The Amazing Journey - Tennessee Titans' Eddie George

Football Digest, August, 2000 by Larry Mayer

Once headed down a road to nowhere, Eddie George has turned into one of the true titans of the league

WITHOUT A FORK IN THE road, Eddie George doubts his career path would have led to the Super Bowl. The superstar running back of the 1999 AFC champion Tennessee Titans says his decision to attend Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia was the turning point in his life. Had it not been for that experience, the 1996 first-round draft pick admits he might have spent his days dishing out fries at a burger joint rather than all-pro moves before throngs of adoring football fans.

"I wouldn't be in jail somewhere, but I don't think I would be as successful as I am," says George. "I'd probably be a manager at a fast-food restaurant or something. Not that that's a bad job, but that was just the reality of my situation."

George transferred to Fork Union after his sophomore year at Abington High School in his hometown of Philadelphia. "It instilled discipline in me," he says. "I think I lacked that at that particular time in my life. It was very crucial for me to leave and go to Fork Union because I was on a path headed to nowhere. So I had to really get focused and decide on what I wanted to do with my life. I was young, but time was starting to run out on me. I really had no ambitions of doing anything other than skipping school and playing street football."

Scoring a touchdown while avoiding curbs, potholes, and the neighbor's Oldsmobile is certainly a pleasant childhood memory. But George's maturity, drive, and determination helped him eventually achieve so much more than that as a football player. By the tender age of 26, George has earned a scholarship to Ohio State, won the Heisman Trophy, and made an improbable appearance on pro football's ultimate stage.

George helped lead the surprising Titans to Super Bowl 34, where Tennessee came up a yard short on the final play in a dramatic 23-16 loss to the St. Louis Rams. George rushed for 95 yards and two touchdowns in the defeat.

The Titans are looking to make a return trip in 2000 behind George, who is considered one of the NFL's top running backs after just four seasons. The 6'3", 240-pounder boasts a rare combination of power and speed. A punishing between-the-tackles runner, George wears down opposing defenses while being both remarkably productive and durable.

"The problem with him is he would sometimes rather run into you than run around you," says Miami Dolphins middle line-backer Zach Thomas.

"I don't like tackling him," adds New Orleans Saints cornerback Ashley Ambrose. "A guy like that gets into the secondary ... and look at me. I'm 180 pounds. I'm trying to bring that guy down by myself, and it's tough."

George already ranks second in franchise history with 5,365 rushing yards, trailing the great Earl Campbell (8,574 yards, 1978-84). Only five players in league history have rushed for more yards in their first four seasons: Eric Dickerson (6,968), Campbell (6,457), Terrell Davis (6,413), Emmitt Smith (5,699), and Barry Sanders (5,674).

"He's got the whole package," Dolphins as running back Thurman Thomas says of George. "He kind of reminds me of Eric Dickerson a little because he is big, strong, and powerful. He's one of the few backs coming up right now who's big and can make plays." Adds Jets linebacker Bryan Cox, "He's the premier big back in the game right now."

In 1999 George turned in the most dominant performance of his young career, rushing for 1,304 yards and a personal-best nine touchdowns. He also set career highs in receptions (47), yards receiving (458), receiving touchdowns (four), and total touchdowns (13), and his 199 rushing yards against the Oakland Raiders marked the league's highest single-game total in 1999. All of this earned George his third straight berth in the Pro Bowl.

"Eddie wants to go down as one of the great ones," says Titans fullback Lorenzo Neal, George's lead blocker, "and with the way he works, the things he does, I think he'll achieve all those goals: getting 1,500, 1,700, 2,000 yards in a season, where people say he's not just a great back but in the cream of the crop."

After being utilized primarily as a runner his first three seasons, George emerged as a complete back in 1999. He ranked second among AFC running backs in total yards from scrimmage with 1,730, the highest total of his NFL career. But numbers tell only part of the story. George's leadership and presence were just as pivotal as his gaudy rushing stats to the Titans' climb to the AFC title.

"Eddie's a great, powerful running back," says former Titans tackle Jon Runyan, who signed with the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason. "He's a great guy to be, around, another of the really quiet guys in the huddle. It's a great feeling to know you have someone back there, a Heisman Trophy winner who Knows how to do his job and does it very well."

George always has led by example, but his teammates say he became more vocal in 1999. The bruising yet elusive running back frequently delivered a pregame pep talk, and tackle Brad Hopkins told The Tennessean that his normally reserved teammate "has the ability to incite things in some people."