Clive Lowe (Mansch)
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2005 11:06 am
Lowe sets sights high
By SCOTT MANSCH
Tribune Asst. Sports Editor
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Ask a football coach about Clive Lowe, and you'll hear about the tremendous athletic ability of the Montana State junior linebacker.
About his amazing quickness, his superb speed, and his long wingspan that could possibly enable him one day to play football on Sundays.
But ask Mike Kramer about Lowe, of what this kid is really like, and you'll hear this:
"Even though he's got some darkness in his past in terms of things that have happened to him as a person, Clive gets up every day with one of the most positive, brilliant attitudes I've ever seen. He's a great kid to have around."
Clive Lowe has found a home in Bozeman all right. This fall the native Floridian hopes to bring the house down in his new position on the Bobcats' revamped defense.
"I love it," said Lowe about MSU's new 3-4 defensive alignment. "When I'm standing up (at outside backer) I can see more. I did it a little in high school so I'm not a total stranger to it. It's a fun defense to play and I think it will be good for us, because now we get to use all our quickness and abilities."
Lowe is 6-foot-4 and 237 pounds. With 4.6 speed in the 40 and a documented penchant for making big plays, he seems headed for a big season for the Bobcats, who start the 2005 campaign Saturday night in Stillwater, Okla., against the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
"He's got great arm length and an excellent body," Kramer said. "Plus he's got a little easygoing manner."
Of course, "easygoing" and "linebacker" don't always go together. For instance, no one ever accused, say, Dick Butkus or Jack Lambert, of being "easygoing."
Kramer laughed. "But it's fine with me," he said, "because when the ball's snapped Clive slits his eyes and plays really hard."
Perhaps it's because Lowe has had a hard life. His father skipped town before young Clive was born. Then his mother was murdered when Clive was 3, an unspeakable tragedy that haunts family members to this day.
But Lowe found family structure and love from Jeff London, a relative who provides shelter and purpose for needy youngsters in the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., area. London became the only father he ever knew.
And on the football field, Lowe found his passion.
Kramer recruited the defensive end away from programs like Iowa, Kansas State and Rutgers. Lowe redshirted at MSU, then starred as a freshman when he registered 10 tackles behind the line of scrimmage and had five sacks and two interceptions.
Homesickness, it seems, was never a problem.
"Clive was in a situation, with (London), he was going to make it here," Kramer said of the art major. "He wasn't going to fail."
Did you say art major?
"He's the second art major in a row at SAM linebacker for the Bobcats," said a chuckling Kramer, referring to the graduated Roger Cooper. "It's like a late-arriving academic interest for Clive. And he's really, really talented."
Problem was, that talent didn't surface much a year ago. Lowe opened the season as a starter in MSU's 4-3 defense, then suddenly got sick with some infected wisdom teeth.
"He was well on his way to having a great year, and then his teeth became impacted and he lost 11 pounds in three days," Kramer said. "He never really fully recovered. He never had a presence on kick teams, never blocked any punts. He was out of the lineup, out of the mix."
Lowe finished with just two sacks in 2004.
Said Lowe: "I look at it as the sophomore jinx. Those wisdom teeth set me back about 20 pounds. But I'm healthy now. I don't even worry about it."
Kramer said he regrets Lowe's disappearance from a Bobcat defense that struggled mightily in November.
"We as a coaching staff probably have to take some of the responsibility," Kramer said. "The kid came back and we didn't get him on the field much. And it probably hurt us down the stretch."
This year in the Cats' new 3-4, Lowe figures to be a playmaker.
"Here's an opportunity for him to play on every play," said Kramer. "We want to keep him on the field. ... This year Clive and our 3-4 defense, and his ability to rush the passer from space, which is what an outside backer does in the 3-4, will be a huge, huge part of our ability to play against Sacramento State, Eastern Washington and Montana in November.
"He's part of a defense that's got to find a way to make stops in November. If there's any overriding theme to the success of our team, it's going to be how we play defensively in November. By the end of October, given our considerable offensive talent, we're still going to be in the hunt. But in November, no matter how well you're playing on offense, it's getting those stops that win ballgames. Clive will be important to that."
And that's fine with Lowe.
"There's no doubt about it," he said with a smile. "We don't have a choice but to be in the hunt. And we're going to be."
