Sunday, Sep. 25, 2011

DB Suggs thinks he's a receiver

Fuquay cornerback thinks passes are his

Fuquay-Varina junior cornerback Garrett Suggs thinks they are throwing to him.

Really, he does.

His aggressiveness in going for interceptions might get him in trouble occasionally, but he has intercepted a pass in each of the Bengals' games this season.

At least two of them were crucial.

Suggs leaped high for an interception in a 21-20 overtime victory against Clayton that stopped a late-game drive, and he recently stopped a Cary drive when Fuquay (4-1, 2-1 Tri-Nine Conference) held a 13-8 lead in an eventual 19-8 win.

"To be honest, any time I see the quarterback dropping back, I'm thinking that the pass is going to be thrown to me," Suggs said.

Fuquay coach Ryan Habich said Suggs, a big-time college prospect as a baseball centerfielder, is one of the best football players he has seen once the ball is in the air.

"He doesn't have 4.3 speed (in 40 yards), but he understands angles and how to use the sidelines," Habich said.

"And he really adjusts to the ball in the air. When the ball is in the air, he plays it like a centerfielder."

Last spring, veteran Fuquay baseball coach Milton Senter said he didn't know if he had seen an outfielder who could cover as much territory. Senter said Suggs gets a great jump on the ball and tracks down fly balls.

Suggs said he still is learning to control his aggressiveness in going for the ball on the gridiron.

"Against Cary, I saw a screen coming and I went for the pick instead of going for the tackle," he said.

"It turned out to be a big play because I didn't play the pass the way I should have."

He showed the ability to pick off passes last year as a sophomore, intercepting eight balls when injuries helped push him into the starting lineup.

It was unexpected success.

Wanted to try football

Suggs said he didn't know if he could excel in high school football, but he wanted to play. He grew up wanting to play football at Fuquay. He had been a quarterback and safety at Holly Ridge Middle and knew Evan McNeill was the Bengals' probable quarterback of the future.

Suggs said he was a little shocked by the speed and the intensity of play when he reported for Fuquay's practices when he was a freshman, but he was willing to play anywhere.

"It was a matter of seeing where he would help the team the most," said Habich, whose nickname for Suggs is "Slash," as in cornerback/safety/quarterback/receiver/kick returner.

Suggs is the Bengals' backup quarterback and regularly plays receiver. He caught a 16-yard touchdown pass against Cary to help keep Fuquay in the race for the league title.

The win was important for the Bengals, who heard most of last week about how good the Cary defense was. The Imps had allowed only two touchdowns in four games.

"The coaches and media were talking about Cary's defense," Suggs said. "We wanted to show we're pretty good on defense, too. We had problems against Middle Creek (in a 48-47 loss) but we had played well on defense in the other games."

Still improving

Suggs is typical of this year's young Bengals squad, Habich said. The program has won 11 or more games for each of the past five seasons. The key to continuing the streak, Habich said, is improvement.

"We're a young team and we are not where we need to be, but we've got players who realize that and are not afraid of getting better," Habich said. "They know they have to improve a great deal and they are working to do that."

Suggs often is reminded that he is not the world's most powerful tackler.

"My dad makes fun of the way I tackle," Suggs said.

"He calls me Deion Sanders because he thinks Deion never really hit people."

But if you throw it, Suggs thinks he is supposed to catch it.