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Story by Matthew Lofton | Photo by Tom Cammett/KSU Athletic Communications
Jermail Porter isn’t one to do things the way they are usually done.
Not only did he take a non-traditional route to become nationally ranked, he chose a non-traditional sport for most black athletes.
The Kent State senior wrestler didnít begin his career until his freshman year at Firestone High School.
“I had wanted to wrestle in eighth grade, but I was too late for sign ups,” explained Porter in an email. “In ninth grade, I didn’t want to come in mid-season for football, so I chose to wrestle instead with the intention to play football the next season.”
Porter added that he chose wrestling as his football backup because he had friends who had wrestled in youth organizations and he said he always wanted to try it.
Even though wrestling isn’t a common sport for most black athletes, he didn’t feel like an outsider because Firestone’s conference, the City Series, was very diverse. There were at least three other African-American athletes on Firestoneís team, alone.
While it isn’t a commonplace sport for African-American athletes yet, Porter says that continues to change.
“It’s starting to grow in popularity because you realize a lot of guys who are trained for football in high school wrestle to keep in shape,” Porter said. It helps you become a better athlete for your other sports.”
However, the idea of playing football never came to fruition for Porter.
“I became obsessed, so to speak, with getting a starting spot on the team. I focused on wrestling all summer,” Porter said through email.
After four years at Firestone (only three as a starter), it quickly became apparent that football’s loss was wrestling’s gain. Wrestling for the Falcons, Porter compiled a 94-18 record and was a city, sectional and district champion his senior year. He also finished second in his 285-pound weight class at the 2004 Ohio High School Wrestling Championships.
“Here’s a kid, coming into college who had wrestled about 100 matches,” said Kent State head coach Jim Andrassy. “There are some wrestlers on our team that have around 80 matches a year or in the summer. Porter did not even do summer wrestling.
“He was really low on the learning curve coming in to college and now he is ranked. Porter is just starting to understand collegiate wrestling,” Andrassy added.
Luckily for the Kent State wrestling squad, Porter decided that football wasnít the sport for him. He said he enjoys wrestling because it pushes him to improve more than a conventional team-sport would.
“Wrestling is different from all other sports because it is not a team thing,” Porter said. “You have guys who make up a team, but it’s more of an individual thing. I’ve seen a lot wrestlers come and go because they just got tired of pushing themselves.
“I think that wrestling has made me a lot better person over the last 10 years than I could have ever imagined,” Porter added.
In four years with Flashes, Porter has wrestled to an 88-39 record and looks to become only the seventh wrestler in Kent State history to record 100 wins.
Last season, Porter was seconds away from being the first KSU wrestler to earn All-American honors since Don Horning in 1986.
In his final year for the Golden Flashes, the Mid-American Conference and the rest of the country have served notice. Porter was named the preseason favorite to win the MAC Championship at 285 pounds. Porter is also nationally ranked sixth by Intermat Wrestling and seventh by Wrestling International Newsmagazine (W.I.N.).
“I’d be lying if I said there isn’t a little more pressure and a spotlight on my season, seeing as how close I was last year and where I am ranked now, said Porter through email. “It actually doesn’t mean much. I just have to remember to take it one match at a time and wrestle my matches to the best of my ability.”
Deanna Stevens contributed to this story. Both Lofton and Stevens work for the Kent State Athletic communications department. |
