Formations of a different kind

By Nathan Summers, The Daily Reflector

Sunday, August 28, 2005

A lot of football players have marched in formation on the grounds of Georgia Military College, as have countless others from various places and of various interests.

Aundrae Allison might have been one of the precious few in school history to make that march with a smile on his face, at least maybe a few times. Like many of his fellow cadets, Allison spent his days in Milledgeville, Ga., in uniform from early morning until it was time to change into football gear. Then it was right back into uniform until lights out that night.

As impressive as East Carolina's transfer wide receiver has been since he arrived for spring practice last April, what's even better is Allison's take on his time at Georgia Military, a two-year experience he considers an enlightenment, albeit one in a very tough environment.

"It helped me become a better person," said Allison, a junior communications major at ECU, of his two years in Georgia. "I got a chance to really discover myself at Georgia Military. When I got here, I could really appreciate everything I have. In high school I took a lot of things for granted just because I had athletic ability, so I was lazy in my books and wasn't focused like I should have been."

The early-morning formations in Georgia didn't bother Allison any more than the formations first-year ECU coach Skip Holtz threw at him last spring. Instead, they helped.

Allison's take on wearing a uniform every day perhaps sums up his military school experience best: "Everybody looks just like you," he said.

Being one of the pack has helped Allison transform into a better team player, and a stronger individual, he said.

As he turned a front-somersault into the end zone to celebrate a touchdown in the Pirates' spring game, Allison also marked the beginning of a strong surge to the top of the Pirates' receiving crew, but one tempered by equal parts maturity and humility.

In all, nothing has wiped the smile off his face.

"He's such an upbeat, positive young man," Holtz said of Allison, a Kannapolis native who once scored touchdowns on a punt return, a kickoff return and a pass reception in a single game while at A.L. Brown High School. "He's fun to be around and he's always smiling. You need that when things get all serious around here."

But Allison knows how to get serious, too. ECU wide receivers coach Donnie Kirkpatrick said Allison's dedication in the Murphy Center weight room this summer has already improved him as a receiver and has noticeably changed his body for the better.

After a team scrimmage Friday, Allison's position coach coaxed that smile out of his receiver by telling him he wished Allison ran as fast as he talked. But Allison is plenty fast enough, and Kirkpatrick surely knows it.

"He's the type of kid that you can get on, but you can't get mad at him," said Kirkpatrick, former wide receivers coach at Western Carolina and head coach at Tennessee-Chattanooga. "There is no way to actually be mad at a guy like him because his personality just comes right out."

Kirkpatrick said Allison came to ECU already armed with "all the things that you need in life and all the things you need in football," and said he's convinced Allison, a former Junior College All-American, is more athletically gifted than he even realizes.

Allison grew up idolizing Isiah Thomas and Magic Johnson, watching his older brothers play against North Carolina natives Bobby Jackson (Salisbury) and Jerry Stackhouse (Kinston) in high school ball, and dreaming of making it as a basketball player himself.

He didn't play football until his junior year at A.L. Brown.

"I come from a basketball family, so I played four years of varsity basketball in high school," said Allison, who said he was raised watching hoops with his father. "I grew up with good North Carolina basketball. Basically, I was going to play football my junior year to get stronger for basketball. I had a decent year my junior year and I made it to the Shrine Bowl my senior year (after making 50 catches for 1,101 yards and 9 TDs)."

That quick success caused the unexpected turn for Allison from the floor to the turf. Allison attended community college in Coffeyville, Kan. for one semester out of high school, but did not play football. It wasn't until he transferred to Georgia Military that he was launched as a college football player.

"I started getting better looks for football than I did for basketball," Allison said of his steady progression in the sport. "I always dreamed of playing any big-time collegiate sport – Division I football or basketball. So I took the scholarship and ran with it."

Allison also credits his time with Georgia's other Bulldogs for teaching him the fundamentals of a game not completely common to him. Allison said he realized during his time in Milledgeville how much he needed to grow as a player, and that his exploits in high school no longer counted.

"I was real inconsistent at that time, because I wasn't really sure of myself," Allison said of his pair of high school football seasons. "I still really needed to learn and understand the game. From the time at Georgia Military to coming here, coaches have really helped me get confident and helped me understand the game and what's going on at my position."

No matter how tough the days in Greenville might be, Allison said he will forever use Georgia Military for inspiration.

Waking up at 7 a.m. and falling in by 7:20 was likely the easiest part of his day. After marching, cadets had 15 minutes to straighten their rooms and be in class by 9 a.m. From there, it was nothing but class and football.

"I had that uniform on all day until about six o'clock," Allison recalls, saying he went straight from practice to study hall on those days. "From 9 to 11 you'd be free, but it's like a country part of Georgia – there was nothing to do. It definitely helped me get my books straight. I don't regret it at all.

"Georgia Military helped me become a man, taught me how to be responsible, and that's helped me so much. I think back to Georgia Military, and it gets me through the day."

Nathan Summers can be reached at (252)329-9595, or at nsummers@coxnc.com.