Locking down his opportunity

FRESNO, Calif. - On Dec. 13, 2014, Tyquwan Glass and Mt. San Antonio College were tied 10-10 in the 2014 California Community College Athletic Association Football State Championship, and San Francisco was nearing the red zone. The standout cornerback then came up with an interception that swung the momentum of the game. It was the Pasadena, Calif., native's seventh pick of the season with the Mounties. His team scored a field goal after the turnover and eventually won 27-17.

For Glass, it could have been the last interception of his football career, he didn't know what was next. He had a number of schools looking at him, but there was one problem—he still had classes to take.

"Once they found out I was still taking classes in the spring and into the summer, they started backing off," Glass recalls of the schools recruiting him. "I noticed in the summer that a lot of schools started pulling offers because I still had summer classes and they like to have players in during the spring or early summer. I was nervous and didn't know where I would end up. It was a hard process to go through."

To help promote himself to potential schools, Glass took to what any youth would, he went to Twitter. He remembers posting his highlight tape on the social media platform and it caught the attention of former Fresno State defensive backs coach Marcus Woodson and current inside linebackers coach Nick Toth. Glass kept in constant contact with the two, letting them know that he was passing his classes. That back and forth paid off as he received a scholarship from the Bulldogs for the 2015 season.

Other players had a leg-up though as Glass was a late signee and did not start practice until after fall camp had begun, and the transition wasn't easy.

"It was hard," he said of the move. "At my junior college I knew everyone and everyone was cool with me and when I got [to Fresno] it was like I was by myself because I didn't know anybody. The game speed was going pretty fast too and the coaches expected so much from me and it was tough to handle it all when I found a new home."

Glass turned to the mindset that he had to step up his game to make it at the Division I level and win his spot. That drive was enough for him to find his way onto the field. In the third game of the 2015 season, the junior college transfer nabbed his first interception of the season against No. 21 Utah. That came a week after racking up seven tackles at No. 14 Ole Miss.

Week five saw Glass earn his first career start as a Bulldog, a spot he has since to relinquish. Against Nevada, he grabbed his second interception of the year to go along with a career-high 12 tackles. He added another pick the following week at Hawai'i, and then another two weeks later in the season finale versus Colorado State.

After a slow start, Glass finished strong, ending the year by leading Fresno State with four interceptions, becoming the first cornerback to lead the team in interceptions in a season since L.J. Jones in 2011. He also registered 62 tackles, the most by a Bulldog corner since Desia Dunn had 65 in 2010.

The versatile athlete also found another area where he could contribute—punt returns. In the last game of the season, the coaching staff gave him an opportunity and Glass shined, returning four punts for 75 yards.

"I've never returned punts in my life, not even in high school," Glass said. "When they told me that I could do it here, it kind of had me nervous but then I realized that it gave me more chances to make plays. It's been fun being able to be everywhere and make plays, that's what I like to do."

Returning punts has carried over into this season for him where he's now working with special teams coordinator Dave Ungerer who Glass says is "very serious about special teams. Every time he tells me something, I take it in and make sure that the next time I do it, I do it right."

It's the ability to be versatile and have a desire to make plays, just like one of his favorite corners to watch, Arizona Cardinals' All-Pro Patrick Peterson.

Another change for Glass this season has been his position coach. With the departure of Woodson to Memphis, Lorenzo Ward was hired as the Bulldogs' associate head coach and defensive coordinator. Ward's specialty throughout his coaching career has been in the secondary, and he was a big reason why Virginia Tech was coined as DBU. In eight seasons, he had 10 defensive backs selected in the NFL draft, including first-rounder DeAngelo Hall, and three of his other players taken in the second or third round in the years following his departure from Blacksburg. At South Carolina, he also played a key role in the development of first-round selection Stephon Gilmore.

When Ward got to Fresno State, he saw the potential in Glass.

"I felt that I knew for sure that I had a guy who could be a lockdown cover guy and a guy that could play the entire game," he said. "Physically, he can do it, and talent wise he can do it.

"I see a guy with a lot of ability, but he doesn't play with, to me, the confidence that he should for someone with his ability. So that's something we're trying to break through. He can be a great cover guy if he challenges people. He's a physical kid with great ball skills. He has a lot of the tools that guys have on Sundays."

That confidence must come from within Ward says.

"He's as good as anybody he lines up against. He just has to have that swagger that you need to be a great DB. The best corners, they don't care who you are, they want to challenge you. I think Ty has it in him, he just has to let it come out."

This season, Glass has 23 tackles, one interception and leads the 'Dogs in pass breakups with five despite not seeing much of the ball as teams have rarely thrown his way. Although he knows why teams are doing it, he does occasionally get bored without seeing the ball come his way and it's something that he knows will force him to learn both sides of the field as he looks to take his game to the next level.

"They know that he's our best cover corner," Ward said. "He's made a lot of plays here. If I were an offensive coordinator, I'd go away from him too."

It's been a long road journey from his junior college days at Mt. SAC in Walnut, Calif., but Glass is trying to make his dream come true after thinking that it could have been over not long ago.

"Coming from a junior college, that could have been my last game because I didn't know where I would end up," he said. "At the end of the day I was just going to have fun where I could. A lot has changed for me. I've taken a lot from the opportunity here and I'm very grateful for it and that I'm able to play the game still."

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