Sunday, October 03, 1999
NORTHERN KY. INSIDER
Sheffield finds niche at Louisville
BY NEIL SCHMIDT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
To his Louisville football teammates, Charles Sheffield is simply “Shef.” The key to the nickname is the first letter.
“That's not "Chef' with a "C,' definitely not,” Louisville coach John L. Smith said. “We hope he can burn some defenses, but that's about it for his cooking.”
To look at the 6-foot-1, 195-pound senior receiver from Lloyd is to wonder what he eats. He has a body-fat count of less than 3 percent.
Sheffield has nestled nicely into the Cardinals' pass-happy attack, blooming in a 50-catch, 697-yard season last year in his first season under Smith. (Those stats don't including an eight-catch, 75-yard game in the Motor City Bowl loss to Marshall.)
When he caught eight passes for a career-high 118 yards and a touchdown in the season opener at Kentucky, any anonymity ended immediately.
“I surprised a whole lot of people in the Kentucky game,” he said. “Teams have been playing me differently since, saying, "We'd better keep an eye on him.'”
His season totals entering Louisville's game Saturday night against Eastern Michigan were 13 catches for 149 yards. Chattanooga, Illinois and Oklahoma made it their mission to shut down Sheffield, who had to leave the Oklahoma game midway through the first half with a thigh bruise.
“He's a good, good football player,” Smith said. “He's got hands. He's physical. He can block.
“For whatever reason, we haven't been cognizant enough of getting him the ball the past few weeks.”
Sheffield is one of six Cardinals who caught 12 or more passes the first four weeks. With Heisman candidate Chris Redman at quarterback and All-American hopefuls in receivers Ibn Green and Arnold Jackson, Louisville has loads of talent.
Redman calls Sheffield “our secret weapon.” His strength is, well, strength — an ability to catch tough balls over the middle and absorb big hits.
“You need need guys that can do that,” Smith said. “Anyone can run down the sidelines; that's easy.”
Sheffield totaled just 11 catches his first two seasons. When Smith arrived last fall, he told players he was wiping the slate clean. Sheffield approached him and said, “Coach, I'm going to be your wideout.”
He has been.
SMITH WAITS HIS TURN: UK freshman tight end Derek Smith (Highlands) has had few opportunities thus far, largely because of the success of senior tight end James Whalen Jr. Whalen leads the Southeastern Conference in receptions and ranks fourth in the nation, averaging 9.25 per game.
Smith and fellow freshman tight end Bobby Blizzard combined for just three catches the first four games: Smith has two for 4 yards; Blizzard, one for 7 yards.
“They're young, they're freshmen and they're not very disciplined yet,” UK coach Hal Mumme said. “We're not disappointed in their play, we're just trying to bring them along slowly.”
Smith has played regularly on special teams and sparingly on offense.
NFL VETS IN KENTUCKY: Last week, this column profiled three recent NFL standouts who were helping coach Northern Kentucky teams: Max Montoya at Beechwood, Bruce Kozerski at Holy Cross and Mark Pike at Dixie Heights. That wasn't to omit others who played professionally in an earlier era.
Jim Corbett, a Bengals tight end for five seasons in the late 1970s, is in his first season as receivers coach for Covington Catholic. And George Floyd, who played strong safety for the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs from 1982-84, is in his second year as a Boone County assistant after 12 years in the same role at Bellevue.
DEMMERLE HONORED: Centre College senior nose guard Cameron Demmerle (Beechwood) has been named a Division III College Football Scholar Athlete by Burger King. In his honor, Burger King donated $10,000 to Centre's general scholarship fund.
Demmerle has a 3.65 GPA with a double major in economics and religion. He also is involved with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Program and chairs Centre's fund-raising committee for the Cerebral Palsy School of Louisville.
Neil Schmidt is the Enquirer's Northern Kentucky sports reporter. Call him at 578-5582 or send e-mail to nschmidt@enquirer.com.
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