Chad Abrams? Until a few weeks ago, few football fans outside of West Central Florida had heard of the hard-hitting Safety from Lakeland's Kathleen High. What did the Noles see in Chad (no. 24 in the photo above)? We asked his coach, Irving Strickland.
"First of all, he's a great kid. And very smart. I knew he could be good, but didn't know just what to expect. His Sophomore year he started at Corner for us. But he got a high ankle sprain in the second game of the season, and he never really recovered from that. So after the season was over, he really dedicated himself to the weight room -- got stronger and bigger. Then he had a pretty good spring game (in 2008). And going into the Summer workouts, he didn't miss a day, and it showed. So going into the season, he knew the defense, he knew all the calls in the secondary, and everything there is to know back there. I said, let's put him in a position to make some plays. He played Free Safety the whole year, and he he just did a heck of a job for us, including being on every special team."
What does he do best?
"His best attribute is, he loves to come up and hit you. He isn't one of those guys who'll trash talk. He just loves to play the game."
What does he need to work on to get better?
"Just getting faster."
He only ran a 4.71 at the Nike camp? Can he run faster than that?
"I think it (his time at the Nike Camp time) was just nerves. He hadn't been running in the off season, because he was spending his time in the weight room getting bigger. He's benching over 275 now. Last year he couldn't power-clean 225. He's been stretching with the track team, but he dedicated himself to weights and he's on the weight lifting team. So he's put on 24 pounds of muscle (since last season)."
Is he a good student?
"I think he is. He knew every defensive call. And his job was to make sure everyone in the secondary was where they needed to be. So he's a very smart kid. He'll catch on (to playing the position at FSU)."
Talk about his recruiting by FSU.
"I didn't know 'til recently that Florida State was one of the schools he wanted to go to. I told Coach (Odell Haggins), he's very quiet. He's got a good family backing him. And he just loves football. You get some kids that are pure athletes. And then you get some that just love football. They don't care about their name in the paper. They just love to play the game. And that's what kind of kid Chad is. So Florida State got them a steal."
Compare him to Ahmad Black (Strickland coached Black, UF's starting Safety, as a high school sophomore, then coached against him when Black transferred to cross-town rival Lakeland High).
"Ahmad and Chad are very similar. And Ahmad Black was a tremendous player. He knew how to put himself in situations where he wouldn't get burnt. The difference is, at this point in high school, Chad is bigger than Ahmad is right now -- and a bigger hitter than Ahmad was in high school."
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