There's no looking back for Texas Tech cornerback Wall
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By Dwain Price
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)
At a football camp in Lubbock a few years ago, Jamar Wall put on such an impressive performance that Texas Tech offered him a scholarship.
Right there on the spot.
Wall went into the camp as a hot-shot running back, but the Red Raiders were impressed by what he did as a cornerback.
"He was a big-time running back coming out of high school, and anybody who can rush for over 2,000 yards two years in a row is pretty awesome," Tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill said. "We saw him in summer camp and we told him to go play defensive back, and from the first second he was out there he was a natural.
"We offered him (a scholarship) the first time we saw him in camp."
As a junior at Plainview High School, Wall rushed for 2,024 yards on 308 carries and scored 28 touchdowns while earning first-team all-state honors.
During his senior season he led all Class 4A players in rushing (2,735 yards) and scoring (42 touchdowns).
So why isn't Wall running the ball for the Red Raiders?
"I don't know," he said. "I still kind of question that sometimes. Not as much now.
"I like my change of positions, and I think I'm doing pretty good at it. There's no telling what I could have done at running back, but it's too late now to change."
What McNeill likes about Wall is his competitive spirit, which often surfaced in practice the past three years during some one-on-one matchups between Wall and former Tech two-time All-America wide receiver Michael Crabtree.
"The thing that people probably don't realize is he and Crabtree, no matter what, every day in practice Crabtree wanted Jamar to guard him, and Jamar wanted to guard Crabtree," McNeill said. "They wanted to get some work against the best guy.
"So Jamar's always been a guy who accepted challenges."
Wall will be challenged again tonight at 7 when the Red Raiders (6-3, 3-2 in the Big 12) meet No. 17 Oklahoma State (7-2, 4-1) at Boone Pickens Stadium.
Perhaps the biggest compliment handed to Wall occurred when he worked out with ex-Tech standout and current New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker.
After the workout, Welker praised Wall for being better than some of the cornerbacks he went against in the NFL.
"That was coming into my freshman year," Wall said. "That was my first time really playing defense and the first person I was introduced to was Welker.
"To hear that coming from him, it definitely gave me a boost that I can definitely do the work and get better. This coming from a guy that's been in the NFL for years, then I could definitely try to guard some people in the college level."
Wall is disappointed that he won't have the chance tonight to cover Dez Bryant, the OSU wide receiver whom the NCAA ruled ineligible for the season.
But Tech receiver Alex Torres said he has benefited from Wall's ability to challenge people.
"I've really enjoyed and learned a lot from him," Torres said. "He's definitely a player that I've really admired and get inspiration from, because of what he's able to accomplish and how good an athlete he is."
That athleticism is what stood out when McNeill first saw Wall in action some four years ago.
"When we saw Jamar, we knew he could play any position," McNeill said. "But when you get a guy like that and you can put him on defense, it's just an added bonus."
While Wall, a 5-foot-10, 203-pound senior, could be locking horns with Crabtree in the NFL in the future, he wonders how different his college career would have turned out had he remained a running back.
"You always miss getting the ball and making big plays," Wall said. "But I can still (make big plays) on defense."
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(c) 2009, Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Visit the Star-Telegram on the World Wide Web at http://www.star-telegram.com.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
