Pictured (bottom row from left) are Grant Elias (Root's stepfather), Lisa Elias (Root's mom), Austin Root, Larry Root (Root's father), (back row from left) Patrick Ignagni (Salem defensive coordinator), Kevin Biga (Salem linebackers coach), PCEP Athletic Director Tom Willette (Athletic Director) and Salem head football coach Kurt Britnell.

Pursuit of
a dream

Salem's Root to take top-notch linebacking skills to Ferris State

ED WRIGHT
Feb. 3, 2010, 10:45 p.m.

  You could make a full-length documentary film on form tackling and the proper way to fill a gap out of Austin Root's highlights this past football season.

  But for those with short attention spans, one play was enough to exhibit Root's uncommon tenacity and talent.

   Mid-way through the Rocks' season-opening game against Plymouth,  Wildcat running back Jamie Emminger caught a three-yard pass across the middle. A split-second later, he ran dead-on into a crunching tackle by Root that was so forceful it blew the running back's helmet five feet into the air.

  "Austin made several plays like that every game, plays that set the tone for us," said Salem coach Kurt Britnell. "He was a real difference-maker on defense."

  On Tuesday, Root officially signed a National Letter of Intent to play college football for Ferris State University.

  The Bulldogs will be getting a tenacious, 6-foot-1, 195 pound linebacker who knows how to use his shoulder pads, his smarts and his 4.7 speed.

  Root chose Ferris over several other pursuers, including Wayne State and Alma, for one primary reason.

  "They have one of the best pharmacy programs in the country, and that's what I want to get into," said Root, who has a 3.8 grade-point average. "I'm good at chemistry and math, and those are what you need to be good in to be a  pharmacist. It's a good-paying job and there's a lot of job security, so that was the choice for me."

   Despite his relatively slender build for a football player, Root said the plan for him is to stay at linebacker at the next level.

  "I'm going to red-shirt my freshman year so I can put some weight on," he said. "I'll practice with the team, but I won't dress for the games.

  "I'm very excited for the opportunity to continue to play football. I'm really looking forward to the experience."

  Root said he is leaving a Salem program that he feels is on a definite upswing.

  "I think they're making big strides," Root said of the new coaching regime. "They came in and told us you're going to work or you're not going to play. The coaches this year made me a better player, there's no doubt about that."