When you look in the eyes of the blue eyed senior for Jackson State University, you see something more than a QB, or a young kid, you see a man. A man that has overcome many things, and was forced to grow up at an early age. Casey Therriault has not had the easiest road to success but he has been able to push all the adversity aside to become one of the most successful quarterbacks in the SWAC division.
As a JUCO transfer from Grand Rapids Community College Therriault has matured as a Quarterback as well as a human. Casey has some pretty amazing intangibles. He is a big QB who has good arm speed and can deliver a pass. If he catches you slipping, he can beat you with his feet. He is a very gifted runner, who has quickness. He is able to see things before they occur but unfortunately, the past still lingers.
When coming out of High School, Casey was rated as a very good quarterback prospect from Wyoming Park, Michigan. He had one thing on his mind: the NFL. Casey had received visits from Michigan State’s QB coach, Dave Warner, who reportedly loved his abilities. When asked to Casey about what stopped him from playing at MSU, he replied, “Coach Warner wanted me to get an 18 on the ACT test, but after taking it four times I failed to get an 18.” He scored a 17 four times on the test and Michigan State walked away from the phenomenal talent. Casey was then given a full scholarship to The College of Sequoias, a two-year community college in California’s San Joaquin Valley, in 2007. He went to the College to compete for the starting quarterback position at the JUCO School and was ready to make a name for himself. Too bad for Casey, things were about to change in his life, in just a matter of months.
On January 10th 2008, Therriault returned to Grand Rapids for his winter break, and decided to go a Night Club (Margarita Grille) with a few friends and was having a good time. When leaving the club, he was involved in an argument with an intoxicated man (John “Jono” Krystiniak). “Jono” began to become aggressive and the two got into an altercation. Casey, a hundred pounds lighter than Jono, threw a punch, defending himself, and walked away. But after leaving the scene, others began to jump on Krystiniak and began hitting him as well, putting “Jono” into a coma. Therriault found out a few weeks later that Krystiniak was pronounced dead, never making it out of his coma.
This is when Casey became a man. Some kids would deny this claim, say they had nothing to do with it. Casey, feeling regretful, eventually admitted to the authories that he was responsbile for hitting Jono. He also asked to speak with Krystiniak’s mother and tell her that he was sorry for the incident. Casey told Krystiniak’s mother that “he was very sorry for what happened and that he felt, horrible of the situation.” Casey was sentenced to 6 months in jail for involuntary manslaughter.
Casey served his six month sentence for his plea agreement at Kent County Correctional Facility, and was given 2 years probation and $20,000 restitution for his involvement. Casey completed his six month sentence, went on to complete his probation, and paid the $20,000. Going through the correctional system requires patience, focus, and something to hold on to on the outside. That something was Casey’s family. And as for most families of imprisoned members, the jail sentence affected their lives as well.
“Casey had a great upbringing,” Casey’s mother Julie stated. “People want to make him look like he was a bad kid before, but he was never in trouble nor did anything that was wrong.”
“He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
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America is a place where second chances are given but sometimes, they are hard to get. Only a month after returning from his sentence, Casey walked on to play for Grand Rapids Community College where he was named starting Quarterback by Head Coach Tony Annese. In his year as QB for the GRCC Raiders, he was a dual threat, at 6’3, 205 lbs, Casey was able to make reads in the defense and use his elusive moves to get around teams defenses. In his first year back, Casey threw for 1801 yards, averaging 180 yards a game, and 20 touchdowns, not to include the 9 touchdowns on the ground to go along with the 621 rushing yards. Coach Tony Annese was in his first year as Head Coach for Grand Rapids Community College when Casey came aboard. Annese said “In the seasons prior the teams record was 7-11, in Casey’s first year with GRCC the team went 10-1. That showed his leadership”.
Casey became a dual threat at the QB position which would be thought to attract tons of attention from Division 1 schools. Coach Annese said that his phone was ringing off the hook, “Teams such as Baylor, Cincinnati, and other Division 1 schools were calling all the time, but as a coach I had to be honest with them and tell them that they will need to look into Casey’s past. After a few days the teams would call back and say thanks for being honest but we are no longer interested.”
When asked of Casey’s biggest weakness as a player, coach said “There is none, the only problem is others perception of Casey.”
“Everyone tries to condemn him, as a man. I need to know a person before I can condemn them. If you are open to seeing who Casey is, you can look past this incident.”
All the drama was about to come to an end, when Jackson State Tigers Head Coach Rick Comegy found out about Casey. He made the phone call and wanted to know more about the young QB. Jackson State is a predominately black school who plays in the SWAC division and has only had one white quarterback start before calling for Therriault. That didn’t stop Coach Comegy. Jackson State offered Casey a scholarship to play at JSU.
In his first year starting for Jackson State, the “White Tiger” (called by fans, and teammates) led the team to a 8-3 year, going 6-3 in the East. Therriault was able to amass 31 Touchdowns through the air only throwing 8 interceptions. He was dominating the SWAC division and led the division with 3,436 yards in the air, and led all rushers with 10 touchdowns. It is pretty amazing to see a QB, have 41 touchdowns in one season and to do it in only 11 games. In the last game of the season Casey suffered a broken right collar bone that would require surgery which would require pins and a plate. That hasn’t slowed Therriault down, so far in 2011, Casey has thrown 14 touchdown passes and rushed for 6 touchdowns in just 7 games. Casey makes throws and decisions that are very impressive. He is not afraid to put a ball in a tight place and he has the Tigers off to a 6-1 start already this season.
When you look at Casey’s style, you see a Brett Favre like player, a player that can make all the hard throws, as well as the easy throws. The hardest throws to make are unbalanced or off one foot, but Casey makes them look easy. He connects on his passes and makes everyone on the field a better player.
“[My biggest weakness is] Not trying to make the big play”, Casey said, “and to remember to check down to the backs and under routes, because most of the time they have a mismatch.”
“The most important thing to me, is to not let my fellow teammates down, and keep winning.”
The heart is there, when you talk with him about Football you can hear a kid that is compassionate about his sport and loves the game. He is one of the first players in the locker room and studying film, and it seems to pay off for him every week. He continues to impress and has the JSU Tigers in the FCS Top 25 already this season. And while he still dreams of the next hopeful step in his football career, he’s still focused on winning right where he’s at: with the team that gave him a shot when so few others were willing to.
“I would love to play in the NFL, that is every kid’s dream coming out of school, but right now I want to get my team to the championship and win.”
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Sometimes the hardest things in life must be experienced, to get the true understanding of the situation. As we grow up, our parents teach us as children to protect ourselves at all costs and to defend ourselves, if someone is trying to hurt us. As a parent myself, I could never be upset with my child if he or she came home and told me that they just got into a fight because they were getting pushed around, no matter the outcome.
Casey did defend himself and walked away from the situation before others jumped in to beat Krystiniak to death. Is Casey responsible for his actions? Of course, that’s something he couldn’t and still can’t escape. However, Therriault couldn’t control what was done from another person, as he walked away after his involvement. Still, everyone seems to “throw him under the bus” for the entirety of the action when it wasn’t his intention.
Jackson State has learned to forgive Casey and look past the incident. So my question now is NFL, Scouts, Fans and Media is: can YOU look past the incident? Give him a chance at least, I say. If this hadn’t happened, he’d probably be getting talked about as a mid round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. It is time to put your perception aside and get to know the young kid out of Wyoming Park, Michigan because his name very well could be heard on Sundays in the years to come.
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