Bargain shopping working for SRU
SLIPPERY ROCK — Talk about your bargain shopping.
Shamar Greene, Jaimire Dutrieuille and Cory Tucker — all mainstays on the Slippery Rock University football roster and ranking among the program's best ever at their respective positions — originally arrived on campus with no scholarship dollars.
Not a penny.
“No other Division II school recruited me,” senior right tackle Tucker said. “I had plenty of Division III offers, but I really wanted to play Division II football.”
Tucker barely weighed 240 pounds coming out of South Park High School. He stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 305 pounds now.
And he's one of eight finalists for the Gene Upshaw Award — presented to the best lineman in Division II — for the second consecutive season.
“We look for height and athleticism when we recruit linemen,” SRU coach George Mihalik said. “We're willing to wait on the guy to develop physically.
“Most programs want their linemen ready-made.”After red-shirting his freshman year, Tucker became a four-year starter at The Rock. Last Saturday marked his 47th consecutive start, by far the longest streak on the team.Tucker, Greene and Dutrieuille were all on scholarship by their sophomore seasons.Greene, a junior running back from West Mifflin, is No. 2 on The Rock's all-time rushing list with 3,689 yards. He is 244 yards away from breaking Stan Kennedy's SRU career rushing record with a full season to play.Despite missing two-plus games with injuries, Greene needs 122 yards Saturday at Shepherd (W.Va.) in the Division II quarterfinals to break LaMonte Coleman's single-season Rock record of 1,601 rushing yards. That record has stood since 1994.“I had other schools interested in me, but when I made the visit to Slippery Rock, I knew it's where I wanted to be,” Greene said. “The family feeling here is legit. I felt it when I stayed for the overnight visit.“This is where I wanted to be. And I want to get into athletic training and that program here is excellent.”Greene's 164 rushing yards Saturday marked his 20th career 100-yard rushing game at The Rock.“All you can ask for is a chance and I was treated no differently from the guys on scholarship when I first came here,” Greene said.That was by design.“We treat everyone the same. If you can play, you can play,” Mihalik said. “We put a lot of stock in what our upperclassmen tell us about prospective recruits, too.
“They're the ones who will have to share the locker room and practice with them every day. After a visit, the upperclassmen will tell us if a guy is a good fit here or not. As coaches, we value their opinion highly.”A senior slot receiver, Dutrieuille had 52 receptions last year and ranks third on SRU's career list with 162 receptions. His 19 receiving touchdowns are tied for third all-time at The Rock and he ranks seventh with 3,788 career all-purpose yards.A Woodland Hills graduate, Dutrieuille stands only 5-foot-8 and weighs 175 pounds.“I know I'm not the biggest, fastest or strongest guy on the field, but I have confidence in my abilities,” Dutrieuille said. “Playing at Woodland Hills, you're taught to have confidence in yourself.“I can't say I'm surprised at what I've been able to do here. Slippery Rock gave me a chance to prove myself here and I jumped on it.”Dutrieuille said the family atmosphere at The Rock led him to coming here.“I didn't know anybody when I first came here. The team made me feel like I was best friends with them for years,” Dutrieuille said.Now he's one of the upperclassmen making new prospective recruits feel the same way.“It's a cycle that way,” Mihalik said. “The players take ownership and pride in the program. They want to take care of it.“That's how we win.”
