USD Football 1991

THE LITTLE TIME

PENNSYLVANIA'S LITTLE GUY SPEAKS UP!

Dennison's case it was the diligence and work ethic. That ethic was typified early that year. " It was the fifth game of the season and Doug broke off a nice run of about 6 or 8 yards, but then he busted his knee up," Baldwin remembered. "Everyone thought it was over, but Doug was determined to make it back." He did. and in fact was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent the following season. He played with the Cowboys from 1974 until 1979. Bruce Harper not only had to overcome the plight of the small college, but also the plight ofjust plain being small. " He was a great talent," reca lled Baldwin. "but he was only 5-foot-7." Harper was one of the most popular play- ers on the Kutztown campus. being a local boy, from Englewood, New Jersey, as well as having a magnetic personality, and appearing as the underdog, the little man in the land of the giants. Another reason he was so popular was his effectiveness, wh.ich often goes unnoticed in a small- sized smal I-college player (see Meggett, David; Towson State). Bruce was a part of at least seven school records between I974 and '76, including rushing yards in a season (1.1 32), rushing yards in a career (2. 169). TDs in a season (14). and TDs in a career (23). "We always suspected that no one would give him a chance." said Baldwin, " but knew he would make it if given a chance." Well, Harper did indeed make it, signing with the New York Jets in 1977 as a free agent. He became their kickoff and punt return specialist, even setting an NFL record for combined punt and kickoff return yardage in I978 (1.658 yards). Harper also became only the fifth player in NFL history to total 2,000 yards of total offe nse in a season twice in his career. He also became a dan- gerous third-down threat coming out of the backfield. However. injuries eventually slowed Harper. and in 1984 a knee inj ury fi nally ended his career. Harper is now retired and living in New Jersey, and is tak- ing it easy, after suffering a massive heart attack in late March. Pe rhaps the best of the three pros that Coach Baldwin had during his te nure at Kutztown was Andre Reed.

Reed was a quarterback in high school, but was moved to wide receiver. According to Coach Baldwin, there was never any doubt about what Andre Reed wanted to become. "From his freshman year. when he met with an assistant coach, he to ld hi m he wanted to play in the National Football League." Baldwin remembered that Andre was a dedicated athlete, who did every- thing from uphill and downhill sprints (Andre also worked excessively with the track and field coach), to weightl ifting (Baldwin desc ribes him as an avid weightlifter), to even going as far as j ug- gling, in order to improve his hand-eye coordination. "Andre was quite accomplished by the time he was a senior," stated Baldwin. In becoming an accomplished high draft pick of the Buffalo Bills-in fact, he was the only one of the three not to be signed as a free agent- Reed set as many as nine school records. He still holds the school records for yards in a game (154), yards in a career (2002), TD catches in a season (seven), and TD catches in a career (14). Reed has reached his goal of playing in the National Football League, and in fact is the star wide receiver of the AFC champi- on Buffalo Bills, a nd qua rte rback Jim Kelly's favorite target. But back to the original question: Why Kutztown University? Is it in the coaching? Baldwin nixes that idea. "Coaching has had very little to do with it," he modestly said. "But what we did give the kids was an opportunity. "The re was nothing unusual a bout Kutztown University. There were good kids with good character and a strong work ethic. If you're good, small school or not, the scouts will find you." Maybe there was something they didn't do? "Well," Baldwi n fi rm ly states, " We didn't pamper our athletes. We were a small school, and the players were no more special than anyone else.'' So there you have it. Kutztown University, a small school with a big (and getting bigger) NFL tradition. - JON COOPER

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Doug Dennison's liard work at Kutztown paid off with a job in Texas.

Okay, na me the o nly Pennsy lvania Conference school to have three players make the NFL. Need some help? How about this: they have had at least one player in the pros since 1974. and one of them even played in last year's Super Bowl. Give up? The answer: Kutztown University. Okay. so Notre Dame they're not. but for a small school. playing in the shadows of Pe nn State and Pittsburgh. Kutztown University certainly can hold its head up high as far as its list of alumni that have bee n or still are in the National Football League is concerned. Their three alumni to have made the pros are running backs Doug Dennison (Dallas Cowboys) and Bruce Harper (New York Jets), and wide recei ver Andre Reed (Buffalo Bills). But why Kutztown? What is the secret Is it something in the water Perhaps it's something in the coac hing. Geo rge Baldwin. now coaching semi-pro ball in England. was the head coach at Kutztown from 1973 to 1987. He coached all three players. Well. coach? "Whe n you come from a small school, you've got to have that something extra," Baldwin suggested. Doug Dennison was in his senior year when Baldwin started at K.U.. but it was obvious that that ·something· was there. In

TOUCHDOWN ILLUSTRATED