'm just happy for
him that he has an opportuni
ty that he's excited about. I'm
sure he'll serve the
University of Washington
really well."
Applin also served as the
Deacons' recruiting coordina
tor. His first two recruiting
classes at Wake were ranked
No. 5 and No. 19 in the coun
try respectively.
In his first season at Wake
Forest, Applin helped the
Demon Deacons post their
first winning season in 14
years and reach the postsea
son WNIT.
"I am grateful for the
opportunity to have worked at
Wake Forest," said Applin. "I
enjoyed my time here with
Coach Petersen and the team.
I am excited about this oppor
tunity to join the women's
basketball program at the
University of Washington."
1
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