October 10th, 2001 12:00am
He’s not big. Supposedly he is 5’ 10” tall, but that’s probably a little typical media guide stretch. If, as listed, he does weigh 185 pounds, it’s a very compact 185. But these two measurements are irrelevant when you try to size up IUP tailback Aamir Dew.
The way you measure Dew is by his feet – not their size but their quickness.
Anyone who has ever seen Dew play comes away marveling at his ability as a broken-field runner. Dew may not win a 100-yard dash, but he easily dances his way around opponents staggered over a 30-40 yard span. When the going gets tough, IUP usually turns to Dew.
Last week, for example, facing a crucial third down and 10, a screen play to the left hit Dew about four yards over and to the left of the line of scrimmage. The next seven yards were littered with defenders. He was finally brought to the turf, but not before he made a drive-saving first down – a drive that would end up sealing the win for IUP.
Dew, like many quality skill-position athletes, was sought after when he was in high school. He first landed at the University of Pittsburgh. With the way things have gone for the Panthers lately, they probably would like to have him back.
But after a couple of injuries and the resulting loss of his starting role at Pittsburgh, Dew had to find a new place to play everyday. He needed to find it without sacrificing a year’s eligibility. The transfer 60 miles away to D2 IUP was a natural.
Dew recently became IUP’s second most productive career rusher. Although he will never reach the number-one spot held by All-American Michael Mann, his accomplishments are notable since until this season he has not been the featured runner. During his first two seasons at IUP Dew has shared the running duties with at least one other runner.
Although this season Dew also has not been IUP’s only runner, he has had more time in that role than in the previous two years. IUP’s coach, Frank Cignetti, repeatedly has stated that he wants “to put the ball in Dew’s hands as much as possible.”
At this point it might be easy to write off Dew’s efforts to a gross oversimplification. Why shouldn’t he do well? He’s a D-I player stuck playing against weaker D2 talent and defenses, or so some people might think - some people, but not Dew.
“All you hear is D-I, D-I. I fell into that trap. I only looked at D-I schools in high school, but I was blown away my first day in camp (at IUP)”, said Dew in describing what he found when he first confronted the Division II environment. “Guys were all over the field with speed and hitting hard,” Dew added.
Dew admitted there is a general impression that when someone moves from D-I to D2 that they should dominate. Dew disagreed. “Look around. Lots of guys who move from D-I don’t’ make it here (D2). They end up being a backup or sitting on the bench,” Dew noted.
“Division II suffers from lack of respect,” Dew suggested. “Everyone gets caught up in the D-I hype – all the money and stuff and bigger stadiums. They don’t realize the quality of play at this level,” he added. But if there is a bad impression the uninformed fan has about Division II, does this mean D2 teams can play even up with D-I units?
“Lots of D2 teams could play with the I-AA’s and the smaller D-I’s. The 1999 Northwest Missouri team could have played anyone in I-AA and been a winner,” Dew said. “Look at us. We played Youngstown State in 1999 and except for muffing the opening kickoff we dominated a team that eventually played for the I-AA title.”
Dew characterized the main difference between D-I and D2 teams in terms of linemen. Dew suggested D-I linemen generally are “bigger and faster” than their D2 equivalents. From an athletic talent standpoint, however, he disputed the notion that D2 linemen are inferior athletes.
An interesting comment made several times through our interview with Dew was the notion that major D-I teams don’t want to take a “chance” on smaller players, which Dew clearly suggested was a mistake.
“Some guys come out of high school and are far from reaching their peak. But bigger guys get the nod when it comes to recruiting by the D-I units. The D-I schools are looking for the “prototype” player and pass over those who don’t measure up physically.”
“Lots of the guys that come to D2 work harder than the guys in D-I – the guys who are bigger and faster. Over time, the D2 guys end up being just as good as the guys picked by D-I teams,” Dew suggested.
“We have guys here that could have played at the D-I level. Look at Mike (Borisenko – IUP middle linebacker). I know D-I teams recruited Mike but passed on him because he wasn’t big enough. But I have never played against or seen any linebacker better than him,” Dew argued. He was also quick to mention half a dozen current IUP players he feels also could have played at D-I schools.
So what’s the big difference between D-I and D2? According to Dew it’s “money”. “D-I schools have more money to distribute to more players. They have the bigger budgets and stadiums. Everyone thinks that what football is all about,” he said.
