David Melton’s journey from Chesterfield, S.C., to Livingstone College was an easy one.
It was his long, strange trip to the Blue Bears’ quarterback job that proved difficult.
Melton, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound true freshman, is listed in the Livingstone program as a defensive back. He also tried his hand at wide receiver in August.
Everything but quarterback, which is what Melton loved doing and why Livingstone recruited him.
Thanks to injuries to the Bears’ first two starters, Joel Ward and Malcolm Weed, Melton finally got a chance to shine — under center — Saturday at Johnson C. Smith.
“It’s been frustrating, really,”Melton said. “I wanted to play, so I switched positions. That didn’t work. Then Joel went out and I knew somebody had to step up.
“I wanted it to be me. Now I’ve got my chance.”
Melton might not let it go now that he’s got it. In Livingstone’s 36-33 overtime loss to the Golden Bulls on Saturday, Melton threw for 160 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 50 yards and scored the game-tying TD with just 12 seconds left in regulation.
Only a blocked extra point prevented the story-book ending — a victory.
“David Melton came in and did a whale of a job at quarterback,”Livingstone head coach Greg Richardson said. “He ran the football well, got the ball to some of our key receivers, and hopefully our offense now is in a position where they feel confident that we can score.”
Offense and confidence haven’t gone hand-in-hand for the Blue Bears this season, but Melton hopes to change all that.
The North-South All-Star quarterback from Chesterfield High drew attention from plenty of schools despite playing receiver in the showcase game. To get his grades in order —and continue a successful basketball career — Melton enrolled at Spartanburg Methodist, a two-year college.
After a year, however, he was feeling the football itch, got in touch with Richardson and headed to Salisbury.
Richardson and his staff were pleased to add such an athletic player to the team, but found themselves with one big problem:Where would Melton play?
Ward and Weed boasted experience running the triple option. Melton did not. So he sat this summer, and when he got tired of sitting, he tried playing receiver. When that didn’t work, he asked assistant coach Otis Flowers to play him at defensive back.
“I tried to get anywhere on the field,”said Melton
Against Virginia State, Melton was playing free safety when Ward exited the game with a dislocated hip. Weed was taking a beating and hurt an ankle, and third-stringer Scott McCrimmons had taken some snaps as well in the blowout loss.
Suddenly, Melton was called on to play quarterback, too.
He tossed a 20-yard touchdown pass and ran for another score, but a penalty brought back the rushing TD. Adding insult to injury, Melton took a hard hit on the run and came away with a bruised knee.
“I got in towards the end and I did good,”Melton said. “Then I woke up Sunday and I could hardly walk.”
Melton said he might have started last week against Winston-Salem State if not for the knee injury. McCrimmons played the whole game instead as Melton watched and waited.
“He and McCrimmons are both good passers, but the thing that Melton brings to the game is Melton is a solid all-around player,”Richardson said. “Melton’s so athletic that he can scramble and cause the defense severe problems. He is probably our best quarterback in terms of overall ability.”
That athleticism remained limited by the sore knee, which kept Melton on the sidelines for Livingstone’s most recent game. First, Weed re-injured his ankle. Then McCrimmons had trouble with the Golden Bulls’ defense.
Next up:Melton.
He said his favorite plays from the game were long strikes to Shannon Gainey — not to mention the 1-yard TD rush he had, capping a long drive in the closing seconds.
“That was a good challenge,”Melton said. “I wanted to see if I could take the team down there and give us another chance. That’s what happened.”
Melton’s one regret from the J.C. Smith game is missing a potential game-winning touchdown pass in overtime. He said he held onto the ball too long. He’s eager to overcome inexperienced mistakes like that one and he’ll get the chance. Richardson said Melton will start Saturday at Elizabeth City State.
“He’s still learning. He doesn’t know the whole scheme as of yet,”his coach said. “He’s athletic enough to where he can make some things happen.”
And in the complex triple-option offense, play-making ability is a must.
“It’s hard,”Melton said. “In order to run the triple option, you’ve got to make the right play call in the huddle. Once I get used to putting us in the right situations, I think I’ll have the offense down pretty good.”
Now that Melton has the chance to lead the offense — instead of languishing on defense— Richardson is eager to see where this journey ends.
“David’s a very unselfish player, a kid that realizes that for us he could play anywhere on the field,”Richardson said. “He wants to help wherever he can, but he loves to be a quarterback. Now he’s back where he feels comfortable and I think he’s enjoying it.”
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Contact Steve Hanf at 704-797-4287 or shanf@salisburypost.com
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