Terrell has fun in final prep game despite loss

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INDIANAPOLIS – Zach Terrell made a brief sojourn from his new home on the campus of Western Michigan to dabble in some high school football on Friday. It wasn't splendid, as those accustomed to watching Terrell over the past seasons at Homestead High School have grown to expect, but there were enough sequences of the athletic grace where the quarterback displayed his ability to know that the kid still has “it.”

“(I didn't get done) as much as I wanted to get done tonight,” Terrell said. “But it was a lot of fun and a great week.”

Terrell joined several other Fort Wayne-area players as members of the North squad in the Grange Insurance All-Star Classic football game at North Central High School. The game proved to be very un-Terrell-esque, as the prolific thrower didn't have his usual prolific night of making the scoreboard operator weary.

Terrell's first throw went for a touchdown – for the South – as defender Lance Magee returned Terrell's first pass 20 yards for a score. The South defense kept the North quiet all night and earned a 16-7 victory, but Terrell had no regrets following the game.

“The game didn't turn out like we wanted it to,” Terrell said. “It's hard to fit yourself into a style (of offense) that you've never run before. But it was a great opportunity and I really enjoyed it.”

Unlike many Division I players, Terrell made the commitment to play in the game despite having already enrolled at Western Michigan five weeks ago. He did so because it the game is an important part of the Terrell family history.

“My brother (Trevor Terrell) played in the game in 2006 and my family thought it would be fun and exciting to have two Terrell's up on the board,” Terrell said. “I'm really happy that Western gave me the opportunity to come down here and experience this.”

Terrell has gotten a taste of the college life this summer and he is handling it fairly well, but it hasn't come without adjustments.

“It's going great, it really is,” Terrell said. “I'm really enjoying the guys and the work that we are putting in. But (the biggest adjustment) has been the speed and strength. The defensive players are just as fast as the offensive players.”

Terrell expects to sit out this season as a redshirt and then compete for the starting position in his second year. The Broncos have a record-setting quarterback in Alex Carder who will wrap up his career in Kalamazoo this autumn, but after that it is open competition.

“It's been great (at the all-star game), but I'm ready to get back to work,” Terrell said. “I'm going to try and learn as much as I can behind Alex and if things go the way that they are going now, if I keep progressing and doing what I need to do, and then hopefully next year will be my year.”

Tdavis@news-sentinel.com