Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/787374
I'd be lucky to make this team. Well, thank you (laughs). Actually, I had a pretty good preseason but I was not sur- prised when I was released." Indianapolis signed Humphries to its practice squad, but he was released again in November when injuries to front-line players forced roster changes. The Colts wanted him back in 1993, but Humphries signed with Tampa Bay for more money. That didn't turn out well either because of an injury and, ironically, the catalyst was Humphries' old Penn State roommate O.J. McDu9e, then a star with Miami. "We were scrimmaging Miami in a [preseason] practice, and I was covering O.J.," Humphries said. "He did a comeback and I stopped and something happened in my back and I couldn't run. It progressively got worse and that was it for me in Tampa." Humphries returned to Indianapolis the next season and played in 13 games (with one interception) despite su8ering a se- rious shoulder injury midway through the year. A:er the season, he needed two sur- geries on the shoulder. With NFL teams hesitant to sign him, Humphries went to the Canadian Football League. "I had a great 6rst year and was captain of the team in Ottawa and regarded as the best cornerback in Canada," Humphries said, "and then I had a good year with the British Columbia Lions. Then I sat out a year trying to get back into the NFL. That didn't happen. So I signed back with the BC Lions in 1999, but because of my in- jury I decided to give it up." By that time, he was married and ready to have a family. He had met his wife, Jen- nifer, a:er being released by Tampa Bay while living in Washington, D.C., with a cousin who was the personal aide to then-Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown. "Because my cousin was always traveling, all he had in his apartment was a bed and a hand-carved chest given to him by the king of Saudi Arabia that served as his table," Humphries laughed. "For me to stay there, I had to get furniture. So I went to Cort Furniture Rental in downtown D.C., and my future wife was the person there who rented me the furniture." Along with Isaiah, the family now includes daughter Jessie, 15, and son Joshua, 9. Humphries knows he was a big in7u- ence on his son's commitment to the Nit- tany Lions: "He heard me for years talking about Penn State, but once Isaiah went on campus he could see what I saw. He 6rst went in his sophomore year and every time he went, he loved it, just spending time on campus and getting to know the coaches. I encouraged him to go out and see what all these colleges [we visited] had to o8er. I told him I wanted him to go somewhere that if he got hurt the 6rst day and couldn't play football he could still go to school there. Penn State sold itself." Humphries is sure his son will succeed at Penn State, not only on the 6eld but o8 it. "Isaiah is a stellar student," Humphries said. "He's in the top 20 of his class of al- most 800 kids. He's a well-rounded kid. He's a musician and plays the standing base, cello and piano and writes music and has a DJ business on the side. He's more than a football player." Humphries has fond memories of his Penn State days, and he expects Isaiah will, too. Leonard may have been over- shadowed a bit by defensive teammate Darren Perry, who became an All-America safety at the hero position in Humphries' senior year, but he said, "I had a pretty good career." Oddly, no Penn State cor- nerback has ever been named a 6rst-team All-American. Alan Zemaitis was a sec- ond-team All-American in 2005, while Eddie Johnson (1988) and David Macklin (1998) received third-team honors. "I think I was one of the best cornerbacks to come out of Penn State, particularly in the late '80s and early '90s, but I had to have Joe validate that one time when I was [on campus]," Humphries said. "It was in the year before they won the last Orange Bowl with Michael Robinson. Joe invited a lot of alumni players to come in for a team meeting. He had us speak and talk to the guys and he went around the room to tell them who we were. When he got to me, I told them who I was, blah, blah, blah, played cornerback, and I said, 'the best cornerback ever at Penn State.' Everybody goes 'whooooo, whooooo,' when I said it and Joe told them, 'I have to agree with him. Yes, he is one of the best ever corner- backs to play at Penn State.' " ■ A Penn State football book by Lou Prato with a forward by Adam Taliaferro The Remarkable Journey of the 2012 Nittany Lions Price: $14.95 plus shipping Published by Triumph Books (soft cover) Autographed copies available via louprato@comcast.net or through Lou Prato & Associates at 814-954-5171 Autographed copies of Lou's book We Are Penn State: The Remarkable Journey of the 2012 Nittany Lions are still available via louprato@comcast.net or through Lou Prato & Associates at 814-954-5171. Price: $19.95 plus tax where applicable and shipping T H E C L A S S O F 2 0 1 8