Although it was not stated clearly at any point in our interview, Dew clearly gave the impression that he has a lot of respect for his D2 competition.
Ask anyone within the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and you quickly will find they have a lot of respect for Dew also.
As for where he fits into IUP’s picture this year, Dew made it clear that he doesn’t “care about (personal) numbers. We gotta win. That’s what I’m here for.” “We haven’t played a good offensive game yet, but with the weapons we have, once we get things to click we will win big,” Dew suggested.
This weekend Dew will have a chance to help take IUP one step closer to the D2 playoffs when, after taking a major step toward the tournament with its 23-12 win over Bloomsburg, IUP visits Shippensburg at a venue that has always proven to be a tough place to get a win.
Of the three major games last weekend, only the IUP-Bloom game lived up to expectations.
And then there was the “surprise” North Dakota State loss to its archrival, North Dakota. North Dakota’s defense stymied NDSU, came away with a 19-7 win, and took a huge leap in the regional and national polls.
The Valdosta-Delta State contest was expected to be a high scoring, close contest. That thinking was only half right. The 70-12 Valdosta shellacking of Delta shocked nearly everyone and pushed Delta State down four notches in the NCAA South Region poll.
Another high scoring affair saw Grand Valley destroy both Ferris State and any hopes of anyone from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference unseating Grand Valley from the top of the GLIAC or the Northeast Region. From this point on, the only team that can knock GSVU from the top perch in the region is Grand Valley itself. It will have to give a game away to lose its region-topping slot.
And then there was the huge disappointment when UC Davis fell to St. Mary’s. Although St. Mary’s is a I-AA unit, it was not considered to be good enough to trip the Aggies, but as it did last year against Bloomsburg, Davis allowed a team to come back from nowhere to win. Bloomsburg defeated the Aggies last season with 29 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. The Aggies last week gave away a 21-0 lead and allowed St. Mary’s to tally 28 unanswered points through the second half. As strong as the Aggies look on paper, potential championship teams don’t blow commanding leads. Certainly some major introspection has to be part of the Aggie’s preparation for this weekend’s match up against Cal State-Northridge.
Although Northwest Missouri opened with a tough loss to Nebraska-Omaha, its rapidly maturing group of relatively unseasoned players is lifting Northwest’s playoff prospects. Those prospects could take a decided step forward with a win over Pittsburg State this weekend.
A week ago, Pittsburg State clearly would have been the favored team in this contest, but the loss of Pitt State’s starting tailback, Anthony Chatmon, now casts a shadow over Pitt State’s position.
The Pitt State Gorillas show what might appear to be a dominating point advantage over their competition this season, but this has to be taken in context. Huge initial wins over SW Assemblies of God and Bacone (Okla.) were hollow victories. The win over one of the weaker MIAA teams, Washburn, was nothing notable either. Last week the Gorillas did dispose of Emporia State relatively easily, but nothing so far suggests the Gorillas will merely show up and have the Bearcats run back home to Maryville with their tails between their legs.
Central Missouri has been raising a few MIAA eyebrows, but it still appears that the PSU-NWMS winner will be the 2001 MIAA champ. The loss of Chatmon’s services is not insurmountable, but it does complicate things for the Gorillas. Despite this, however, considering that this is PSU’s homecoming game and that a win greases PSU’s path to the tournament, we have to give the Gorillas a slight edge in this contest. Our confidence level, however, is very low.
But if there is a low-level of confidence anywhere in D2 this week it has to be in Fargo, North Dakota. Losing to North Dakota isn’t anything to be ashamed of, but the ineffectiveness of NDSU’s offense has to be disconcerting.
From what appeared to be a commanding playoff position the Bison now find themselves in a corner. NDSU gets a chance to rebuild its confidence when it visits Minnesota State-Mankato this weekend, but the fact remains the Bison have to wonder if they can win the “big” game. The North Dakota loss jeopardizes NDSU’s playoff position and could mean that NDSU has to beat Nebraska-Omaha November 3 in order to make the tournament.
“Close but no cigar” probably will not cut it in Fargo for many more seasons. Last season’s loss to Delta State in the semifinals was tough for NDSU fans to swallow, but losing to in-state rival North Dakota might be worse.
After all the preseason hope and hype, not making the playoffs would be a catastrophe.