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People SearchFind an individual who either played a sport or was a member of a support group. Search by last name by clicking on the first letter of the person's last name.
Mr. James "Dre" Sails
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Home Phone: 205-755-2369 April 2, 2009 Daily Advertiser Spring Football: Patience pays off for Sails It’s been a long road for Cajuns’ next RB Joshua Parrott • jparrott@theadvertiser.com • April 2, 2009 For those willing to listen, Undrea Sails has no interest in being the next Tyrell Fenroy for UL’s football team. Now don’t misunderstand. The senior running back knows the laundry list of collegiate accomplishments for Fenroy, who finished as the all-time leading rusher in school, state and Sun Belt Conference history. Fenroy also became only the seventh player in NCAA history to rush for 1,000 yards in four consecutive years, was a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award and was the Sun Belt’s Player of the Year. With Fenroy now preparing to earn a spot in the NFL, Sails has emerged as the favorite to start in the backfield for the Cajuns next fall. He’s fully aware of that challenge in front of him. “Tyrell did some big things and is a legend here, but I’m not coming out here to try to be Tyrell or fill his shoes,” Sails said. “I’m just trying to pick up where he left off and try to keep what he started going.” Sails’ life story is one of both patience and persistence. He was born and raised in the rural town of Verbena, Ala., located about 30 minutes north of Montgomery, and attended nearby Marbury High. As a senior in 2004, Sails earned first team Class 2A all-state honors as a running back and defensive back. Multiple colleges, notably Alabama, Tennessee and Southern Miss, expressed interest in Sails, but the 5-foot-8, 200-pound bowling ball was unable to qualify academically to play NCAA Division I football. That left Sails thinking that his dream of playing college football might be over, especially considering that he didn’t want to play in junior college. Butler Community College in Kansas offered Sails a scholarship to play football, but he instead sat out the 2005 season and spent one semester taking classes at the University of West Alabama. While he was there, coaches from College of the Desert in California got some of his high school film. Ultimately, Sails decided to go out west for his football career. After being recruited as a defensive back, Sails moved to running back and played two years at College of the Desert. As a sophomore, he accounted for 11 touchdowns and rushed for 639 yards on 119 carries as the team went 9-1. He averaged 71 rushing yards per game – the fifth-best mark in the Foothill Conference. Sails eventually ended up at UL during the first week of fall camp last fall but saw his Cajun career delayed due to factors outside of his control. He missed the season’s first three games while waiting to be cleared. “I had all my grades expect one posted,” Sails said. “My teacher was waiting forever to post my grade, and I needed that to get my associate’s degree. I was calling him and e-mailing him trying to get him to get it done.” Sails finally got on the field when UL went to Kansas State and helped the Cajuns nearly pull the upset, 45-37. After Sails played through some nagging injuries, a sprained knee in the ninth game, a 37-24 loss to UTEP, ended his season. His final numbers last year included 19 carries for 77 yards. Sails has looked solid in the spring and said his knee feels much better now. He’s moved to the top of the depth chart ahead of redshirt freshmen Yobes Walker and Draylon Booker and injured veterans Julian Shankle and Matt Dupre. “He has just showed us in our scrimmages that he has a better understanding of (pass) protections,” said head coach Rickey Bustle. “The running the ball part is fun, but the hardest part to learn is the protection part and putting all that together. He’s shown he can do both.” And fight through injuries. His sprained knee was expected to keep him out of spring practice, but he’s played through the pain. He even tried to pull a fast one on his coaches in the first spring scrimmage. “He came out here wearing a regular jersey and snuck out there,” said offensive coordinator Ron Hudson. “We had to pull him off the field. That’s just the type of guy he is. He’s earned the respect of everybody on this team. “He’s inspired other guys to be tougher players because they’ve seen how he’s played.” Hudson pointed to the similarities between Sails and Fenroy. Both are short yet powerful runners. Both have played through injuries. Both are tough. The biggest difference: Sails is more vocal. Going into his final season, Sails has high hopes for UL in the fall despite losing Fenroy and quarterback Michael Desormeaux, the 2008 Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year. “We’ve got a lot of talent coming back,” Sails said. “We’ve also got a lot of weapons on offense that people might not know about, so I’m expecting big things next year for me and the whole team.” April 2, Daily Advertiser
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