whoanellie
April 18th, 2011, 12:31 PM
April 17, 2011 12:36 AM
Adam Smith / Times-News
ELON — Rodney Austin was pulling on football equipment Saturday afternoon when an uncommon commotion suddenly engulfed Elon University’s sparkling new locker room.
So he headed out from the rows of tall wooden stalls to see what the oohs and aahs were about.
“I turned the corner and Ray Lewis is standing in the locker room,” Austin said. “Like literally standing here smiling, shaking hands with everybody. Just here. It was amazing.”
The burly offensive lineman still was wide-eyed and demonstrative an hour after the surprise visit from the Baltimore Ravens All-Pro linebacker.
“I don’t think I’ve ever in my life been star-struck but for a few seconds I was standing there with my mouth just hanging open,” Austin said.
A couple of feet away fellow offensive lineman Ned Cuthbertson nodded in complete agreement.
“It was really sweet,” Cuthbertson said.
Lewis’ pop-in appearance came less than 30 minutes before Elon was scheduled to kick off its spring game, which was washed out by the severe weather that rumbled through the region.
Elon coach Jason Swepson said Lewis was in the area tending to business following a function Friday night at North Carolina A&T.
Swepson said the NFL star had sent word through one of his representatives that he would be interested in stopping by and meeting the Phoenix.
“It was great timing,” Swepson said. “We’re just appreciative. He took some time and talked to the team and I’m sure these guys will never forget that.”
Most especially Austin, a rising redshirt senior and All-Southern Conference performer, who described the brief but intensely memorable brush with one of the fiercest men in pro football as something out of a movie.
Elon’s players formed an audience around Lewis, who brought an inspirational message in his trademark engaging manner, right as the dark skies opened and the brunt of the threatening storms arrived.
“At one point he was talking about his relationship with God,” Austin said, “and he took a breath, took like that dramatic pause, and you see the biggest lightning and hear the biggest thunder clap.
“Just … boom! It was perfect.”
Consider Austin thunderstruck.
“I was literally standing a foot from him and he was staring in my eyes for half of his speech,” he said of Lewis. “I felt like he was talking straight into me. When he was done, I was ready to rock. I would’ve gone out there in that monsoon.”
Austin then leaned back and let out a scream that would have made a WWE character proud.
“It was crazy. It was crazy,” he said. “I’m pretty sure he didn’t have anything written down. He just came in, had something on his heart and felt the energy in us and just spoke to us, let us know his plan. And it touched me.”
Meanwhile, Swepson said the Phoenix will practice Monday night and scrimmage Wednesday night, both at Rhodes Stadium, to wrap up its spring session.
Even with the weather that cancelled the spring game, the new Elon coach said Saturday’s dedication of Alumni Field House — the gleaming 30,000-square-foot facility that opened in January — made for quite an enjoyable experience.
“It would’ve been nice to play,” Swepson said. “But it was still a great day. The dedication, with all the people in the building and getting the fans around the players in the locker room, it turned out to be a great day. It was just good to have everyone in the building.”
Adam Smith / Times-News
ELON — Rodney Austin was pulling on football equipment Saturday afternoon when an uncommon commotion suddenly engulfed Elon University’s sparkling new locker room.
So he headed out from the rows of tall wooden stalls to see what the oohs and aahs were about.
“I turned the corner and Ray Lewis is standing in the locker room,” Austin said. “Like literally standing here smiling, shaking hands with everybody. Just here. It was amazing.”
The burly offensive lineman still was wide-eyed and demonstrative an hour after the surprise visit from the Baltimore Ravens All-Pro linebacker.
“I don’t think I’ve ever in my life been star-struck but for a few seconds I was standing there with my mouth just hanging open,” Austin said.
A couple of feet away fellow offensive lineman Ned Cuthbertson nodded in complete agreement.
“It was really sweet,” Cuthbertson said.
Lewis’ pop-in appearance came less than 30 minutes before Elon was scheduled to kick off its spring game, which was washed out by the severe weather that rumbled through the region.
Elon coach Jason Swepson said Lewis was in the area tending to business following a function Friday night at North Carolina A&T.
Swepson said the NFL star had sent word through one of his representatives that he would be interested in stopping by and meeting the Phoenix.
“It was great timing,” Swepson said. “We’re just appreciative. He took some time and talked to the team and I’m sure these guys will never forget that.”
Most especially Austin, a rising redshirt senior and All-Southern Conference performer, who described the brief but intensely memorable brush with one of the fiercest men in pro football as something out of a movie.
Elon’s players formed an audience around Lewis, who brought an inspirational message in his trademark engaging manner, right as the dark skies opened and the brunt of the threatening storms arrived.
“At one point he was talking about his relationship with God,” Austin said, “and he took a breath, took like that dramatic pause, and you see the biggest lightning and hear the biggest thunder clap.
“Just … boom! It was perfect.”
Consider Austin thunderstruck.
“I was literally standing a foot from him and he was staring in my eyes for half of his speech,” he said of Lewis. “I felt like he was talking straight into me. When he was done, I was ready to rock. I would’ve gone out there in that monsoon.”
Austin then leaned back and let out a scream that would have made a WWE character proud.
“It was crazy. It was crazy,” he said. “I’m pretty sure he didn’t have anything written down. He just came in, had something on his heart and felt the energy in us and just spoke to us, let us know his plan. And it touched me.”
Meanwhile, Swepson said the Phoenix will practice Monday night and scrimmage Wednesday night, both at Rhodes Stadium, to wrap up its spring session.
Even with the weather that cancelled the spring game, the new Elon coach said Saturday’s dedication of Alumni Field House — the gleaming 30,000-square-foot facility that opened in January — made for quite an enjoyable experience.
“It would’ve been nice to play,” Swepson said. “But it was still a great day. The dedication, with all the people in the building and getting the fans around the players in the locker room, it turned out to be a great day. It was just good to have everyone in the building.”