The War Room | HoustonProFootball.com 
March 5, 2005
Troy Story
by Warren DeLuca
HoustonProFootball.com
When you hear about a top rush end prospect coming from an Alabama school, you probably assume that he’s from either the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Auburn Tigers, or maybe even the Alabama-Birmingham Blazers. This year’s dynamic edge rusher from “The Heart of Dixie,” though is Demarcus Ware of the Troy University Trojans.
Ware posted 10.5 sacks, 19 tackles for loss, 29 hurries, and four forced fumbles as he led Troy (formerly known as “Troy State”) to a bowl berth in 2004. Ware followed that up with a strong performance at the Senior Bowl practices and impressive showing at the scouting combine, where he measured in at 6’4”, 251 lbs. and blazed a 4.5 40-yard dash.
HoustonProFootball.com asked Mike Perrin of The Birmingham News to shed some light on the underexposed Ware.
HPF: How did Demarcus Ware slip past the Alabama’s two SEC powers (especially the one located in his hometown) when he was coming out of high school in Auburn and end up at Troy, which was entering its first season at the Division I-A level?
Perrin: Demarcus was overlooked, even by his hometown university, because he was a 190-pound defensive end coming out of high school. He’s up past 240 now and doesn’t seem to have lost any of his speed. Troy’s team – especially its defense – is built for speed, so Demarcus was a great recruit for the Trojans.
HPF: What are his strengths as a player? Weaknesses?
Perrin: Speed, speed, speed. Demarcus was one of the fastest players – not just fastest linemen – on the team this season. I’ve seen 40 times for him ranging from 4.51 to the high 4.6 range. He is incredible off the corner on the pass rush and has good instincts. Demarcus isn’t the strongest D-lineman you’ll ever see and he sometimes had trouble getting off blocks. In the pros, though, I don’t expect to see him in a three-point stance.
HPF: Some may question Ware’s ability to handle the jump from the Sun Belt Conference to the NFL. However, in the last two seasons he played against several teams from major conferences: Missouri, South Carolina, and LSU as a senior, and Kansas State, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Virginia as a junior. How did he perform overall in those games?
Perrin: Against LSU this season, Demarcus had just four tackles – but two were for losses. Against Missouri, in the game that sent the Tigers into a tailspin they never recovered from, he had four tackles – two for losses. In the season-opener against Marshall, Demarcus had eight solo tackles, 11 total, 4.5 for losses, three sacks, two forced fumbles, and two quarterback hurries.
As a sophomore, he had eight tackles against Arkansas, seven against Mississippi State, eight against Missouri, 13 against UAB, and five vs. Nebraska.
HPF: Ware played defensive end in Troy’s 4-3 defense, but how do you think he’d fit as an outside linebacker in the Texans’ 3-4 scheme?
Perrin: Troy moved Demarcus around freely on the defensive front. Part of their scheme was to try to keep the offensive line guessing where he was coming from and it was very successful. He was murder on backs trying to cut back against the grain, very good in pursuit. I don’t know that he would be able to step in early as a cover linebacker, but he’s very coachable and should adjust to the outside linebacker spot.
HPF: The Texans’ defense is known as being complex. Did the Trojan staff ask much of him from a mental aspect?
Perrin: Troy’s defensive coordinator Demarcus’ junior and senior year was Vic Koenning, who left after the season for Clemson. He came to Troy after being head coach at Wyoming. His defensive plans, again, built on speed, were fairly complex and Demarcus shouldn’t have any particular problems making the jump.
HPF: How would you describe his on-the-field demeanor? Does he play hard on every down or take plays off? Does he generally keep his emotions in check, or tend to lose control and draw unnecessary penalties?
Perrin: Troy’s offense has struggled the past few years and I’ve described its defense as a weapon. Nobody takes any plays off. I recall a couple of anticipation penalties, but no personal fouls on Demarcus. He’s got a great head on his shoulders. He plays with intensity, but I haven’t noticed him ever being out of control.
HPF: What kind of guy is he in the locker room and away from the game?
Perrin: Demarcus is a fairly typical small-town Southern guy. Yes sir, no sir. His teammates counted on him for leadership and he led mostly by example. As far as I know, he’s never had any off-the-field problems.
HPF: Have you heard about any NFL teams showing a particular interest in Ware?
Perrin: I haven’t heard of specific teams, but it has been predicted that he could be Troy’s highest draft choice ever. Osi Umenyiora was taken in the second round by the Giants in 2003.
HPF: What do you think of the pro potential of any of the rest of Troy’s seniors, such as RB DeWhitt Betterson, OG Junior Louissaint, OT Henry Tellis, and FS Derrick Ansley?
Perrin: Betterson is a hard-nosed, durable runner, but Ansley may have the most pro potential of these guys. He had a super junior season when his nine interceptions ranked fifth in the nation and he led the team in tackles (94). Teams avoided his area when possible this season and his numbers were down (five interceptions, eight pass break-ups, 66 tackles).
Mike Perrin has been with The Birmingham News for almost 20 years and spent the first 17 as an editor on the sports, then news, desks. He returned to sports and went into the field three years ago to cover Alabama’s 11 small colleges in all sports. He covers ten football programs, including teams in the Sun Belt Conference, the Ohio Valley Conference, the Southwestern Athletic Conference, and two at the Division II level. We thank him for graciously sharing his insights. 
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