Rutted Pathways
Oct 2, 2001 | Football
Oct. 2, 2001
NEW ORLEANS, La. - It's February, 1998. Three players sit on a stage at Archbishop Shaw High School. In the season just past, they had led the Eagles to the Class 5A state championship game. Now, the quarterback, the receiver and the center, had come together to announce their college choices.
"At 8 a.m. that morning, I still hadn't decided," said the center, Torie Taulli, who started his 26th game for the Green Wave last Saturday against Southern. "I had talked to my brothers, my family, my head coach, my (high school) teammates. I made a list of the pros and cons, the pluses and minuses, and everything came out dead even."
In the end, Taulli's choice had come down to his hometown school, Tulane, or Auburn, and the lure of the SEC. He had visited LSU, but didn't get a welcoming feeling in Baton Rouge. He never made scheduled visits to Tennessee and Ole Miss.
Finally, it was time to go into the gym. Taulli's coach, Hank Tierney, told him to write his choice on a piece of paper, and not to look at it, or think of it, until after it was announced. Taulli's high school teammates, Derrick Joseph (the quarterback) and Terrell Harris (the receiver) had already made up their minds to attend Tulane.
"I almost went to Auburn," Taulli said. "I think in the end, I felt more wanted and needed here. I saw something here and just got a feel about this team and this place. I wanted to be a part of it."
"Courage never follows rutted pathways." -- Robert Frost
Do you want to follow tradition or make tradition?
Those were the lone words written on a card sent by current Tulane offensive coordinator Frank Scelfo to Taulli during the recruiting process. Taulli remembers the words, and in fact, still has the card. Perhaps it's those words that stuck in his head and inspired him to write "Tulane" on that piece of paper.
Or it could be his desire to play in front of his family. The Taulli's have always been a close-knit group, especially the four brothers, who range in age from 19 to 29. They all played high school football, and all wore #55 at Shaw. While Torie ranks third in age, he is quick to note that, at 6-1, he is the tallest brother.
"We used to break the house up," Taulli says of growing up in his Harvey home. "We'd clear the furniture out of the living room and play football in the house -- full-out, tackle football. We called it 'Arena Football'. I don't know how my mom did it."
Yes, the thought of playing college football in front of his family appealed to Taulli. Perhaps that's what swayed him to Tulane. Or maybe, it was the idea of playing with his high school teammates. He and Joseph had been best friends since their sophomore year of high school, while Taulli and Harris bonded on a leadership retreat trip to New York City during their junior year.
The three had planned to go to the same college, but were recruited by a wide variety of schools - Taulli by more SEC schools, and Joseph by Big East teams. The common thread was Tulane.
"We didn't think it was going to work out," Taulli said. "We always wanted to go to the same school, but then realized that it wouldn't be that easy."
"Our senior year, he was the smallest offensive lineman we had, but he was the best," Harris says of Taulli. "He's the same person today. He's close with his family, he's a role model and a leader."
Whether it's pushing the other offensive linemen, serving as an example to the younger players, working harder in the weight room and offseason workouts or encouraging fellow players to "keep their heads up" during a difficult start to the 2001 season, coaches and teammates acknowledge Taulli as the unquestioned leader of the offensive line.
"He's the quarterback of our offensive line," said line coach Don Mahoney. "Torie making all the right calls enables us to have success because it puts everyone on the same page. He's a great example for the young guys who come into the program."
In fact, Taulli is basically the only starting center Mahoney has ever coached at Tulane. From his sophomore season through today, Taulli has hardly missed a snap. Last year, he played 855 of the team's 897 offensive snaps and did not allow a sack as the Green Wave boasted the No. 3 passing offense and No. 7 total offense in the nation.
Even the other leaders on the Tulane team follow Taulli.
"I usually try to keep my head up," said quarterback Patrick Ramsey, himself one of the leaders of the 2001 team. "But when I do get down, it means something when 'Sal' says something to me. I listen to him."
"Sal" - as only his teammates call him- is also the leader of the offensive line when it comes to off-the-field activities. A couple of weeks ago when the offensive line descended on Ramsey's apartment for a Thursday night fish fry and film session, it was Taulli who organized the outing, set the menu and did the grocery shopping (along with Ramsey and fellow offensive lineman Charles Caldwell).
"I don't know anyone who works harder, is more committed and is a better person to be around than Torie," Ramsey says. "He's a great leader for our offensive line and a great leader for our offense."
Head Coach Chris Scelfo, for one, rues the day when Torie Taulli is not Tulane's center.
"I don't want to face that right now," Scelfo says. "Torie has been the most consistent player we've had here over the last three years. He has a tremendous passion for the game."
Even while lauding Taulli's toughness, Mahoney acknowledges that his center's aggressive play on the field belies his true nature off the field.
"He is by far the toughest player I've ever coached," Mahoney said. "His mental toughness leads to his success. It's not going to be easy (for me) when his last game comes around. But I will say this. My wife is probably going to miss Torie more than I am. She's taken a strong liking to him, he's almost like a part of the family."
A double major in marketing and information systems in Tulane's A.B. Freeman School of Business, Taulli is slated to graduate next December. While his Tulane football career will end at the close of this year, he's not going far.
"I'll be around," Taulli said. "I'll still be here to jump on them (offensive linemen) if I catch them slacking -- especially whoever plays center."
Fair warning to future Tulane centers, from one of the Wave's toughest, and one of Tulane's best.
