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CENTRAL STATE
Mosley proudly picks up CSU degree
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Eight days before graduation, Central State University students could pick up their caps and gowns beginning at 9 a.m.
"I was at the door at 8:45," said Henderson Mosley, a CSU assistant football coach.
Henderson Mosley, CSU Offensive Coordinator/ Quarterbacks, sends instructions to the field the old fashioned way during the Dayton Dayton Classic II, between the Central State Marauders and the Urbana Blue Knights, played at Welcome Stadium, Sunday, September 3.One of last weekend's most eager college graduates, the 38-year-old Mosley completed an academic path almost two decades in the making when he received his education degree on Saturday, May 3. After starring at quarterback for the Marauders in the early 1990s and leading them to two NAIA Division I national championships, Mosley detoured to several football stops before returning to Wilberforce as a coach and student.
His story, aided heavily by Athletic Director Theresa Check, comes at a time when public opinion toward athletes returning to school for degrees is pessimistic. It also includes the resurrection of the Central State football program, which was dropped after the 1996 season. When learning of its reinstatement, one of Check's first calls was to Mosley.
"He defines success for a young man who comes to Central State with not a lot of preparation, as far as academic," Check said. "He's part of that Marauder spirit on campus that some of us get infected with when we become part of Central State."
Mosley's relationship with CSU began when he joined the football program as a player from Washington, D.C. After leading championship runs in 1990 and '92 for one of the most feared NAIA programs in the country, Mosley passed through Atlanta Falcons training camp, the Canadian Football League and the Arena Football League. When his career ended, he found a difficult job search without a degree.
"You're with the Atlanta Falcons and Deion Sanders, then the next month you're in Canada with Doug Flutie, then you're in a UPS office moving boxes," Mosley said. "It's almost like it doesn't go together."
Mosley was working a $6.50-an-hour job with the Columbus recreation department when Check called with a CSU job offer. He returned to Wilberforce as the heart of the football program — as well as a student.
"It's like I was stuck in quicksand," Mosley said, " and I had to pull myself out."
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7389 or
knagel@DaytonDailyNews.com
.
