on to the football team was many years later when I
was an old man I would be able to forgive myself for
trying my best and getting cut.
"Football was my first love, but I never thought I
had the ability to be a Division I player, let alone an
NFL player."
CAVALIER CORNER: During your NFL career,
whether it was with Atlanta or Seattle, who was the
toughest player you faced and why?
KERNEY: "The toughest player I ever faced was
Walter Jones, an offensive tackle with the Seahawks
when I was with Atlanta. Walter is a 'once every 50
years type' athlete.
"He had the size and strength of a bear with the
nimbleness and foot speed of a much smaller crea-
ture."
CAVALIER CORNER: Can you express what it
meant to you when Virginia decided to retire your
No. 58?
KERNEY: "Shocking. Not so much at the time as
taking me back to the mindset of an 18-year-old, so
he could forgive himself when he got cut."
CAVALIER CORNER: How difficult was it for you
to decide to retire and why?
KERNEY: "It was actually a fairly easy decision
to retire. I had made my career as the No. 1 priority
in my life for the 11 years I had it. For 10 of those
years, I put on film a product I was proud of and
when watching that 11th year on film, it was not the
standard for which I was known.
"The physical damage to my body was not going
to allow me to correct for that. I wasn't allowed to
squat below 70 degrees any more. Shoulder surgery
and hip damage wouldn't allow me to make those
efforts any more. Mentally I was ready to move on."
— Mike Scandura
Proffit
Ridge
Phase
2
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