By Bret Strelow
bstrelow@salisburypost.com
BOONE ó Amid the raucous celebration, former Salisbury star Gordy Witte took time to snatch a souvenir.
Appalachian State had just stunned Michigan, winning 34-32 in front of 109,218 fans at “The Big House.” Witte picked up a discarded plastic cup, scribbled the final score on it and presented the keepsake to his mother once he returned to North Carolina.
“I was thinking I had to have something because I didn’t have a camera, and I gave it to my mom,” Witte said. “I told her I’d hopefully have a cup to bring home to her that says Appalachian State vs. LSU.”
Witte made a brief appearance in last season’s memorable opener, and he still has four years of eligibility remaining as the Mountaineers prepare for their Aug. 30 visit to Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.
Appalachian’s coaches are counting on Witte, who earned a medical redshirt after making cameos in the first three games of the 2007 campaign, to contribute on the defensive line.
He will compete for playing time with fellow tackles Daniel Finnerty, former Northwest Cabarrus star Anthony Williams and Georgia Military College alum Malcolm Bennett.
“(Witte) adds some size in there, and he had a tremendous spring for us,” defensive coordinator John Wiley said. “If he keeps progressing like he did last year, we think he may be a force to be reckoned with.”
Witte made the trip to Ann Arbor, Mich., as a true freshman and entered the lineup during a goal-line situation in the first half.
The Mountaineers led 28-17 at the break, and Michigan regained the lead with 4:36 remaining in the fourth quarter. ASU’s Julian Rauch kicked a go-ahead field goal with 26 seconds left, and Corey Lynch blocked a kick in the final seconds.
Lynch scooped up the loose ball and raced toward the other end zone. His teammates sprinted across the field to share in his joy.
“It seemed like all the players were standing there, and I was waiting for everybody to start running, so I just took off by myself,” Witte said. “Everybody just came. Somehow I didn’t run into anybody, which doesn’t happen too often.”
The result angered spectators inside the stadium and sent shock waves through the nation.
Witte signed an autograph for a young boy in a Michigan jersey as the Mountaineers made their exit.
“He seemed upset, but he seemed real excited to talk to an Appalachian State Mountaineer,” Witte said.
Witte played again a week later in Appalachian’s rout of Lenoir-Rhyne and made two tackles.
He suffered a back injury in the Mountaineers’ next game, a 34-21 victory against Northern Arizona, and didn’t appear in another contest. He still practiced as a member of the scout team.
“I feel like getting hurt, being able to be redshirted, was probably one of the best things that happened for me,” Witte said. “Having a little time on the scout team allowed me to go up against the starting offensive guys and made me better.”
Injuries late in the season put Witte’s redshirt at risk, but Appalachian’s coaches shuffled defensive personnel. Four different players, including ends Gary Tharrington and Tim Washington, started at left tackle.
Witte, who participated in four sports as a Salisbury senior and won a state title as a heavyweight wrestler, finally had some free time last December. He watched the national championship game with his family in Salisbury and wore his Appalachian travel jacket during the broadcast.
The back injury forced Witte to reassess his commitment to developing as a football player. He had worked out from time to time in the wrestling room even though he wasn’t an official member of the team.
“He was really a two-sport star at Salisbury with wrestling and football, and so he tried to do that up here, but he really didn’t have the time,” Appalachian head coach Jerry Moore said. “I don’t think he really knew how demanding the time for football was. We didn’t excuse him from anything for football so he could go wrestle, and the wrestling coaches knew that.
“About halfway through the wrestling season, he came to me and said, ‘I want to commit all my time to football.’ When he did that, he almost turned the corner as far as the kind of football player he could be.”
Witte still has room to improve with the opener approaching, but he has made a favorable impression this preseason.
“He can run for a big guy, and he’s got great speed,” Moore said. “He’s growing up, maturing, and that’s part of the process. He should have four great years.”