Dolphins' Turner Looks to Improve

      Nashville's Patrick Turner is now in his second season with the Dolphins, and he's looking to step up his game.
       Look for a Celebrate Sports feature later this week about Turner and his high school coach, Goodpasture's David Martin.

Charles Trainor, Jr/Miami Dolphins

The 2010 Titans' Geographical Diversity

       From New York to LA, from Miami to Montana. From coast to coast and border to border. From Jamaica to Northern Europe to Southeast Asia.
No, this is not a promo for the USA or the UN. It’s the 2010 Titans roster. And it is indicative of the widespread popularity of football.

VY leaping (courtesy inewscatcher.com)

In all, approximately 38 states are represented among the hometowns’ and alma maters’ of the 2010 Titans players and coaches. Of the U.S. states not represented, nine of the 11 have minimal NFL representation overall, including New England states and several western states without major football traditions.
California is the most represented. Ten players or coaches hail from the Golden State. Florida is next with seven. Texas and North Carolina tie for third with six representatives. (Sounds like an election year, right?....)

Throw in Jamaica, Estonia and the Philippines for good measure. Jovan Haye was born in Jamaica, Michael Roos is from Estonia (he lived there until he was 10 years old) and Eugene Amano is one of only three NFL players all time born in the Philippines.

Pennsylvania and Georgia have four representatives each. Alabama has three. And don’t forget Tennessee, which has four- or is that 77? After all, the 61 players (53 plus practice squad) and 16 coaches call Nashville home as well.

The college with the most Titans is of course UT- the UT in Texas. Notable Longhorns who are now Titans are Vince Young, Bo Scaife, Armard Hall and Michael Griffin.

Can you name the nine Titans from California? Hint- five are players, four are coaches.

How about the Titans from the Sunshine State, Florida? All seven are players.
The Lone Star state fares well with the Titans. The franchise of course began in Houston, and owner Bud Adams lives there. Of the six Titans with Texas roots, five are native Texans- Colin Allred (Dallas), VY, Hall and Ryan Mouton (Houston) and Coach Steve McGinnis (Snyder).
North Carolina has a strong showing. Four of the six Carolina representatives are actually natives of the state, while two more played college ball at sizable Carolina schools. Steven Tulloch played at N.C. State (enrollment: 31,000), while CJ played at ECU in Greenville (enrollment: 27,500). In all, five Titans’ starters/regulars have NC connections- David Thornton (Goldsboro, UNC), Leroy Harris (Raleigh, NC State), William Hayes (High Point, Winston Salem State), Tulloch and CJ. Chris Hope is from a suburb of Charlotte, Rock Hill, which is technically in South Carolina, just 25 miles south of Charlotte.
The New York/New Jersey area is well represented. Chris Simms is from NYC suburb Ramapo, NJ, while Jason McCourtey is also from a Big Apple burb, Nyack NY. Brett Kern is from the other side of the Empire State, near Niagara Falls/Buffalo.
Kenny Britt is from New Bayonne, NJ, just 15 miles from Manhattan. Bayonne is a town just east of Newark, the largest city in New Jersey. Both Britt and McCourtey attended Rutgers, located in New Brunswick, NJ, about 40 miles from Manhattan. and Britt is Rutgers first-ever first-round NFL draft pick.

Okay, California. There are Titans from all three main regions of Cali- Norcal, Socal and San Diego. Lavelle Hawkins is from Stockton near San Francisco (Cal). SoCal has three players- David Ball (Fairfield, UCLA), Craig Stevens (port city San Pedro, Cal) and Alterraun Verner (Carson, UCLA). Eugene Amano is from San Diego (he moved to the U.S. shortly after his birth.) Robert Johnson is from LA.
Four coaches are Californians- Jeff Fisher (Woodland Hills), Chuck Cecil (Red Bluff, two hours from Sacramento), Marcus Robertson (Pasadena) and Richie Wessman (San Clemente, USC), the Quality Control/Offense coach.
Most of the main regions of Florida are represented on the Titans’ team, from north to south. Players from northern Florida are: Cortland Finnegan (Pensacola, Samford), Will Witherspoon (Panama City, Georgia) and Rusty Smith (Jacksonville, Florida Atlantic). Chris Johnson is from Orlando. And the Miami area hometown boys are Tulloch, Ken Amato (Montana State) and Jovan Haye (Vandy).
The Georgia reps are Gerald McRath (Powder Springs/Atlanta), Jared Cook (Suwanee/Atlanta), Will Witherspoon (college at Georgia) and Rennie Curran (Atlanta, then collge at Georgia).
Pennsylvania has four members of the team- Kerry Collins, Derrick Morgan and Tight Ends Coach John Zernhelt from Philly, and Mike Munchak from Scranton and Penn State.
Tennessee’s “official” reps are Tony Brown (Chattanooga, then Univ. of Memphis), Jacob Ford (Memphis) and Haye and Jaime Winborn from Vandy.
Michigan has Jason Jones (Detroit), Jason Babin (Kalamazoo) and Javon Ringer (Michigan State). Missouri boys are Justin Gage (Jefferson City, then Missouri), Coach Marty Galbraith (Joplin) and Eugene Amano (Southeast Missouri State).
The Alabama reps are David Stewart (Moulton, Miss. State), Sen’Derrick Marks (Mobile, Auburn) and Jaime Winborn (Wetumpka).
Ohio players (no pun intended) are Donnie Nickey (Plain City, then Ohio State), Javon Ringer (Dayton) and Brett Kern (University of Toledo).
Depending on who makes the final 61-man team, there are approximately 22 states with one representative. The few football-known states without reps on the Titans are Kansas, Minnesota and Nebraska. Last season’s roster with Kyle Vanden Bosch would have included Nebraska, where he played in college.

