Oct. 10, 2007

By Willie T. Smith III, The Greenville News

Although he belongs to a family filled with basketball stars, the gene wasn't passed down to Furman University linebacker Gary Nelson.

Nelson's father was a top scorer in high school, and his aunt was PAC-10 Conference player of the year while playing for Southern Cal.

"Whenever we have family reunions or get-togethers, they start shooting and it's nothing but net," Nelson said. "Frankly I'm not that crazy about the sport because I (stink) at it."

Nelson is much more at home on the football field. A starter since midway through his freshman season, he has been a consistent contributor to the Paladins defense.

This year, his job has expanded. Nelson is one of the team captains, and Furman coach Bobby Lamb and his assistants expect him to be a leader.

It's a job he takes seriously.

"I'm not one of the best athletes on our team, but I think my work ethic is something other guys can follow," Nelson said. "In football, your effort can be the difference between a win and a loss. I think that has enabled me to earn the respect of my teammates where they look at me as a leader."

Leadership was tested this season after the Paladins lost three of their first four games, including a 45-20 defeat against Wofford College. The seniors called a meeting before the Coastal Carolina game, and Nelson was one of the featured speakers.

"We all weren't on the same page in that Wofford game," Nelson said. "We were playing hard, but we had a lot of assignment problems, a lot of misreads.

"We decided that the game plan wasn't completely understood by everybody. A lot of times guys, if they had a question for their coach, wouldn't ask it. Or if they had something to say, they wouldn't speak up. We had to make it known: If you have problems with a certain coverage, you have to let your coach know because that assignment could be the difference between a tackle in the backfield for a loss or a touchdown."

The seniors made their concerns known to Lamb, who Nelson said was receptive.

"He simplified the game plan a little bit and stuck to what we know best," Nelson said.

The Paladins defeated Coastal 27-17 and turned their attention quickly to Saturday's game at Southern Conference archrival The Citadel, which has changed from a run-oriented offense to one that uses as many as five wide receivers.

"Their new offense is something a lot of people haven't seen," Nelson said. "But I believe we're getting better at it. The secondary is shutting the pass down more and getting more interceptions. Our defensive ends, line and linebackers are getting more sacks. I think it's a challenge we can accept and a challenge with which we can succeed."