Warriors' Tolbert stands tall in face of adversity

Days before the 2015 season started, senior offensive lineman Terell Tolbert tore his right ACL during a non-contact drill. The season-ending injury ahead of a highly anticipated campaign was compounded for the physical lineman by the fact that this fall was to be hugely important to Tolbert’s college recruitment prospects. 

It was a tough time and one that teammates such as Jeremy Samuels helped him through.

During his rehab, though, Tolbert still was involved heavily with his team and has found other ways to help the program. A coach on the field when he was playing, the senior’s leadership was important this fall, and he was a staple in huddles on the sideline during games, lending advice where needed. Tolbert also helped with other tasks, such as setting up before practices and games.

“Just being there is important because before (the injury) happened, I was a leader on the team,” Tolbert said. “Just because I got hurt doesn’t give me a reason to shut myself away.”

So, although there is still a sense of disappointment in not being on the field for some of the signature wins the team registered this fall, that is trumped by pride in his teammates’ accomplishments.

“Of course, I wanted to be out there … but it was still awesome just to be able to see how far we went,” Tolbert said. “It was a testament to how great the team is — even with me not playing.”

Although recruiting is slower than it would have been otherwise, Tolbert is still drawing interest and has received offers from nearby Stetson and Warner University. His prospects may become even brighter as his rehab progresses. He just recently started running and squatting again.

“I was surprised because usually whenever (an injury) happens, a lot of schools like to stay away,” Tolbert said. 

That his words still carried weight was evident in the Warriors’ final game. At halftime of the state semifinals, when the team was reeling after a poor first half, Tolbert was among those who spoke up.

“Tolbert addressed the team at halftime. He’s very involved and he’s a great leader,” head coach Bob Head said.

Contact Steven Ryzewski at [email protected].