Tennessee-Martin's LaDarius Galloway grew up believing that he was a future SEC player.
An Indianola, Miss. native, he could take U.S. Highway 82 due east to Starkville and be at Mississippi State in less than three hours, or he could go northeast and be in Oxford at Ole Miss even more quickly. He attended a junior day camp at Mississippi State and was rated a Top 50 overall prospect in the state by Scout.com his senior year, yet no scholarship offers came — he says because of his size (he's 5-foot-9).
On Sept. 9, 2017, Galloway got his first shot at SEC competition at an SEC stadium, and he chimed in at just a hair under 200 yards of offense at Ole Miss, leaving some to wonder if some of the Rebels fans in The Grove asked why they didn't recruit this guy.
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A junior, Galloway has shredded the competition this year, and his best game was against an SEC West opponent. He is currently second in the nation for the FCS in rushing (514 yards, 4 TDs), behind Western Carolina's Detrez Newsome (557 yards).
He also has been critical in even more important games like last weekend's 2 TD effort against fellow Ohio Valley Conference opponent Tennessee State, who was undefeated and ranked coming into the game. A win at in-state Chattanooga was good for the Skyhawks' confidence. Galloway has been a big part of it after transferring in January from Copiah-Lincoln, or Co-Lin as many in Mississippi call it.
"I really came into the Ole Miss game with a chip on my shoulder and I wanted to show I could play in the SEC," Galloway told HERO Sports. "Me being a shorter, undersized guy, underrated … I just wanted to come in and have a great game and help lead my team."
While the SEC may have passed on Galloway, he did have three Division I schools after him when he was at Co-Lin. FBS New Mexico wanted him, but that's a long way, and Southeast Missouri State also wanted him — but it was UT Martin and running backs coach/recruiting coordinator Julius McNair who made a special impression on Galloway. Next Galloway talked with head coach Jason Simpson and the rest is sweet history.
Galloway's emergence has coincided with the Skyhawks great team play. The program is nationally ranked and turning heads and looks like a strong candidate for an FCS Playoff spot. Oh, and here's another little nugget — it gets OVC powerhouse Jacksonville State at home this year on Nov. 11. It's been a good first chunk of the season in Martin, for Galloway and his team.
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"He's been a good addition to our team," senior all-conference LT Kadarren Bond told HERO Sports. "For a guy to come in in January and be ready to play like this already? He has fit in pretty well. Really well. The Ole Miss game opened eyes that he's not afraid of the big-time moments, and he's always looking for the challenge."
Indeed.
Galloway said the JUCO route prepared him for it all, as many JUCO veterans say. He posted a 1,000-yard season last year, good for No. 7 in the nation in the NJCAA, while scoring 10 TDs in just nine games.
"You have to be a grown man when you play junior college ball, and you have to have a strong mind or you will be eaten up," Galloway said. "If you don't eat what's on your plate? Somebody else will eat what's on your plate. You have to grind out in everything that's going on. You know you aren't there to be babied. You're there to graduate and get on to a bigger school. And I did. I finished with a 3.4 GPA. That's why the chip is the way it is."
With the OVC looking considerably stronger than in 2016, it would appear several playoff spots could be available to its conference teams this year. Jacksonville State is coming off a pounding of previously undefeated Liberty, Tennessee State was undefeated with an FBS win before meeting UT Martin, Eastern Kentucky played two FBS teams — Kentucky and Western Kentucky — very tough and then won its conference opener last week, and even UT Martin's weekend opponent Austin Peay has been impressive since breaking its long losing streak. Eastern Illinois could be a player too, so this will be a league of parity, no parody.
"I think the OVC is a great conference," Galloway said. "It kind of reminds me of junior college, it's a lot of underrated good players who wanted to prove themselves, just like me. It's a good league for talent."
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