The Emperor of Emporia
Division II star Brian Shay becomes the college game's top alltime rusher
Posted: Wednesday October 28, 1998 03:33 PM
By B.J. Schecter
As a senior at Paola (Kans.) High, Brian Shay, then a 5'9"
180-pounder who ran the 40 in a leisurely 4.8, was told he was
too short, too small and too slow to play running back in
Division I. He signed with a Division II school in Kansas,
Emporia State—only to be told in the summer of 1995, just before
the start of his freshman season, that Bryant Brooks, a transfer
from Kansas State, had the inside track on being the starter.
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NFL scouts like Shay's potential. Bill Frakes |
Last Saturday, on a 75-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter
of Emporia State's 56-24 victory over Central Missouri, Shay
became the leading rusher in the history of college football.
With his 213 yards on 28 carries against the Mules, he increased
his career total to 6,428, surpassing Johnny Bailey's 6,320 for
Division II Texas A&I (now Texas A&M-Kingsville) from 1986 to
'89. In the four seasons since he beat out the competition to
become the Hornets' feature back, Shay has set 10 individual
Division II records, and all-division marks for all-purpose yards
(8,661) and career 200-yard games (15).
"I'm not a very vocal person," says Shay. "I just go about my
business. But when people doubt me, it motivates me. My life
story has been about people telling me I can't do things."
Since high school, Shay has put in countless hours developing his
body and his talents. He has added about 40 pounds of muscle to
his frame and shaved 0.4 from his 40 time. He now squats 700
pounds, and he is as explosive off the line of scrimmage as he is
strong.
In 1995, operating out of the run-and-shoot, Emporia State
attempted 623 passes, averaging 56.6 per game (both are Division
II single-season records) while Shay, a freshman, rushed for a
workmanlike 678 yards. The next year coach Manny Matsakis devised
what he calls the triple shoot, using a one-back set, an array of
passing plays and complex formations to keep defenses
off-balance. Shay's numbers improved immediately. As a sophomore
he ran for 2,103 yards on 342 carries, and last year he amassed
1,912 on 269. Over the last three seasons Shay has averaged 191.7
yards per game, the best three-year average in NCAA history.
Baltimore Ravens scout Ron Marciniak, who spends most of his time
on Division I-A campuses, calls Shay one of the best backs he's
seen this season. Says Matsakis, Shay's coach, "The question
shouldn't be whether he can play in the NFL, but for how long."
"People say I'm the perfect size for an NFL running back, which
is funny because four years ago I wasn't big enough to play
Division I," says Shay, who has been invited to play in the
Blue-Gray Classic and the Hula Bowl. "I've learned not to listen
to people who say I can't do things. If you have heart and
determination, anything is possible."
Issue date: November 2, 1998
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