ChiefsPlanet - Chiefs Jerrell Powe's pluck pays off for Ole Miss

About a month ago, Ole Miss senior defensive tackle Jerrell Powe, dressed impeccably from head to toe, sat on a podium surrounded by reporters at the Southeastern Conference's preseason media days.

Cameras were focused on him from every angle. A dozen tape recorders sat inches from his mouth. Writers leaned forward to hear his every word.

He was funny. He was honest. He was observant. He was engaging. He was clear and concise.

And no matter what Powe did on the field last year, which was good enough to earn second-team All-SEC honors, or what he is projected to accomplish this season as preseason All-SEC first teamer, his appearance that day before the media mob was a personal victory.

"It's exciting to be here," he said. "I hope everyone reads this like they read all the bad stuff."

The start of the bad stuff came when Powe, one of the nation's top five defensive tackles as a senior in 2004 at Wayne County High in Waynesboro, Miss., was declared academically ineligible three times to enter Ole Miss. He was finally diagnosed with learning disabilities, including dyslexia.

And then his mother filed a suit (which she later dropped) to get him admitted to Ole Miss, with one court document quoting her as saying her child could not read ("She was quoted wrong," Powe said). Plus, once he was finally admitted, he had to pay his way and prove himself academically though he wasn't allowed to practice.

He was in terrible physical shape, a blubbery 383 pounds, when he finally was cleared to play for the Rebels in late July 2008.

Now, Powe is 70 pounds lighter and, at 315, is a first-round NFL prospect. He's a well-liked and respected team leader who often cooks for his teammates, a necessity he learned in a single-parent home from his working mother.

Look at Powe's past academic struggles and it's understandable that the NCAA would question his transcripts and test scores. But fast forward to the present and one can conclude that the NCAA couldn't judge Powe's drive to succeed.

"Anybody could have stopped after the first time or second time or third time when he couldn't get in school," Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt said of Powe "But this guy keeps going, keeps going. He has drive for excellence, whether in the classroom, on the football field and the weight room.

"Professors like him, his name never shows up on any lists (for missing class). He loves his teammates and his teammates love him. He's got a heart bigger than Vaught-Hemingway (Stadium)."

Powe felt like he didn't have an option to fail, especially after the media reports about his academic shortcomings.

"All the guys who said those (negative) things definitely motivated me," Powe said. "It was definitely disappointing to see my Momma continually quoted wrong in the paper. But after awhile, I understood the only way to erase all that is to be successful."

The first step was improving his grades. David Wells, Ole Miss' senior associate athletics director for compliance, said he'd never seen an athlete so determined to get into school. So he figured Powe would have a fighting chance to succeed.

"Jerrell has worked very hard to take advantage of the resources we've offered," Wells said. "He has shown a great deal of perseverance."

Especially in the weight room, since re-shaping his once-bloated body has been a work in progress. The 6-2 Powe played at about 350 pounds last season, finally getting back some of the athletic ability he displayed in high school and during a post-high school season in 2005 at Hargrave Military Academy.

Every time Powe gets the urge to go on an eating binge, all he needs to do is remember how miserable he had been with too many layers of flab.

"It was a terrible feeling," Powe said. "I couldn't fit in clothes. I had no energy. I ran barefoot because shoes hurt my feet."

He did something about his weight, but it wasn't easy. Ole Miss strength and conditioning coach Don Decker can testify to that.

"When we started working with Powe, you have this vision of where it could go, but you wonder if it can get there," said Decker, who entrusted Powe's body transformation to assistant strength coach Jason Wilfawn. "When you see a guy embrace it like Powe did and continue to rise to the challenge of every goal we set for him, to see him the way he handles conditioning now and to see him like the way he looks in front of a mirror, it's a priceless feeling.

"But Powe gets every ounce of the credit. We didn't run the sprints or run on the treadmill, or say no to the foods he wanted to eat at times. He did all that. It was his sweat, his sacrifice, his commitment."

Though Powe played in 12 games in 2008, he still wasn't close to game shape. It wasn't until late last season when Powe, who started 10 games and made 34 tackles including 12 for losses (tied for eighth in the SEC), began feeling like himself.

"The last couple of years were very hard, because losing all that weight was like rehabbing an injury," Powe said. "You know you can play better, but you have to take it one day at a time."

But everything has returned. His quick first step. His fast, strong hands to shed blockers. The speed to track down ball carriers (he has run down from behind Jesse Grandy and Devin Thomas, two of Ole Miss' fastest players).

If Powe stays healthy and plays as he expects -- "I feel like I'm working hard enough to be the best defensive linemen in the country," he said -- he should get showered with NFL dollars.

But in the meantime, he's going to enjoy every snap for the school he fought so hard to attend.

"Ten, 15, 20 years from now, it doesn't matter what Jerrell is doing," Nutt said. "This kid is going to be a great ambassador for this school. He loves Ole Miss."

POWE'S POWER

Name: Jerrell Powe

Personal: Age 23, hometown is Waynesboro, Miss., son of Shirley Powe

The essentials: Ole Miss senior defensive tackle, 6-2, 315 pounds after losing almost 70 pounds the last two seasons. Denied admission three times to Ole Miss, but now on track to graduate as a criminal justice major. Can apply with NCAA to get an additional year of eligibility restored if needed, but projected as a first-round NFL draft choice if he has an outstanding season.

On the field: Has played in 25 games in two years, started 10 games last season. Has 42 career tackles, including 15 1/2 for losses. Used as a fullback to block in Ole Miss' goalline offense, he got two carries last year for no yards. His goal this year is to score a touchdown.

Digging deeper: Loves to cook and does so for his teammates. Jambalaya and pasta salad are a couple of his specialties and he also likes to bake. "I learned to cook from my Mom," Powe said. "She was a single parent and we couldn't wait for her to get home so we could eat. So I cooked."

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