Warriors' Ferguson has tackled adversity
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
Even at 19, University of Hawai'i football player Jason Ferguson has received a lot of ink.
He is a 5-foot-5 canvas of inspirational tattoos.
His initials are on his shoulders.
The name of his best friend is written in script on his lower back. They were supposed to hang out for a week in April. But a few days before Ferguson was to return to Los Angeles for spring break, Domonique Wade was killed — a victim of a bullet and life's wrong choices.
"Damn," Ferguson said of the memory. "Having to carry your best friend's casket is not an easy thing."
On the left side of his chest is "Allison" — his mother, Allison White.
"She's my heart," Ferguson said. "That's my ace right there. She's the only person who I can count on no matter how things go down."
White was there when Ferguson, a heavily recruited tailback/slotback, suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the spring of his junior year at Fairfax High in Los Angeles.
"When the doctor told him the ligament was torn and he wouldn't be able to play football for a long time, he just let out a cry," White recalled. "I still hear it in my dreams. He lives, breathes and sleeps football."
She assisted her son every limping step of his 11-month rehabilitation.
She gave him the book, "It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life," whose author, six-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, detailed his comeback from cancer. Today, Ferguson wears Armstrong's yellow "Live strong" wristbands.
She also helped send out highlight tapes of her son's junior season.
One ended up in the VCR of UH coach June Jones, who was willing to offer Ferguson a scholarship on the spot. It did not matter that Ferguson was on crutches and would miss his senior seasons of football, basketball and track. Or that he was Frodo-sized, at least by college football's measurements.
"If he were 6-4, he'd probably be at another school," Jones said. "Some teams might look at his size and shy away. Size has never been a problem with me. When I saw him on tape, I knew he was what we were looking for. He was a big-time running back on film."
Ferguson was offered a gray-shirt scholarship, meaning he would sit out the 2003 fall semester and enroll at UH in January. Jones also asked Ferguson to move to slotback full time.
"Usually, ex-running backs make great slotbacks," Jones said.
Ferguson sprained his ankle early in spring training camp, returning for the final three practices.
This training camp, Ferguson is injury free.
"He's very impressive," Jones said. "He has speed, quickness and he catches the ball and he's smart. He's got what it takes to be the perfect slot."
There's one hitch. Ferguson plays behind Chad Owens, the Warriors' best receiver.
"Sitting behind Chad isn't a bad thing," Ferguson said. "I'm learning a lot. I watch his every move. There's no way I can go wrong. If I'm going to sit behind anybody in the country, let it be Chad Owens. He knows the offense like the back of his hand."
Ferguson acknowledges he is a candidate to redshirt. Despite not playing football since the fall of 2001, Ferguson can redshirt this season and still have four remaining seasons of eligibility.
"I'm so hungry to play," Ferguson said. "I missed my senior year (at Fairfax) and I missed last year. Right now I'm starving for football. I don't really want to volunteer (to redshirt), but if the coach were to come to me and say, 'I want you to redshirt,' I would be perfectly fine. I'm a team player."
Defensive end Purcell has sprained left foot
Starting defensive left end Melila Purcell III was diagnosed with a sprain on the top part of his left foot, Jones said yesterday.
It was feared Purcell suffered a broken bone. But Jones said an X-ray and a magnetic resonance imaging, which uses magnetic fields to create a picture of the body's interior, "showed nothing."
Jones said he expects Purcell to miss the next five to seven days of practice. UH opens the season Sept. 4 against Florida Atlantic.
Ex-Warrior Smith now a student manager
Brian Smith, a former UH center who earned a tryout with the Green Bay Packers, has rejoined the Warriors as a student manager.
Smith will receive a scholarship.
The other student managers are Kurt Gouveia and Nick Rolovich.
Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8051.