By SCOTT MANSCH
Tribune Asst. Sports Editor
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADVERTISEMENT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ask a football coach about Clive Lowe, and you'll hear about the tremendous athletic ability of the Montana State junior linebacker.
About his amazing quickness, his superb speed, and his long wingspan that could possibly enable him one day to play football on Sundays.
But ask Mike Kramer about Lowe, of what this kid is really like, and you'll hear this:
"Even though he's got some darkness in his past in terms of things that have happened to him as a person, Clive gets up every day with one of the most positive, brilliant attitudes I've ever seen. He's a great kid to have around."
Clive Lowe has found a home in Bozeman all right. This fall the native Floridian hopes to bring the house down in his new position on the Bobcats' revamped defense.
"I love it," said Lowe about MSU's new 3-4 defensive alignment. "When I'm standing up (at outside backer) I can see more. I did it a little in high school so I'm not a total stranger to it. It's a fun defense to play and I think it will be good for us, because now we get to use all our quickness and abilities."
Lowe is 6-foot-4 and 237 pounds. With 4.6 speed in the 40 and a documented penchant for making big plays, he seems headed for a big season for the Bobcats, who start the 2005 campaign Saturday night in Stillwater, Okla., against the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
"He's got great arm length and an excellent body," Kramer said. "Plus he's got a little easygoing manner."
Of course, "easygoing" and "linebacker" don't always go together. For instance, no one ever accused, say, Dick Butkus or Jack Lambert, of being "easygoing."
Kramer laughed. "But it's fine with me," he said, "because when the ball's snapped Clive slits his eyes and plays really hard."
Perhaps it's because Lowe has had a hard life. His father skipped town before young Clive was born. Then his mother was murdered when Clive was 3, an unspeakable tragedy that haunts family members to this day.
But Lowe found family structure and love from Jeff London, a relative who provides shelter and purpose for needy youngsters in the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., area. London became the only father he ever knew.
And on the football field, Lowe found his passion.
Kramer recruited the defensive end away from programs like Iowa, Kansas State and Rutgers. Lowe redshirted at MSU, then starred as a freshman when he registered 10 tackles behind the line of scrimmage and had five sacks and two interceptions.
Homesickness, it seems, was never a problem.
"Clive was in a situation, with (London), he was going to make it here," Kramer said of the art major. "He wasn't going to fail."
Did you say art major?
"He's the second art major in a row at SAM linebacker for the Bobcats," said a chuckling Kramer, referring to the graduated Roger Cooper. "It's like a late-arriving academic interest for Clive. And he's really, really talented."
Problem was, that talent didn't surface much a year ago. Lowe opened the season as a starter in MSU's 4-3 defense, then suddenly got sick with some infected wisdom teeth.
"He was well on his way to having a great year, and then his teeth became impacted and he lost 11 pounds in three days," Kramer said. "He never really fully recovered. He never had a presence on kick teams, never blocked any punts. He was out of the lineup, out of the mix."
Lowe finished with just two sacks in 2004.
Said Lowe: "I look at it as the sophomore jinx. Those wisdom teeth set me back about 20 pounds. But I'm healthy now. I don't even worry about it."
Kramer said he regrets Lowe's disappearance from a Bobcat defense that struggled mightily in November.
"We as a coaching staff probably have to take some of the responsibility," Kramer said. "The kid came back and we didn't get him on the field much. And it probably hurt us down the stretch."
This year in the Cats' new 3-4, Lowe figures to be a playmaker.
"Here's an opportunity for him to play on every play," said Kramer. "We want to keep him on the field. ... This year Clive and our 3-4 defense, and his ability to rush the passer from space, which is what an outside backer does in the 3-4, will be a huge, huge part of our ability to play against Sacramento State, Eastern Washington and Montana in November.
"He's part of a defense that's got to find a way to make stops in November. If there's any overriding theme to the success of our team, it's going to be how we play defensively in November. By the end of October, given our considerable offensive talent, we're still going to be in the hunt. But in November, no matter how well you're playing on offense, it's getting those stops that win ballgames. Clive will be important to that."
And that's fine with Lowe.
"There's no doubt about it," he said with a smile. "We don't have a choice but to be in the hunt. And we're going to be."
