Academics Conquered by Forrest Conoly

By Forrest Conoly -- An article which discusses my client and my friend, Tamarick Vanover. It is originally printed in the FSU periodical Unconquered. GO NOLES!!!

I was sitting in the office of Dr. Jason Pappas Assistant Athletic Director at Florida State University for Student Athlete Academic Services minutes before the spring game was to begin and to my surprise he was not packing up his things and getting ready to go out to the stadium to watch the game and the players he spends so much time assisting.

“Hey, Jason,” I said, “are you ready to watch our Noles do their thing?

“Forrest I don’t know if I will be able to do that,” replied Pappas, who is the Director of Athletic Academic Support for FSU student-athletes.

As I observed him, I was moved by what I saw. The entire athletic facility was filled with former players and alumni. Excitement was in the air and Dr. Pappas was working on assisting athletes getting their academics together.

What bewildered me was that he was assisting former student-athletes – guys whose eligibility had expired years ago -- attain the necessary tools they needed to complete their degree requirements all these years after their playing days were over.

At that moment, I realized FSU has a program to help former student-athletes complete their degree years after they were no longer able to help FSU win and it made me proud once again to be a Nole knowing that FSU cares about its student-athletes long after their playing days are over.

I asked Jason what it takes for a former student-athlete to get back into school and he answered swiftly and without thought.

“A phone call,” he said.

“The program is willing to help everyone we can,” said Monk Bonasorte the Senior Associate Director of Athletics and a former All-American football player at Florida State.

In a perfect world FSU would like to offer every student-athlete who has not graduated the option to come back to complete their degree free of charge. But the funds are limited so FSU offers financial help only on a need basis. Assistance programs are in place as well as a welcoming environment for former student-athletes to get all of the necessary tools they need to re-establish themselves as students whether it is on campus or in an online program.

Dozens of former players have come back to complete their degrees, including some of my friends (Derrick Alexander, Terrell Buckley, Mario Edwards, William Floyd, Talmon Gardner, Sean Jackson, and Kendyl Pope).

When I walked out onto the field prior to the game I was greeted by one of my former teammates, Tamarick Vanover, who is currently back in school doing just what the guys mentioned above had done. Tamarick is working on his degree in sociology while serving as a student assistant for receivers and returners.

Now for those who may have forgotten, or who never knew, Tamarick’s freshman debut was probably the most celebrated among a number of great freshmen debuts. In 1992, when FSU was still in our infant stage of becoming a great program (You’re not great until you win a championship; good but not great.), we had a pretty good freshman class reporting. According to their high school accolades, there were a lot of incoming guys who could possibly help us win that elusive championship. The funny thing is there is always one freshman who makes the two-deep roster but they never really play a prominent role.

I guess Mr. Vanover did not know that.

I remember seeing this slim, athletic-looking dude from Leon High school. I remember reading about his high school exploits and how great he was going to be. I thought, ‘Hey, he is pretty good in practice. He has some speed. Maybe he will get some garbage time, make a few special teams’ tackles. And like all true freshmen who don’t redshirt, he’ll get some serious playing time in a year or two once he gets used to the rigors of big time college football. ‘

Boy was I wrong.

By the third game of the season I think everybody knew something was special about this kid Vanover. Early in the game against NC State Charlie Ward threw a beautiful 60-yard pass and at the end of it, in full stride, was not one of the many seasoned receivers we had at the time. At the end of this rainbow throw was that frosh Mr. Vanover. By game’s end the stat line read five receptions for 105 yards.

The following week against Wake Forest, with the score tied at seven, he returned a kick 96 yards for a touchdown. Final stats: eight receptions for 94 yards and one kickoff return for 96 yards. And for an encore, on the biggest stage of them all, he took the opening kickoff against Miami 94 yards for a touchdown.

After you lose a Deion Sanders to the NFL you think, ‘Wow, what a player’. After you lose a Terrell Buckley you think, ‘Man, lighting struck twice’. After you watched this freshman, Tamarick Vanover, you thought, ‘Wow, the football Gods must love Saint Bobby!’

Like many great players before him Mr. Vanover left school early to chase that dream of riches and an NFL career.

When his playing days were over and he had accomplished what most dream of, he said there was one void in his life. “I want to accomplish a goal I set in high school of earning my college degree as well as create more options for myself in the job market,” Tamarick said.

Although he cherished the time he competed on the professional level he would advise any underclassman considering the jump to consider the pro’s and the cons and get their degree first.

Along with working with the receivers and kick returners, Tamarick is pursuing his goal of being a sociologist. Tamarick said his love for people, and his interest in the study of the functionality of society, has made his academic transition a smooth one.

Tamarick said that the support that he receives daily from Coach Terrell Buckley, Coach Lawrence Dawsey and his dear friend Shay Alexander have made the metamorphosis from athlete to student an easy one. “Terrell Buckley spearheaded my coming back to school,” Vanover said. And between Buckley and Dawsey they have co-existed as that little voice in his ear providing him with the encouragement he needs to stick with it.

“Under the wings of Coach Fisher I’ve learned the true meaning of being a fearless leader,” Vanover said. “While I have been through adversity, which does not compare to what Coach Fisher is dealing with now, he continues to amaze me with the way he handles his business. He has shown me that he has my back and in return I want him to know that I will ALWAYS have his.”

As an FSU fan or player, you know that F.S.U. stands for Florida State University but what you need to know is that it also stands for Family State University. Programs like this prove that once you are in the family you are a part of a bond that cannot be broken.

Throughout the world of college football there have been many great players who have made their mark early in their college career and left early to pursue their dream and ultimate goal of playing in the NFL. Many of the players who made that jump have been extremely successful and had riches beyond imagination. But the common theme for a lot of those players is to fulfill the promise that most make to mom and dad and that is to graduate.

The question is how many players take the time to come back and complete that goal. Why should I come back if I have made all this money? Why should I take the time to gain something that I should have attained years ago? What difference will it make in my life? The answer to all of these questions simply put is PURPOSE!

The purpose we came to FSU is not only to be an athlete but to be a STUDENT-ATHLETE!