Article published November 26, 2009
Rogers' Tucker is Blade's player of year
Quarterback got it done running, passing
Rogers senior quarterback E.J. Tucker, who has made a verbal commitment to play at the University of Toledo,
led the City League in scoring, rushing and was second in passing. The Rams finished 9-2.
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THE BLADE/ANDY MORRISON
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By MARK MONROE
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
Trailing with just minutes left in the opening game, the fate of quarterback E.J. Tucker and the Rogers football season rested squarely on the gifted senior's shoulders.
Anthony Wayne had taken a 28-24 lead with 2:46 left. Tucker, captain and dual threat attack specialist, did not panic. He instead huddled his teammates around him on the sideline.
"I gathered around the offensive line and told them if they did their job I would get the job done," Tucker said. "I backed up my word and we went down and scored. That first game is always big. You want to get off to a great start. Anthony Wayne has a good team and it was a huge win."
An early loss would have done severe damage to the Rams' hopes of qualifying for the playoffs because of a weak City League schedule. Instead it took Tucker just three plays to drive for the winning score.
Tucker capped it with a 15-yard touchdown run and converted the two-point attempt with another run for a thrilling 32-28 win that propelled the Rams to a 9-1 regular-season record and a playoff berth.
For his leadership attributes and his nifty athletic prowess, Tucker has been named the Blade's player of the year.Tucker, whose full name is Erinn James Tucker Jr., was also the City League player of the year after leading the league in scoring (168 points). The 6-3, 207-pound QB also led the CL in rushing with 1,118 yards, and was second in passing (1,193 yards, 12 TDs).
Including one playoff game, Tucker threw for 1,372 yards and 13 touchdowns, completing 57 percent of his passes. He rushed for 1,158 yards and 25 TDs.
Tucker set 19 school records including 272 points for his career. He has committed to play at the University of Toledo after also receiving interest from Cincinnati and Michigan State.
"It means a whole lot," Tucker said of the Blade honor. "As far as individual awards, you want to be noticed as one of the best players. Blade player of the year is the top honor. Coming into high school your first goal is to win state. But being considered one of the best players in the area is pretty good."
Rogers coach Rick Rios said Tucker has been the team's inspirational leader since he took over as a starter as a sophomore.
"His best attribute may be his leadership," Rios said. "His was a captain candidate as a sophomore."
Tucker earned the honor as a junior and has led on and off the field.
"He is a very vocal guy," Rios said. "And it's positive stuff. He gets guys to rally around him. Against Anthony Wayne, they took the lead late. I went over to talk to the offense and he had already rounded them up. I heard him say, 'You guys just give me some time and we'll go down and win the football game.'
"I thought the way we started the season was huge because it was such a tough game. The last few years E.J. has been the guy that has gotten us over the hump."
Rios said he knew Tucker would "be a player" the first time he stepped on to the field as a freshman.
"It's such a great honor to be the Blade player of the year because of all the great players there are in northwest Ohio," Rios said. "It pays tribute to the time he put in going in to the season."
| E.J. Tucker |
Career statistics
RUSHING
Year Att Yards TDs
2006 20 101 2
2007 50 269 1
2008 186 987 10
2009 193 1,158 25
Totals 449 2,515 38
PASSING
Year Comp Att Yards TDs
2006 8 13 83 1
2007 7 17 80 2
2008 81 148 853 9
2009 95 167 1,372 13
Totals 191 345 2,388 25 |
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Whitmer coach Joe Palka said Tucker is the rare type of player that can win games all on his own.
"He is big, physical, and combines running and passing equally well," Palka said. "What impresses me the most is his leadership and toughness. He has the tools to make an immediate impact next year at the Division I level."
Against AW, Tucker accounted for 278 yards of total offense and three touchdowns. He also converted all four two-point conversions that ended up being the difference. Tucker said the comeback victory gave the team confidence going into a showdown with defending Division II state champion Southview.
On Sept. 4, Tucker sparked the Rams to a convincing 30-14 win over the Cougars.
"Our first goal was to get in the playoffs," Tucker said. "Those games were big."
During a first-round playoff loss to Maple Heights, Tucker scored two touchdowns and threw for another.
Tucker said hard work over the summer on his own, with his teammates and his coach led to a dream senior season.
"The main thing I wanted to do was become a better passer," Tucker said. "Coach Rios and I went out and worked. But I did it on my own too. I was a better runner than passer last year. This year I got better as a passer and that helped my running. Overall, my accuracy was better and I did better reading coverages. I got better at a lot of things."
He said last year teams would put eight players in the box to stop the run.
"This year they had to put a guy back to respect the passing game," he said.
Rios said Tucker developed confidence in throwing the ball.
"That opened things up for him running the ball," Rios said. "He threw the ball around a lot in the offseason. It wasn't so much his form. It was just getting in good reps. He worked on plays with his receivers. You could tell there was a big difference."
Tucker credited his coaches, too.
"They stayed on me to keep working hard. They did all they could for me and I did all I could for them on the field," he said.
Rios said the biggest improvement was his accuracy.
"He will continue to work on that to play quarterback at the next level," Rios said.
Rios also said Tucker fits the Rockets' system.
"It's similar to what we do," Rios said. "He has a chance to be awfully good in the MAC. But it might be in his best interest to redshirt and get a year in their system."
Tucker has been timed at about 4.7 seconds in the 40-yard dash. But Rios said Tucker has "good football speed." As a
junior, Tucker rushed for 987 yards and threw for 853.
"He has great instincts and good vision," Rios said. "He carries his pads well. He is a big strong kid. In the open field he runs through tackles."
Rios also had Tucker at safety as a sophomore and junior.
"He was a two-way starter. But he was so valuable to his offense we did not want him to take a beating on defense," Rios said. "He was too much of a focal point."
Tucker said the role as a field general has always come naturally to him.
"I usually speak my mind," Tucker said. "The main thing is I want to be positive. I won't yell at them. I just try to be a positive leader. If they mess up I pat them on the back. That helps your team more."
"I'm pretty happy with my high school career. I had a lot of guys who helped out me out over the years," Tucker said.
Tucker said former Rams teammate and future UT teammate Isaiah Ballard helped his development. But he agreed that he still has a lot of work to do, saying its a big jump from high school to the college level. He said playing QB allows him to show off his skills as a runner and passer. He also said he likes that UT runs the spread offense.
"It's an offense that gives defenses fits," he said. "I get to play quarterback. That's my favorite position. I hope to make an impact. My main goal was to go college and play quarterback. All my life I've been playing quarterback."
Contact Mark Monroe at:
mmonroe@theblade.com
or 419-724-6354.
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