VERY BAD NEWS: GEORGIA BULLDOGS HEAD COACH ANGRY AND ANNOUNCED RESIGNATION IMMEDIATELY…
There is nothing like Texas High School football and Timpson (Texas) High superstar Terry Bussey certainly left his mark.
From becoming the first junior since Kyler Murray to win Mr. Football a year ago, to leading Timpson High (enrollment 224 students) to its first-ever state championship this past fall, the 5-foot-10 1/2, 180-pound Bussey had a prep career folks will reminisce about for years to come.
“I’d say he’s probably going to go down as the best small-school guy in the state, at least in a long, long time,” Timpson head coach/athletic director Kerry Therwhanger said. And Therwhanger would know as this state title put a bow on his 38-year career at the helm.
Bussey is 247Sports No. 1 ranked athlete recruit and No. 16 prospect in the country overalll. He played in the Under Armour All-American Game and Polynesian Bowl standing out in those settings among his peers.
That’s what the Texas A&M commit who is still considering LSU and Georgia has always done. Bussey filled the box score as a junior, using his 10.6 speed in the 100m dash to rush for 2,596 yards and 46 touchdowns while racking up 115 tackles and five interceptions. He had three kick returns for a touchdown and another punt return for a score en route to the state semifinals. In 10 games as a senior he posted 2,096 passing yards and 28 scores with 1,320 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns.
“He’s about as good a player that’s come out of a small school in Texas,” Therwhanger reiterated.
And while Bussey was certainly blessed with talent, he took none of it for granted.
“He was that guy from his seventh grade year on,” Therwhanger said. “He just dominated guys. As a seventh grader he dominated eighth grade guys, then as a freshman he stood out when he was 14-years old against guys 18, 19 (Bussey had over 1,000 yards receiving as a freshman.)
“I think it’s not only his athletic ability but the character that kid shows and humility that he has. Especially like we’ve been talking for a small school to be that big of a deal you see him in the hallway you wouldn’t know that’s the guy everybody is talking about. The character he shows, people don’t see he comes into the weight room at 6, 6:30 in the morning and gets extra lifting in. Comes in on the weekend and gets extra work. Not letting it go to his head makes him special.”
The fans see how special he is on Friday nights.
“He can shut one side of the field down,” Therwhanger said. Bussey also shines in basketball and track and field. “We played him at safety this year. He was making plays at the line of scrimmage and all the way back. Has that ability to be able to cover anywhere you want or be able to come up in run support and things like that, He has great hips, great feet obviously, speed and strength and football IQ. He gets it. He understands the game and understands what people are trying to do and makes plays all over the field.”
There’s no middle man when Bussey is on offense. Therwhanger put him under center and snaps the ball to his best player.
“We want a guy like that to have the ball in his hands as many time as he can and he can throw with the best of them, and his football IQ, we gave him a lot of leeway and run-pass option stuff people are doing nowaways and didn’t seem like he hardly ever made a bad decision. He’s a one cut and go guy. He makes people miss without having to sit there and dance. With his speed and his strength and he’s hard to bring down. Nobody catches him once he breaks. Having him at quarterback, even when things didn’t go well, we may not have blocked it right or pass rush got to him, he’s able to escape and go make a play.”
Where Bussey makes plays on the next level remains to be seen. We do know he’s going to go from a small-town in Texas to the biggest stage in football and the SEC.
“One of them is gonna be pretty happy,” Therwhanger said.
All three of Bussey’s finalists got a visit in the last two weeks. After Jimbo Fisher was let go from Texas A&M in September, he made several trips over to LSU including a return this past week. He was at Georgia for an official two weekends ago and made it back to Texas A&M this past weekend giving the new Aggies staff the final in-person opportunity. These schools have been burning up the phone lines this week.
Bussey will announce his final decision during a National Signing Day ceremony at his school on Wednesday morning. He recently talked with 247Sports about each finalists.
Regarding the Aggies: “They got great coaches, great staff Coach Elko put together,” Bussey said. “They’ll do a great job coaching me and developing me and are overall great ball coaches. Just being able to build those relationships with the new guys so fast and so quick and seeing what they’re all about. I’ve been close with Coach Gaines and Coach BGA and the new guys they brought in it’s been special building a relationship with them.”
Regarding the Bulldogs: “Just being able to get around the guys and see how well I mesh with them and being able to talk with all the coaches and staff and see how they would use me and see how I would fit into their schemes. Just seeing all the stuff they did, the resume, really amazing seeing what they can do. They have a proven track record of putting guys in the league and developing guys real well that really caught my eye.”
Regarding the Tigers: “They got great people over there, great relationships,” Bussey said. “The defensive staff they put together, great coaches and great guys. Really comfortable over there. I feel like I’d be developed really well over there with the coaches they put together. Overall coaching and scheme, everything about it. The new DC they brought in is a great ball coach. He knows a lot about the game.”
