Bowling Green State University Athletics
Sanderson Making the Most of Opportunity
October 27, 2006 | Football
Oct. 27, 2006
By JACK CARLE, Sentinel Sports Editor - The chance to earn playing time right away attracted Jerett Sanderson to Bowling Green.
The freshman has taken full advantage of his opportunity and has started all eight of BG's games at free safety this season. He's preparing this week for the Falcons' contest at Temple Saturday. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. in Lincoln Financial Field.
"They (BG's coaching staff) said I would have a chance. I was hopeful ... I went with it," said Sanderson, 6-feet-0, 189 pounds.
A 2005 graduate of Long Branch (N.J.) High School, Sanderson did not have many scholarship offers, mainly due to a low SAT score. He attended Fort Union Military Academy last fall, playing football and getting his academics in order.
Although BG's coaches did not see Sanderson play in person, his athleticism and speed were evident on film.
"We got a film on him and watched him and he was a pretty good player," said BG head coach Gregg Brandon. "We went over and got to see him work out and really thought he would come in and have a chance to play early."
Sanderson enrolled at Bowling Green for the 2006 spring semester, working on academics in addition to getting a jump-start on his college football career.
"Just being here in January and through spring ball helped me learn," Sanderson said. "When I first came here I wasn't a safety, I was a corner. A couple of months went by and they needed another safety, so I told them I would like to learn both.
"When the year started I was already ready to play."
Dennis Springer, who coaches Bowling Green's defensive backs, said the winter workouts and spring football made the difference for Sanderson.
"That's helped him tremendously in learning what we want him to do and how we want him to do it," Springer said. "He's worked very hard at it and earned the right to be out there as a starter.
"We needed more help at safety than we did at corner. We moved him. He made the transition and has done a nice job for us," Springer added.
Springer also said Sanderson is a true student of the game, working hard in practice, studying tape and absorbing the scouting reports generated by the coaches.
"My biggest strength is that I know the game real well and I'm real good at listening and studying the game," Sanderson said. "I learned the defense real quick over the time I was here."
Sanderson is fifth on the team with 49 tackles, including 13 in the season opener against Wisconsin. He leads the Falcons with three interceptions with two coming against Florida International. Both interceptions against FIU were in the final three minutes of the game and helped him earn conference defensive player of the week honors.
"I was just reading the quarterback doing my job. I was in the right place at the right time," he said about the interceptions.
Sanderson has also returned a fumble for a touchdown. The score came against Florida International on a kickoff after teammate Loren Hargrove knocked the ball loose.
"That was real exciting, that was fun," Sanderson said about his first collegiate touchdown.
Sanderson is one of nine different Falcons to have made their first collegiate start on defense this fall, including five true freshmen. Four of the first-time freshmen starters have been in the secondary.
"Like our overall defense, he gets steadily better week in and week out," Springer said. "That's a tribute to how hard he's worked at it and how much it means to him."
"He will only get better as will that whole back end (secondary)," Brandon said. "That group really fires me up. Most of them should be redshirting, this time of year those guys should be preparing the offense, rather than preparing to stop an offense."
