Posted on Fri, Sep. 22, 2006email thisprint this
Harding senior receives reprieve
By Greg Jones
High school sports editor
As he watched the videotape of the 2005 sectional loss to Cass, Harding football coach Sherwood Haydock instantly knew his mistake. It was one that he had made the previous year and obviously hadn?t learned his lesson. But this time, he had the player returning who could rectify the situation.
Haydock would return quarterback DeAundre Muhammad to receiver for his senior season, a place where he could make plays and give the Hawks a speedy, dangerous option in Haydock?s wide-open offense.
?I had probably the best athlete on the field in Dre, and it didn?t make a difference because my type of offense isn?t option or anything like that,? Haydock said. ?We turned into power running team, and I realized after watching that tape that I didn?t have the opportunity to have a game-breaker on the outside.?
On that October night, the Hawks fell 15-8 to Cass, which went on to the semistate. It made Haydock remember what had happened in 2004 when all-state and Purdue-bound receiver Selwyn Lymon finished his senior season as a mediocre quarterback.
?The same thing happened the year before when I had Selwyn at quarterback against Heritage,? Haydock said. ?After looking back, I thought that there aren?t too many 2A kids who can guard Selwyn one-on-one or can guard Dre Muhammad one-on-one.
?To this day, I regret in Selwyn?s senior year that I didn?t just keep him at receiver, and to me, Dre is just a shorter version of Selwyn. I want to stay with that attitude.?
Haydock was determined not to let that happen to Muhammad, who is getting college interest from
Ohio State, Purdue, Indiana and Wisconsin. He figured out what his fellow SAC coaches knew when they named Muhammad All-SAC as an at-large selection.
Despite getting a lot of attention by opposing defenses,
the 6-foot, 175-pound Muhammad has 25 catches for 467 yards and three touchdowns.
At first, Haydock wanted to put Muhammad at running back, but freshman Roderick Smith emerged in that position over the summer and Muhammad was put back at receiver, a spot he occupied as a freshman, sophomore and early as a junior. That meant returning senior Devin Dominiguez would move from tight end to quarterback, a position he held at the start of his sophomore and junior seasons, only to be replaced by Lymon and Muhammad.
?I was already used to playing receiver, but coming back from quarterback, it was a big change,? Muhammad said. ?I wanted to play receiver, but I would do what was best for the team. Coming to receiver is what I really wanted to do. Coaches gave Dominguez a chance, and he has really stepped up.?
And Muhammad has learned a new perspective about offense after his 1,400-yard, 12-TD stint at quarterback last season.
?You see things as a receiver that a quarterback doesn?t see, so as a receiver you can understand why you are not getting the ball from a quarterback,? he said.
It was a viewpoint that was definitely needed, Haydock said.
?Until he played varsity quarterback and truly learned the passing system, I know sometimes he would be upset because ?I was open, why didn?t he hit me?? ? Haydock said. ?And almost taking it to the level that ?I wonder if he is not throwing to me on purpose.? When he became quarterback, he realized things are happening fast back here. He learned a lot of respect for the quarterback position.?
Having Muhammad as a weapon has also helped out Dominiguez, who has thrown for 838 yards and nine touchdowns for the Hawks (3-2).
?I kind of fell into taking the easy way out when Devin struggled the last two years by putting a better athlete back there,? Haydock said. ?I did some soul-searching and realized that I have a simple philosophy on offense, quarterbacks pass, running backs run and receivers catch. I started crossing paths the last couple of years when I shouldn?t have.?
It was a blessing for both Dominguez and Muhammad, who worked a lot on getting the timing down during a June mini-camp.
?(Muhammad) learned that a lot of times, you think you are open and then all of the sudden, you see you are not really open,? Dominguez said. ?Once you are back there, it is like you have to worry about a lot. You practice a lot, but then in the game, the defense may not do what you think, and then you have to make adjustments.?
Muhammad has played football since kindergarten, about as long as has been playing basketball. But he might be better known as a basketball player after being a starting guard on two Class 2A state runner-up teams the last two seasons.
But football appears to be his future.
?Growing up I always wanted to play basketball (in college), but as I got older the reality hit me that I am not as good as the other basketball players,? said Muhammad, who gave a lot of credit to his parents for his success.
Maybe to top-ranked Ohio State, which has showed the most interest in Muhammad and may offer a scholarship in the winter as an athlete.
?Ohio State shocked me with the interest that they have in me,? he said.
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