The football program at Ferris High School has been very fortunate when it comes to having positive role models and former players who made it big and returned home to serve as head coach.
For the last six years, that role model was former Hoboken High and University of Miami standout Wilbur Valdez, who has since moved on to become the new coach at Union City.
Now, the Ferris program is headed by someone who is one of the greatest football players to ever come out of Jersey City.
Rich Glover, who spent the last three years as the head coach of the now-defunct Dickinson football program, has moved over to take the reins at Ferris.
Glover, a graduate of Snyder in Jersey City, is a football legend. He went on to earn All-America status at the University of Nebraska, where he was a two-time Outland and Lombardi Trophy award winner as the top interior college football lineman in the country. He was drafted by and played for the New York Giants, then finished his career with the Philadelphia Eagles. More importantly, Glover is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
Glover has been pleased with the transition of going from Dickinson to Ferris.
“The kids have been very receptive,” Glover said. “They show up and work hard. They’re still learning the system. I just want them to compete for four quarters.”
Glover was really in a state of flux since the end of last football season. He didn’t know for sure whether the Jersey City Board of Education would pull the plug on the more than 100-year-old Dickinson program, which it eventually did.
Then, when Valdez left Ferris, there wasn’t an immediate hiring as a replacement. So Glover had to wait. So did the kids of Ferris. It really left the Ferris program in a lurch and forced some of the returning Ferris players to leave and go to other schools around the county.
Eventually, the Board of Education made a decision and gave Glover the job at Ferris after a long process that really didn’t serve anyone well.
“It’s been very difficult,” Glover said. “We would have been in better shape if I had been given the job sooner. We would have been working with the kids in the weight room earlier to get them ready. We would have had more time to learn and study. We’re still a major work in progress. I had to deal with getting a coaching staff late, and that was hard.”
Glover was asked to address the mass exodus of former Bulldog players that might have graced his roster this fall.
“I guess they basically had to look out for themselves, because they didn’t know what was happening,” Glover said. “It’s been one of the problems.”
So instead of inheriting a program that had been successful in recent years under Valdez, winning at least six games per season over the last five years, Glover takes over a program that in a lot of ways resembles the one he left in Dickinson.
“It was a little hard at first,” Glover said. “I had to get to know the kids and they had to get to know me. A lot of them never played football before. So they had to work harder and try to execute.”
Glover was asked if his new players knew about his storied past.
“I never asked them,” he said. “I’ve talked about my experiences a little.”
If the Ferris players didn’t know, they should take the time to Google Glover’s name and read about some of his extraordinary achievements. It’s pure inspiration.
“Maybe they can see what I’ve done and realize they might get an opportunity to be like that,” Glover said.
Leading the way for the Bulldogs is senior quarterback Emmanuel Thomas (5-11, 175), who has never played quarterback before.
“He’s still learning the position, but he’s getting there,” Glover said.
The running back duties are being shared by senior Zikim Williams (5-6, 160) and senior Shamoir Griffin (5-11, 200), who played last year for Glover at Dickinson.
“The strength of our team is at running back,” Glover said.
The wide receivers are a pair of cousins in senior Enrique Pryer (6-1, 185) and diminutive cousin Jermonte Pryer (5-7, 130).
The tight end is senior Sean Lee (6-3, 210). His twin brother, Scott (6-3, 290), is a starter at tackle. Both of the Lee twins are returning players from last year’s Ferris squad – but there aren’t many.
Another tight end is senior Ismael Rodriguez (6-1, 210).
The rest of the Ferris line has good size, including returning starter David Williams (6-0, 225), a junior guard. Junior Rayshawn Washington (6-0, 315) is at tackle, with senior Kasseim Outlaw (5-9, 260) at guard and junior Ariel Saenz (5-6, 200) at center.
Defensively, the Bulldogs will look for Rodriguez and junior Derek Hewitt (6-2, 210) to lead at defensive end, with Scott Lee at defensive tackle and Saenz at nose guard.
Another player who will see time on the nose is sophomore Todd Foster (5-9, 205).
Griffin, Sean Lee, and junior Darren Royster (5-8, 155) comprise the linebacker corps.
Jermonte Pryer is at one cornerback, along with sophomore Sykee Haskins (5-7, 145). Marquis Staggers, a 5-10, 170-pound junior is at strong safety, with Williams roaming the field at free safety.
It’s not going to be an easy go for Glover. He tried to rebuild one Jersey City public school program and the powers-that-be took it away. Now, he gets to head another one that was nothing short of chaotic after the sudden departure of the former head coach. You have to applaud Glover’s patience and persistence.
Things didn’t exactly go well in the season opener, as the Bulldogs dropped a hard 46-0 decision to a very good Lincoln squad last Saturday.
“That was an eye-opening experience, but we’ve put it in the past already,” Glover said. “It was a lesson for all of us. But we have to get ready for this week. Nutley will be another big challenge for us.”
It’s a challenge that Glover would like to tackle in the same fashion that he used to tackle Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas running backs. – Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.