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ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 24, ISSUE 6 77 f "My ninth grade year, I played one varsity snap. Our backfield then we had three senior running backs and one other freshman that came in and one sophomore running back. So I got one snap on varsity. Then my 10 th grade year, I was a starting running back. I wasn't the fastest and I wasn't fully developed at the time, and then we had a lot of senior parents asking, 'Why is this kid starting over my kid?' So I ended up not starting anymore. Then my junior year, they just com- pletely turned me into a fullback. I had the most yards per carry. So I was trying to figure it out. I begged my coach. I was like, 'Coach, if I could get a shot ...' I felt like I was kind of being overlooked. Coming toward my senior year, my back was against the wall, and I really had nothing else I could do but give it my all. So I just went 100 percent so they had to play me. Once I turned it on, I just couldn't stop. It was something just driving me. I felt like I had to pack every- thing I had into that one year. Did it make it especially re- warding then with the season you had, more than 1,000 yards and that huge championship game with five TDs? "Yeah, it felt a lot better. Plus, it felt a lot better because nobody gave it to me. I came from nobody to somebody. Because at the begin- ning of the season, I had no looks, no colleges, no nothing." AUSTIN MCGEHEE, P/PK You're a pretty competitive guy. What drives you? "I breathe competition. Without competition, it's no fun, but es- pecially when you're not winning the competition. That's really the main thing I'm waiting for. It's not anything else. Starting school is hard for anybody; you hate going to class, all that stuff. But, hey, at least you can get up there and com- pete with everyone else, that's the main thing." I don't think the coaches are going to like hearing you say you don't like going to class"Ah, I don't mean it like that (laughter)." You're supposed to say you love going to class. "I love going to class. But you know what I mean, you just get out of high school and are back in class a month later, especially my last summer. What hap- pened?" What do you plan on studying? "Business. Business and marketing or finance. I like working with corporations, like dealing with mon- ey. I figure why not?" BRANDON ROBERTS, DB What position are you playing, corner or safety? Or do you know yet? "I don't know yet. They told me mostly corner, but JA'WHAUN BENTLEY, LB What do you think your strengths are? "My strengths are that I am a physical downhill line- backer. I play the game with a lot of passion. My off-the-field characteristics compared to on the field are literally night and day." I read that you set your high school team's record for bench press, doing 21 reps of 225, and also have the bench press max (380). Do you like lifting weights? "I like getting better and being the best at what I do. Those are just numbers that shows how much I put in to it. So I guess you can say yes." Where did you develop that strength and physi- cality? "In my younger days, I always played on teams with guys bigger than me and tougher than me because my weight didn't necessarily match my age. Those guys played smash-mouth football and that's all I know how to play now. It rubbed off on me." Brian Kapur Ja'Whaun Bentley (33) says he plays physi- cal, a characteristic the Boilers need out of the young linebacker.