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!

Hand Me My Clothes

It’s been a while.  Today I was confronted with a situation that would have normally set me off.  In my spirit, however, I felt the Lord saying, “Shhhh….it’s not even worth a response.”  I got stirred up in my spirit and thought about this Word.  Enjoy…

I Samuel 30

Anybody who knows me knows that I like to laugh, have fun, crack jokes, and I talk loud. Real loud! I was a freshman at FSU, the greatest University in the entire world -- but I digress. It was about 7:00 in the evening and I already had on my night gown. I had an 8:00 class so I always went to bed early. Got that from my mama.

Anyway, I was actin' a fool one night and I walked into my friend's room talkin' loud. Ya know... like I do. I didin't know that another young lady, we'll call her Natalie, was in my friend's room and she was on the phone. So when I burst into the room talkin' loud, Natalie, said, "B!@#*, don't you see I"m on the phone!"

Me: "Who you callin' a B!@#*"

Natalie: "I'm callin you a B!@#*!"

Me: "Ok, well, if you see a B!@#* then spit on her and I guarantee that B!@#* will whip yo a**!"

We had a heated argument for a few minutes. A small crowd had gathered outside the room and then we ended up in the hallway.

Finally, I said to Natalie. "You know what. I'm through talkin."

She kept runnin' her mouth.

I said, "Hey. I said I'm through talkin'."

She was still runnin' her mouth.

So I turned and started walking to my dorm room, went inside and closed the door. Natalie thought she had won and by that time some of the football players had made it to our floor so she really started showin' out then.

But little did she know, I did not walk away in acquiescence. I was on the other side of that door changing my clothes. I took off my gown and put on a tee shirt, some shorts and some tennis shoes. I wasn't about to fight in my night gown and give the football team a peep show. Natalie was just sellin' out. Talkin' bout what she was gonna do to me. But as soon as I walked out of my room, her eyes got big as quarters and she finally closed her mouth. I didn't have to say a word because my clothes did the talking.

I looked her dead in her face and my eyes told her that I didn't come to talk. The next exchange between the two of us was going to my fist knocking her teeth down her throat. She politely took her fanny back to her room. Um huh...I'm from Polk County. She wasn't crazy.

In I Samuel 30, King David essentially did the same thing. David and his men returned to Ziklag to find that their wives and their children had been taken by the Amalekites while they were off fighting with David. The men were hurt, angry and they were grieving. And the Bible says the men spake of stoning David because they were in so much pain.

Oh, but David didn't try to plead his cause to the men. He simply turned to Abiathar the priest and said, "Bring me the ephod."

Now, the ephod was a sacred linen garment worn by the high priests of Israel. On the ephod was among other things, a breastplate hung by golden chains and rings. The priest was adorned in this fashion to symbolize the presence of God with his people.

So in other words, David said, I don't have time to argue with y'all and I don't have time to explain nothing. BRING ME MY PRAYER CLOTHES!

I write to tell somebody this morning, that you don't have time to argue, fuss, cuss, or try to explain anything to anybody. Your response to any trouble, any situation, any struggle you may be having is to close your mouth to the people and put on your prayer clothes.

Get in the presence of God.

Inquire of the Lord, like David did, and ask God, "Lord, what should I do? Which way do I go? Do I hang in here with this job, this marriage, this ministry? Or do I go in another direction? Should I start looking for another job? In another city? The next time this trigga pack up and leave do I let him back in or do I move so he can't find me? Lord, what do I do?

I promise you, if you seek God, really seek Him, He will give you the answers that you need but you've got to adorn yourself with the spirit of prayer and you've got to get serious about your prayer life.

Put on your prayer clothes. Put on the breastplate of righteousness. Put on the helmet of salvation and pick up the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. Shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

Turn your plate down and fast like Big Mama used to do. I know it's not popular but fasting is a lost art that produces miraculous results when done properly.

You were a fighter in the world. You would slap somebody for looking at you wrong. So why would you get over in God and let the enemy take what's yours without giving that rascal a fight? Stop being so pitiful and recognize who you are in God. Just make sure that what ever you are tryng to hold on to is really yours. Some of y'all fightin' for stuff that don't belong to you and that's why you can't hang on to it but that's another teaching.

Get out of your flesh. Get over in the spirit and fight your enemies on a level that they can't win. When you do that. When you pray like David prayed and obey like David obeyed, God will give you the answer, the open door and the victory.

Til next time, may the Lord God bless you real good.