Posted by jaydawg on 9/26/2003, 7:08 am Go Hokies, Beat UConn!!! By RANDY KING Meet the guy known as "Truck Face." While it's a moniker that would hardly be endorsed by his mother, Connie, Tech's ram-tough fullback apparently doesn't mind wearing a tag that many may term as somewhat unflattering. Well, this is no beauty contest, folks. This is rough 'n tumble, baby. It's Easlick's kind of game. Perhaps no player on Tech's roster plays with so little disregard for his body as Easlick, the rugged 5-foot-11, 238-pound battering ram who carves open holes for the Hokies' featured tailbacks or picks up pass-rushers much bigger than he is on virtually every offensive snap. "Doug is as tough as they come," senior split end Ernest Wilford said. "He loves it. His nickname is Truck Face and they don't call him Truck Face for no reason. "One of the O-linemen came up with it, I think. I don't know which one. It just started and continued. It's perfect for him." Truck Face. Is Easlick a Mack? A Kenworth? A Ford F-150? Or perhaps the garbage variety? Certainly, the tough kid from Marlton, N.J., handles a good portion of Tech's dirtiest work. Easlick, though, loves his clean-up chores. There's nothing he likes more than leading Kevin Jones into the hole and hitting somebody in a different colored uniform. Snap after snap, it's Easlick's solemn duty to lay a defender or two out. "Hit people at full speed, that's what your job is at fullback," said Easlick, a throwback-type player who would have been right at home back in the helmetless days of the game. "If you don't want to hit people, then find another position. It's not a position for the weak." When watching the TV version of the A&M-Tech game upon my return home last Thursday night from Lane Stadium, I popped a couple of beers and decided to keep my eyes glued on No. 43 for a while. Like everybody during live action, my eyes are usually affixed on the guy with the ball. After watching Easlick play-in and play-out, I highly suggest that all Tech viewers catch this madman's act whenever possible. Boom! Easlick levels a defensive end. Bam! Easlick turns a linebacker into silly putty. Ram! A poor safety is flattened. Can't believe a spatula wasn't required to scrape the guy up. "I think he gets enjoyment from doing what he does," Wilford said of Easlick. "You can see him coming off the field just laughing, knowing he just chalked somebody or made a great block. He just thrives from that. "Easlick is a dirty player but he plays under the rules of the game. I would always want him on our team." Those who benefit from Easlick's dirty deeds understand how fortunate they are to have such a guy on their side. "Easlick has got to be one of the best fullbacks in the country," Tech quarterback Bryan Randall said. "I think he's underrated. I don't think he gets the publicity that he should. "But for a running back, there has got to be somebody up there opening up those holes to run through. Easlick just comes to work and practice every day and each game. He's just so consistent. You never see any letdown from him when he's out there." With Hurricane Isabel's rain and wind guaranteed to turn last Thursday's contest into a run-oriented game, Randall said he knew the offense was in good shape long before kickoff. "I talked to Easlick before the game and said, 'You better strap up your helmet tight,' " Randall said. "He said running the ball is his type of game. I think he likes to get in there and go helmet to helmet." Good thing, Easlick likes his off-the-ball role. He has touched the leather only six times in the first three games, catching four passes for 38 yards and carrying twice for 10 yards. "Anytime we hand it to him we call it a trick play," said Randall, bursting into laughter. "But he understands he's not going to get the ball often, so when he does he tries to make the most of it. I think he has great hands coming out of the backfield. A couple of times he's made up for some of my bad throws. I've got all the confidence in the world when I see him out there that he's going to come up with a play. He's a pretty good runner after he catches it also." In an interview last October, Easlick's father, Jon, never hid the fact that he pushed and drove his boy to the limit as a youngster. "That's why God made baseball bats," quipped Jon Easlick, when I asked him if could still handle his boy if need be. Pops was simply joking, of course. Meanwhile, there's nothing funny when you're on the other side of the line of scrimmage from this Truck Face dude. "That's a pretty good name for Easlick," a grinning Randall said. "Or you can call him 'Dougie Little Feet.' Them little feet that he's got, that face, that head ... I wouldn't want to run up against him." FOR AMUSEMENT ONLY: For those who might be inclined to throw down a wager on Connecticut-Tech on Saturday, here's some numbers you might find interesting: UConn has covered the spread in eight consecutive road games and is 12-3 vs. the number overall dating back to the start of last season. Link: 'Truck Face' Key for Hauling Hokies
63.71.228.3
apologies for not posting any info for the Hargrave and TAMU games, end of the fiscal year work is piling up. Will try to get something up next week. In the mean time, an excellent piece on Mr. Truck Face?? : )
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Few would argue that Doug Easlick is the most unheralded player on Virginia Tech's fifth-ranked football team. None, however, would contest that the Hokies' senior fullback has the best nickname on the squad.
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