Courtesy Kennesaw State University
Justin Sumpter’s game has been shaped by two figures: Megatron and Goku.
Megatron is Calvin Johnson, of course. He attended the same high school as Sumpter (Sandy Creek, in Tyrone, Georgia). Johnson’s parents and Sumpter’s parents are neighbors. Every time Sumpter entered his high school weight room, he saw Johnson’s 11-plus-foot broad jump and other jaw-dropping records on the wall.
Goku is the main character of the Dragon Ball anime series, a hero with the power to go Super Saiyan on his opponents. When the chips are down, he hits them with the kamehameha, an energy blast that can level mountains.
It’s obvious why Sumpter looks up to Megatron. But why Goku?
“It’s about how Goku trains for a fight, how he carries himself, how he’s always looking out for everybody else,” said Sumpter, who is a huge anime fan, as you might have guessed.
“He’s always going 110 percent no matter what, and he’s a great guy. I just want to live that kind of life.”
So does Sumpter have a kamehameha of his own?
“It’s probably the one-handed catch. I had a couple of those throughout my career.”
Sumpter’s most famous one-handed catch against Liberty University went viral and was featured on an ESPN “You Got Mossed” segment.
“I had to turn my notifications off for a while after that,” Sumpter joked.
But most of Sumpter’s catches look like something out of Odell Beckham Jr.’s sizzle reel. That’s because he played in a wing-bone option offense (think Navy or Georgia Tech) where passing was rare and every reception was contested.
“We would line up with three receivers on the right and me on the left on 3rd-and-12; everybody knew the ball was coming my way. It was hard to deceive people.”
Megatron started a pipeline of receivers at Sandy Creek. Sumpter spent most of his prep career behind players who would go on to programs like Clemson and Auburn. So Sumpter became part of Kennesaw State’s first-ever recruiting class.
An Owls team consisting mostly of freshmen went 6-5 in its inaugural season. In Sumpter’s junior year, Kennesaw State won the Big South and played deep into the FCS playoffs, facing opponents that often send prospects to the NFL.
“Every game, they talked about how small we were,” Sumpter said. “But we were built for that. We have one of the biggest-hearted football teams in the country.”
Sumpter ended his college career with only 111 receptions, but he averaged 17.9 yards per catch and scored 21 touchdowns.
Sumpter knows he has a lot to learn to make it as an NFL receiver. He didn’t run a full route tree at Kennesaw State and faced mostly simple coverages as teams concentrated on the option running game. At the same time, Sumpter has become an alert, aggressive blocker, which can make him a valuable special teamer while he refines the rest of his game.
With a little refinement, the 6’3″ acrobatic Sumpter could become a receiver who goes Megatron once in a while on opposing cornerbacks. Or goes Super Saiyan on them. There’s really not much of a difference.
from Viral News Show http://bit.ly/2Vh6BLn
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