Jamaal Charles: Through freshman eyes

For the 32 seniors on the Texas Longhorns football team, Wednesday's Rose Bowl is a dream five years in the making. It serves as a culmination of 44 hard-fought triumphs throughout the past four seasons as they suit up for the last football game at The University of Texas.

But what about the rookies? What is it like to be Jamaal Charles, a true freshman who knows only the feeling of being at the top during his college football career?

"Maybe I am spoiled for getting a chance to play in this game my freshman year, but this is why I came to Texas," remarked Charles. "I feel very blessed to be playing for the National Championship. Not many people get a chance to experience this, especially as their first bowl game ever."

As one of the seven true freshmen to see game action with the Horns this season, the young running back will help the Longhorns in their quest to claim Texas' first national title in 36 years. After watching Charles rush for a freshman debut record 135 yards in his first collegiate game and become a fan favorite this season, it is hard to believe that he graduated from high school just seven months ago.

Charles, who celebrated his 19th birthday on December 27, recalls watching last year's Rose Bowl from his living room as a high school senior.

"I watched the Rose Bowl at home last year, knowing I would be at Texas this season," Charles said. "I knew that there could be a chance to come back here this season, but it never really hit me until after the Big 12 Championship game. It is very special to be playing on the same team that I watched last year on TV at the Rose Bowl."

Critics sometimes suggest that true freshmen are not ready, whether physically or emotionally, for big time college football. They are said to need time to adjust to a change from the pace of high school football to that of the college game. Charles has proven otherwise to the naysayers. Perhaps his 844 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns can speak for the adequacy of his transition.

The Port Arthur, Texas,native is no stranger to success after leading his Port Arthur Memorial Titans to a district co-championship last season. Besides the larger crowd size and season length, Charles only notes one significant difference between high school and collegiate football.

"These boys are big," Charles said. "In high school, most of us were the biggest players on our teams. Up here [in college football], every player is that big or bigger. They are all big boys."

Charles, who stands 6-1 and carries 190 pounds, has not seemed to let that size slow him this season. His experience playing against players like Lombardi Award winner A.J. Hawk of Ohio State and Oklahoma's Dusty Dvoracek should help him in Wednesday's match-up with a burly USC defense, whose starting defensive end, sophomore Lawrence Jackson, stands 6-5 and weighs in at 265 pounds.

The rookie's first bowl week has been a memorable one so far, especially the team's visit to Disneyland last Thursday.

"That was my first time ever at Disneyland," noted Charles. "I felt like a kid again because I never got to do anything like that when I was younger. The Mickey Mouse roller coaster was cool, but my favorite ride was the Tower of Terror."

Though Charles says that he has enjoyed the activities he and his team have taken part in, he knows his first trip to Los Angeles is for business. When it is time for practice, the freshman puts on his suit and goes to work, just like the sophomores, juniors and seniors.

Sometimes youth can work against you, and sometimes youth can work to your advantage. For Jamaal Charles, age is an irrelevant detail. He, along with Texas fans young and old, is embracing a chance to make history.

"All of us are playing for the National Championship," Charles said. "I am just lucky to do it so early in my career."

The University of Texas at Austin Athletics