Ask ACC student Anthony Shaw about football, and he might tell you more than you wanted to know. He loves the game, and sports in general.

A back injury cut short his playing career as a defensive back for the Washington State University Cougars after only a month on the team, but he stayed upbeat. And he resolved to stay close to sports another way.

“I plan to become a sports writer and broadcaster, preferably for football,” he said. “But my knowledge stretches far beyond the game of football.”

Shaw is optimistic about his future in Journalism, and he retains his passion for fitness, including serious weight-lifting. He adheres to a strict diet, and he works out six or seven days a week doing a lot of weight-lifting. His careful diet includes a regimen of eating every three hours.

Competition is in his blood. His father also played major college football.

With that background, Shaw had dreams of being a player at a major school. His reasons for selecting Washington State were personal: His dad played there.
“He was a great athlete before he suffered a career-ending knee injury, and I felt like I had the chance to live out his dream as well as mine,” Shaw said.

But it didn’t come easily.

Shaw did not follow the customary route, using a high school career as a catapult. Instead, he relied on extraordinary initiative and a relentless drive. No scholarship came his way.

“I walked on,” he said. “I didn’t play my junior and senior years of high school, and the streak carried on into freshman year of college. “I busted my butt starting in February of my senior year through my freshman year, aiming to make the team as a sophomore,” he said.

Shaw’s inspiration came from the frustration he felt with the politics of high school sports. “I varsity-lettered as a sophomore in high school,” he said. But he felt that he was taken lightly.

For Shaw the game was more than just being good and having the statistics to prove it. He wanted to prove that he should not be doubted and he was and could be better than anyone ever thought he would be.

So he trained independently and worked to be in the peak shape required for major college football. Shaw also took great pride in proving that his team was better.

The most memorable game for Shaw was defeating one of those personal rivals.

“The week I became a member of the Cougar program, we played and beat University of Southern California, 10-7,” he said. “It was unforgettable because I always despised USC growing up.

“They were on sanctions for cheating, and they always win,” he said. “I never thought in all my youth that I’d be a part of a team that not only played USC tough, but outlasted them. They were a dynasty when I was growing up and that game was the turning point in their reign. (USC Coach) Lane Kiffin was fired later that season and they have been rebuilding ever since.”

Then came his injury, which was suffered in practice.

“It was hard to swallow,” he said. “But looking back, I still got to live out my dream.

“Whether it was for a day or for four years, it came true.” Now, in his second semester at ACC, he is chasing a new dream.