Former Tusculum Cornerback Ricardo Colclough Knows How Lucky He Is
February 2, 2006

Courtesy Teresa Varley, Steelers.com

DETROIT --- The second-year player from tiny Tusculum College in Tennessee is happy to be in Detroit as the Steelers enter their final week of preparation for Super Bowl XL.

"It's a good feeling," said Colclough. "As a kid you watch the Super Bowl and to be able to get there in only two years is a great feeling."

Colclough is living out a dream that many NFL veterans have never had the chance to experience. He came close last year to making it to the big game as a rookie, but experienced how tough it can be to get there when the Steelers fell short, losing in the AFC Championship game.

This year he has a better understanding of how hard it is to make it to the Super Bowl and how much it really does mean to get there.

"There have been a lot of guys in the league a long time who never played in the Super Bowl," said Colclough. "To be able to do it in two years - wow. It may happen again, and it may not. It's a moment you really need to cherish and take in."

Colclough, who is from Sumter, South Carolina, started off at a Junior College before going to Tusculum where he was a small college standout.

"Coming from my background, you dreamed about it, but you never really could reach out to it," said Colclough. "Now I am finally here. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and say somebody needs to pinch me. I think sometimes I am going to wake up and face reality. But this is reality."

But no matter how much of a dream world he is living in now, it won't mean much if the Steelers fall short of their goal.

"We're glad we made it, but the goal is not accomplished yet," said Colclough. "The goal is to come home as World Champs. We are not going to settle for less. We are going to prepare ourselves to go out and have a good game and play the way we know we can play."