Just as in the rest of the NFL, the New England area is not very represented, including five of the six states there- Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, plus Delaware which is east of Maryland.
Massachusetts and Rhode Island are the two smaller northeast states that made the cut. O-Guard Ryan Durand is from Worcester, Mass. Assistant Head Coach and longtime strength coach Steve Waterson is a native of Newport, Rhode Island. The five northeast states not in the Titans’ fold have a combined population of 7.6 million, about 2.5% of the US population.
Other states not exactly known as football hotbeds are also not represented, including Nevada, South Dakota, New Mexico and Alaska. The three states not on the list are Kansas, Minnesota and West Virginia.
Those Alaskans are certainly a unique citizen. A certain writer once knew an Alaskan who for all intents and purposes seemed very normal yet had one major, glaring characteristic that stood out. This certain human had never seen a football game- not on TV, not in person, never.
Ahh, no wonder there are not many NFL players from the state. In fact, there are approximately nine NFL players all-time from Alaska, with seven from the modern era. According to records, none played college ball in their home state. The most notable Alaskan is regular ESPN NFL analyst Mark Schlereth, a 12-year player for the Redskins and Broncos. He played in college at Idaho.

Big John Henderson: A Closer Look

Big John. Big Hen. Or as his close Nashville friends call him, Joe.

He’s only one of the most accomplished football players in Tennessee history. An All-Pro NFL defensive tackle, John Henderson is now an Oakland Raider after eight seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

             Playing a position that does not get much attention- defensive tackle- Henderson has made a name for himself, especially in his home town and state, Nashville, Tennessee.

Big John loves football (courtesy of Oakland Raiders)

            “I just love this game,” said Henderson. “Some people think it’s about the money. It’s not that at all. I love football. When I stop loving the game, I’ll hang my cleats up.”

            Big John is certainly one of the most decorated football players ever from Tennessee. He is a workhorse, too. In his eight seasons, he has played in 124 of 128 games. He has missed only four games in his career.

            In college, he was an All-American and won the Outland Trophy his junior year. The Outland is presented to the nation’s top interior lineman. He helped lead the Vols to greatness during his four years there.

Henderson was an integral part of the Vols remarkable run from 1998 to 2001. Playing in the brutal SEC, the Volunteers were 41-9 overall during those four years. They won the National Championship in 1998, going 13-0. In Henderson’s senior year, they were 11-2.

Big John is married and has four children. His close friends describe him as kind-hearted. He’s a nice guy, very polite and well-spoken, and fun-loving as well. He’s widely known for his pregame ritual of having a team staff member slap his face to get him fired up for the game.

“The guy who used to do it, he had small hands,” said Hen. “There’s a lot of people in line for it now [with the Raiders], so I need to make sure I find the right person.”

In a recent interview, he shed some light on his personal habits as wel- he is a self-described “neat freak.” Some fellow players call him the Martha Stewart of football.

“I like things in order,” he said. “You gotta have a clean house.”

His close friends the Fitzgeralds in Nashville know “Joe” about as well as anyone. Maurice was his longtime football and hoops coach, and Maurice’s son Buck has been best friends with John since they were in middle school. Buck played at Tennessee with John.

The elder Fitzgerald, longtime head football coach at Pearl-Cohn and now AD at Smithson-Craighead Middle, is certainly proud of Henderson. Fitzgerald is  from Henderson’s days in the J.C. Napier Homes, at St. Pius Middle, then Pearl-Cohn and beyond. Back then and now, the Fitzgerald house was and is a gathering place for friends and family.

Fitzgerald also coached the championship AAU Music City Player teams, when Joe became known as “Baby Shaq,” dominating the national tournaments.

The public sees one side of Henderson, but Fitzgerald knows the complete story, describing Henderson as a “kind-hearted young man” who actually was shy and introverted as a youngster.

“His heart is here in Nashville,” said Maurice. “He’s a kind-hearted young man who is committed to helping his family and others. He’s helped out a lot at Pearl-Cohn and in Nashville during his pro career.” Henderson was just one of the guys back in the day.

“He was actually very shy and introverted when he was younger,” said Fitz. “I think he probably enjoyed high school more than college and the pro life, because it was simple, a simpler time. There’s always pressure and demands when you move up to the higher levels.”

John Henderson- from Nashville to the NFL

Photo courtesy of the Jacksonville Jaguars

John Henderson is an NFL star who grew up in Nashville. He's a nice guy- except when he gets on the field, when he has to be that brutal defensive lineman that offenses fear. He attended Pearl-Cohn and UT.

Nashville's Dobbins with the Dolphins

Nashville native Tim Dobbins has achieved remarkable success as a pro athlete. He is now in his fifth year in the NFL. After several years with the Chargers, he is currently vying for a starting spot with the Dolphins.

Dobbins attended Glencliff High and then junior college for two years before starring at Iowa State. He was All Big 12 at State.

Dobbins with the Chargers

Dobbins has made Nashville very proud.

More to come about Tim and his outstanding career.