Fear of Failing Makes Sugg Want to Be the Best

Football players almost never discuss fear.

The sport demands a confidence that borders--and sometimes crosses that border--on arrogance.

Irvine High graduate Joel Sugg, one of six county athletes participating Saturday in the second California-Texas Shrine all-star football game, is definitely a football player--all 6 feet 5, 275 pounds of him.

But his motivation is not domination, it’s fear. The fear of not being good enough.

“I’ve always had a fear of failing,” said Sugg, during a practice at Azusa Pacific University. “It’s what drives me.

“The one fault I have is that I’m always nervous. I was nervous in every Sea View League game, and those guys aren’t as big as the ones I’ve seen out here.”

Sugg, 18, who is headed to USC in the fall, expects to be a bundle of nerves Saturday at Cal State Fullerton. But he also doesn’t expect it to last long.

For one, the offense Coach John Barnes will run Saturday is the one he runs at Los Alamitos. It’s nearly identical to the offense Sugg played under Irvine Coach Terry Henigan.

In addition, Sugg got a look at some of the Texas players Monday, when both teams visited the Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children in Los Angeles.

“They look pretty intimidating, but I’m just as big as them. We’ll see how it goes,” he said.

Most important to Sugg, nothing that happens on Saturday can be any more difficult than what some of the children he saw endure on a daily basis.

“I always have a soft spot for kids like that,” Sugg said. “It makes you realize how lucky you are. The aches and pains you have are nothing compared to what they have to deal with. When you come out here and gripe about practice, you realize how hard it is for themand it’s not so bad anymore.

“I thought the burn unit was one of the most touching areas. Making the new skin, having to cut [damaged] skin off; it’s amazing to me how much pain they have to go through. I don’t know if I could do it. They are pretty strong, in my mind.”

Sugg didn’t play football until his freshman year in high school. He also played basketball and volleyball, and did not think he had a future in football.

“I had started a couple of games, and then I got hurt. It went all downhill from there,” Sugg said.

“Freshman year is interesting, because if you haven’t played football before that, the guys who are experienced already know what they’re gonna go through. And freshman football is geared toward those guys, along with weeding out the guys who can’t play or don’t want to play.”

Sugg said he thought about quitting, but Henigan persuaded him to stay. Still, Sugg didn’t come on as an offensive lineman until his senior year. By that time he had gone from 220 to 265 pounds and turned his remaining baby fat into muscle.

“Joel was the first lineman we had that we would move to whatever side of the field we were going to run the ball,” Henigan said. “We felt we had to make use of that talent.”

Said Sugg: “I was pretty amazed he actually asked me to do it. It’s not the way he usually runs the team; he normally asks a guy to play one position one way and that’s about it.

“But it’s not as hard as it seems. Basically it was the same scheme from one side of the ball to the other. An odd-numbered play would be on the left and an even-numbered play would be on the right. [Henigan] makes it pretty easy so everybody can run the plays on either side. It made us pretty versatile.”

Dana Hills Coach Scott Orloff was running the show at Santa Ana Valley last season, and his team ousted Irvine from the Southern Section playoffs in the first round. But Sugg still caught Orloff’s eye.

“He has a lot of potential on offense,” Orloff said. “Plus you can put more weight and muscle on him. Potentially he can be a big threat. He has to work hard, but great programs like USC’s always make you into great players.” Sugg made the Times all-county first team on offense. But he admitted surprise when the Trojans recruited him.

“I didn’t think I would get recruited by many schools after my junior year,” Sugg said. “I didn’t have any stellar performances. But my brother [Troy] was already there [on an academic scholarship], so I really liked the school.

“Right now they have me at second string. And I know for a fact that if I’m going to play second string I’m going to have to gain weight and get stronger. My freshman year I’m looking for a whuppin’. The guys there are bigger, stronger, better and have been there longer. So, my freshman year I plan on getting beat on and then we’ll take it from there.”

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Shrine Game at a Glance

* What: California-Texas Shrine all-star football game.

* Where: Cal State Fullerton.

* When: 7 p.m. Saturday.

* Television: Prime Sports, at 7 p.m. Sunday.

* Tickets: $15-$8. Available at the stadium, Los Alamitos High (general admission only) or the Shrine football office in Los Angeles.

* For information: (213) 749-0166.