Hightower a model player at UR

By: JOHN O'CONNOR TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER | Times-Dispatch
Published: January 31, 2009

Tim Hightower may already deserve a championship ring.

Not the one that accompanies an NFL title, which Hightower and the Arizona Cardinals will shoot for today. We're talking about a ring that signifies a 2008 NCAA Football Championship Subdivision title.

Hightower, a Cardinals rookie, was not a member of the Spiders team that beat Montana 24-7 on Dec. 19 for UR's first Division I championship. Then again, he was, in a way.

Richmond receiver Kevin Grayson referred to Hightower as "an inspirational leader" for the 2008 Spiders, though Hightower spent the fall thousands of miles away. It was the example Hightower set at UR the previous four seasons that helped set up Richmond for a national championship, according to several players.

"We just tried to keep up all the hard work and intensity he left behind," said Sherman Logan, a senior defensive end on the 2008 team. "He pushed himself to the breaking point each and every day."

Offensive lineman Matt McCracken laughed the other day while thinking about weight-lifting sessions that involved Hightower in the Robins Center training facilities. "If I was on the back squat, he was behind me saying 'You've got to get one more [repetition]! You've got to get one more!'" said McCracken.

"He raised the bar to another level. Everybody followed his lead. He was a guy who was out there before the lift, and after the lift, and working as hard as he could during the lift. Guys followed it. Guys said 'If he's going to work like that, we're going to work like that.'"

UR coach Mike London has often referred to Hightower as "the model," meaning he put in the time and effort to accomplish notable achievements academically and athletically while at Richmond. London wants his Spiders to emulate Hightower. They're all in favor, given Hightower's status as an NFL player.

"When you can have someone come back and tell you how [the NFL] is, what things to work on and things like that, even though he's gone, he's still an inspirational leader to us," said Grayson.

Contact John O'Connor at (804) 649-6233 or joconnor@timesdispatch.com.