Fresno State Athletics
Shoved Into Battle
8/27/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 27, 1999
Fresno, Calif. -
Leaders aren?t born, they are made. Or so they say.
We have self-help books telling us to seize the moment and harness our inner strength. We have guest speakers criss-crossing the country rallying their audiences with screaming voices and motivational fads. But what exactly are they trying to have us become? What is a leader? How is it that leaders have to be made? If someone is given the gift of a beautiful singing voice, why could not someone be given the gift of being a natural born leader? Most argue that leaders are leaders because they have been there before. They have seen what faces them many times over.
A General on the battlefield is the classic definition of a leader. Standing firm against the enemy. Ordering the troops to make a charge. Leading the battle cry and rallying his squad for every last bit of territory possible. A man of principle. A man of honor. A man of respect. But what if the general was fresh from the military academy or better ? boot camp? Would his troops respond to his orders? How would they react to a man who never saw a battle from outside of the classroom? Would they respect him?
All-WAC performer Tim Skipper knows something about earning teammates respect. Now the junior standout is considered the heart and soul of the Bulldog defense and honored by most college football publications with preseason conference selections. But that was not the case for a young redshirt freshman two falls prior when he was thrust into one of the most demanding positions in all of football ? starting middle linebacker.
After sitting out his freshman campaign due to a fractured leg suffered early in his first fall camp in Fresno, the Kenner, La., native was expected to ease his way onto the field and spend his first year in pads backing up Allan Nicholas. But shortly before the commencement of the 1997 season, Nicholas succumbed to a torn ACL rendering him out for the season.
"When Nicholas got hurt, I had to pick up the flag and take over the position for him," Skipper said. "But when I came here, I expected to start. It just came a little sooner than everyone thought."
Thrust into the role of middle linebacker one year removed from high school, Skipper was held up to the highest scrutiny. Listing in at only five-foot, nine-inches and 205 pounds, many onlookers voiced doubts concerning his ability to lead the Bulldogs? defense.
"I had to prove myself everyday," Skipper said. "A lot of people were looking at me like ?how are we going to win with him at middle linebacker?? But from the practices and scrimmages we had, I showed them some skills and ability earning me a spot to be out there. I won the love of my teammates early in that season."
Not only did he earn the respect of his teammates before the opener, but Skipper began to show all of college football the skill and heart he contains. To open his first year in college football on the gridiron, Skipper recorded six-consecutive double-digit tackle games ? including a season-high total of 17 versus Baylor in the second game of the campaign.
When his first season ended with a 24-7 victory against the visiting Wyoming Cowboys to seal a .500 season for the Bulldogs, the linebacker from Louisiana, who everyone believed to be too green and too small, had earned honorable mention All-WAC honors with his 117 tackles. "What he lacks in size, he makes up in knowledge and toughness," head coach Pat Hill said. "His idol is Sam Mills ? a great player in the NFL. But, he?s as good of a football player I?ve been around at middle linebacker. You can?t look at him in size, but what he brings to the field. And he plays very big."
A year later with more people looking in his direction, Skipper turned in an equally impressive season. Leading the Bulldogs in tackles with 108 ? including five double-digit tackle games ? leading him to a second-consecutive All-WAC honor. This time, Skipper was named to the first team all conference.
Now entering his third season as the starting middle linebacker for Fresno State, Skipper is not only commanding respect from his teammates and coaches on the field but from the entire conference as well.
"He?s the general," Hill said, "the quarterback for the defense, and he makes sure sure that we get things right."
By Fred Shank
