I have never met Tommy Hicks but I LOVE HIM! I SO wanted this to be my Twitter status last night but Mammy talked me out of it. She tries to hold me back so I don't embarrass the little brother too bad. However, I would like to meet Mr.Hicks and just tell him in person how much I LOVE reading his articles..... :) This one was from this week!
Tommy Hicks - al.com
MOBILE, Alabama -- Like the other two players involved in the quarterback race at the start of fall camp, Trey Fetner hoped he would be the coaches' choice to lead the South Alabama offense this season.
Instead, suffering a concussion during fall camp and missing some practice time helped lead Fetner, a redshirt freshman from Woodland, to odd-man-out status when the decision was made as to who to go with at quarterback.
Virginia transfer and junior Ross Metheny and sophomore C.J. Bennett were given the chance to claim the starting job. The two players shared the role in a two-quarterback system until three weeks ago when the Jags' coaching staff ditched the two-headed system in favor of one guy at the spot, choosing Metheny.
Bennett has not played in the past two games, but Fetner has rejoined the mix, being used as in the Wildcat position on short yardage situations. That role started with the Troy game when Fetner scored a touchdown on his first college play -- a 3-yard run that pulled the Jags within three points of Troy's lead at the time at 10-7. It would be the Jags' only touchdown of the game.
Heading into Saturday game at Sun Belt Conference leader Louisiana-Monroe, Fetner has nine carries (all in the past three games) 24 yards and a touchdown. He also has an understanding, as well as an appreciation, for his new role in South Alabama's offense.
"I was real excited about this fall camp,'' Fetner, a 6-foot-0, 220-pounder, said. "I had a minor setback when I got injured, but I think it's best for the team that C.J. and Ross competed for the starting job because we have a really good quarterback right now in Ross and C.J. is a great backup.
"My role is to come in as a short-yardage guy. My coaches trust me enough to put me in there on third-and-1 or third-and-2 and sometimes on fourth-and-1, and that gives me a great feeling. I'm really blessed and I'm thankful for the opportunity they have given me.''
Head coach Joey Jones said Fetner not only fits his current role perfectly, but his attitude is one that also serves the team well.
"Trey, No. 1, is a great leader and probably has the best attitude of anyone on the football team,'' Jones said. "He's come in and really helped us on third-down situations. The good thing about him is he's able to run and throw. It's critical that you make first downs when it's third-and-2 and third-and-1 and he's brought a lot of that to the table.
"I think Trey has such a good attitude about life that he's tickled to death doing what he's doing. I'm sure he wants to be the starter, but bottom line is he wants to do what he can do to help the football team.''
In fact, that's exactly how Fetner feels about his contributions.
"I'm really thankful for the opportunity,'' he said. "I work extremely hard and I'm not ashamed to tell anyone that I work hard. I just feel like my time's coming and they trust me enough with those situations. That makes me feel good about myself.
"It's experience. You can't really prepare mentally for the speed of college. You just have to get in the mix and throw yourself out there. More than anything, it's just the experience of taking a live snap in a college game. I think it's helping me for the future.''
Fetner was a five-year letterman at Woodland. He earned two stars from Rivals.com as a prospect. As a senior he helped lead Woodland top a 9-3 record and the Class 2A state playoffs. he collected 2,800 yards of total offense and scored 35 touchdowns as a senior. He also earned six letters in baseball and four in basketball in helping both teams reach the state playoffs each season.
Regardless of what happens the rest of the season or his career, Fetner will always be able to say he scored a touchdown on his very first play as a college player. The memory of that play and that moment still lingers with him a few weeks later.
"It was such a blessing,'' Fetner said. "I was a little overwhelmed with excitement. I was just so thankful. I prayed about it for so long, to be a D1 quarterback, and my first snap, it was almost like a fairy tale to score on my first play.''
As he and the Jags' offense moves forward, Fetner said he sees good things with the team's switch from a two-quarterback system to having Metheny as the primary quarterback.
"We were trying the two-quarterback system and I just felt like our offense really wasn't consistent enough with that; no one could really catch a rhythm,'' he said. "Since we've got Ross in I think we've established more of a rhythm with him and we're comfortable with him. If C.J. was to be in there we'd be comfortable with him too. I think its really worked out well.
"My role is still in short yardage, but I'm preparing like I was the starter.''
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