Traveling with T-Sizzles
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Monday, December 9:
Terrell woke up tired and exhausted from his travels that landed him at Charlotte early Monday morning (1 a.m.). After an 8 a.m. wakeup call, he met with the other four finalists for breakfast in the hotel lobby. He also had breakfast with Steve Richardson of the Football Writers Association of American and was briefed on the full day of events ahead of him.
At 9:30 a.m. he participated in the High School Leadership forum where he talked to 100 kids from area high schools about various topics. The forum would have been attended by over 500 kids, but the massive power outages in the Carolina's canceled school for the Charlotte School District. Terrell spoke about his career goals, hard work and how he wants to be an actor. Being his normal self, he answered all the questions with a unique answer that definitely made him one of the standouts in the forum. Al Bernstein of ESPN, Trudy Lacy of the Charlotte Sting (WNBA) and Charles Chandler of the Charlotte Observer (newspaper) also participated in the forum.
After the forum Terrell spoke to Bernstein and joked around with the other five finalists. It is amazing how five football players can come together having never met each other and instantly hit it off as if they were best friends. They all seem to be having a great time and in conversations away from Terrell they all speak highly of his 22 sacks. David Pollack from Georgia, who is also a defensive end, is an awe of the 22 sacks, as he had 13 and he thought that was a lot.
After the forum, Terrell had a 45-minute breather where he spent time with his girlfriend Jamie. He then boarded a small bus to go to a VIP lunch at The Sunset Club in downtown Charlotte. Sitting at a table with the mayor of Charlotte, the meal was steak and chicken. He could barely eat his meal as he feasted on several bread rolls and a couple of glasses of Sprite. A favorite of the South, Sweet Tea, was passed over by the ASU contingent.
After the VIP lunch, the five finalists continued on with Charlotte Touchdown Club Members John Rocco and Dave Myers to the Presbyterian Hemby Children's Center where they visited sick children and signed autographs.
While the day was only half over, the festivities were just about to begin. He had another hour to get some rest and then signed footballs and helmets for 30 minutes with the other finalists for the silent auction. At 5 p.m. he dressed in his tuxedo and met for a press conference where he did a one-on-one interview with Tom Sorenson of the Charlotte Observer. The article ran in Tuesday's paper and can be found at www.charlotte.com.
After the media session he moved to the general reception to sign more autographs with E.J. Henderson (Maryland), Terance Newman (Kansas State), David Pollack (Georgia) and Shane Walton (Notre Dame). The five were also joined by Larry Coker, the head coach at the University of Miami.
From the reception they moved to the VIP reception were a huge ice sculpture of the Nagurski Award greeted them as they walked through the door. They took pictures will all of the big donors, shook hands and signed more autographs before the official reception started.
The award show took two hours from start to finish and was a great meal with steak and mahi fish. Terrell had his steak… and also ate Jamie's to keep up with his big appetite. Several speakers were introduced, followed by a great talk by master of ceremonies Bernstein. All five players were introduced with a highlight video. Terrell went fourth (by alphabetical order) and his video showed many of his sacks, including his 4.5 vs. the Washington Huskies, with the ASU fight song playing in the background. After Coker talked for 20 minutes, the Charlotte Touchdown Club presented awards to several top high school and local college players.
The moment of truth came when all five finalists were paraded on stage and lined up. A member of the FWAA congratulated all of them, then named the winners as the 2002 NCAA Sack King, Terrell Suggs. He was in shock, nervous and had that familiar smile that lit up the room. He thanked his coaches, the Nagurski Award committee and held the trophy high over his head.
After winning the award, he signed numerous autographs and did not leave the room for one hour. He did interviews by phone with Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic and Bob Moran of the East Valley Tribune. He also was the featured guest on ESPN Radio in Charlotte after the awards ceremony.
He finally made it to the end of the night and would not let the 50-pound trophy leave his sights. He was even worried about getting it back to Phoenix and was worried if his mother would ever let it leave her sights. He thanks the Nagurski contingent, including John Rocco for all of his hard and great work. The wake-up call would be early at 6 a.m., but he had a bounce in his step after winning the biggest award of his life. He woke up tired in the morning and went to bed that night as the 2002 National Defensive Player of the Year!