Breitenstein signs

letter with Wofford
By Steve Behr
sports@wataugademocrat.com

Watauga standout running back Eric Breitenstein officially closed the door on his prep football career and officially opened the door to playing football in college.

Breitenstein, a two-year All-State player, made it official Wednesday by signing a letter of intent to play at Wofford. He signed his letter in front of his parents, Steve and Sharon Breitenstein, Pineers head football coach Adrian Snow and his Watauga teammates at the Watauga High library.

“High school football is definitely over now,” Breitenstein said. “I’ve got four or five years to keep on going, so I’m really looking forward to the chance.”

Breitenstein is likely to play running back for the Terriers, who were co-champions of the Southern Conference last year. He gained 2,445 rushing yards last year and scored 29 touchdowns for the Pioneers.

Breitenstein also returned a kickoff and a fumble for touchdowns, giving him 31 touchdowns overall.

He was named All-State by the Associated Press as a running back in 2007. In 2006, Breitenstein was named All-State as a defensive back. Breitenstein also played fullback in the Shrine Bowl this season, becoming the first Pioneer to play in the game since 1980.

He was recruited by Wofford during his junior and senior seasons. In fact, the Terriers offered a scholarship during his junior year.

Breitenstein also looked at Penn State and Georgia Tech, but they were never really in the running. He also was recruited by Navy and Air Force, but he decided that he did not want a career in the military.

That left Wofford, a place he felt comfortable with from the beginning. He appreciated the loyalty the Terriers showed and rewarded it by signing a letter.

“It’s always tough to make a big decision like this,” Breitenstein said. “It carries to the next part of your life.
I’m really happy with Wofford. It’s a great school. You can’t beat the academics and they have a pretty dang good football team, too. Maybe once again we can beat App and instead of them winning (a national championship), maybe we’ll win it one year. We’ll see.”

Wofford finished last season 9-4, which included a victory over Montana, at Missoula, Mont., in the first round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. The Terriers’ playoff run came to an end when they lost to Richmond in the second round. The Terriers use a double-wing formation with a running back.

Wofford also moved its quarterback to the shotgun last year.

“They’re giving me a chance to play running back and I’m going to see what I can do with that and make the most of it. Growing up, I wanted to play college football, but I never thought I would be on the offensive side of the ball. If they switch me over to defense, whatever works. Hopefully, I can get in there and get some playing time and have some fun doing it.”

Breitenstein said there wasn’t any discussion of moving Breitenstein to defensive back. The Terriers usually finish in the top 10 in the nation in rushing for FCS teams. Breitenstein feels that if he can work hard, he’ll get his share of playing time.

“I’ve just got to get bigger, faster and stronger like always,” Breitenstein said. “I have to get smarter in the game, too. The speed and size is different, but also it’s how much people know about football. You’ve got to be a smart football player just to hack it at that level.”

Snow has no doubt that Breitenstein can compete at the college level. He said that Breitenstein made him a better football coach, and not just because the Pioneers reached the Western 4-A Regional finals the last two seasons.

“Great players make better coaches,” Snow said. “In Denver, John Elway made Mike Shanahan and Dan Reeves better coaches, and Armanti Edwards probably made coach (Jerry) Moore a better coach. Sometimes coaching is not getting in the way. You have to put them in a situation where they can be successful and then get out of the way.”

Breitenstein is one of 15 players to sign letters with Wofford. He is one of three running backs and seven players on the offensive side of the ball to sign with the school.