Shock’s special Teems

It’s difficult to place Alex Teems into a category and it’s safe to say he has some unfinished business. The former Washington State University cornerback hasn’t risen to what he considers the ultimate height of success like some ex-Cougars, but he hasn’t fallen flat on his face, either. He’s the guy in the middle, whose dream hasn’t yet been realized – or crushed – because he’s still out there chasing it.

“I’m not a complacent type of guy,” Teems said. “I would like to be at the highest level I could possibly be at.”

For now the highest level is the arenafootball2 league, where the 5-foot-11, 195-pound Teems has emerged as an important part of the Spokane Shock’s secondary defense – a long way from where the af2 rookie was five months ago, when he realized he had been away from the game long enough.

After graduating from San Pedro High School (Calif.) in 2000, where Teems was an all-league pick on both sides of the ball his senior year and team MVP, he redshirted as a freshman at WSU.

Teems faced two major challenges in his first season: nagging injuries and trying to earn playing time in a secondary that included some of the best in Cougars defense history – Marcus Trufant, Erik Coleman, Jason David and Karl Paymah – all of whom are now in the NFL.

“I considered them role models,” Teems said, acknowledging all four former WSU teammates. “They were real good at what they did. If I had to base my game on anything, I got to watch them play every day and it kind of helped develop me.”

He played in four games that year before surfacing as a sophomore in 2002, starting all games on special teams and doing spot duty on the secondary opposite Paymah at cornerback. It was at the end of that year that Teems faced another challenge – this time more personal – when his mother, Linda, was diagnosed with malignant lymphoma of the sinuses.

Between that and his recurring injuries, Teems wasn’t sure he wanted to play anymore.

“It wasn’t solely based on what she was going through, it was also about what I was going through,” Teems said. “I had injury problems – everybody knew I had injury problems – and I kept finding myself further and further on the depth chart, so it was rough.

“I’m kind of glad I was away when my mom was sick, though, because there wasn’t anything I could do and I really didn’t want to see my mom going through what she was going through. Even when I did go home on vacation, it was hard for me to see her going through her chemotherapy.”

Linda came out cancer-free after her treatment, but Teems still thought about quitting or transferring. His parents, knowing that going somewhere else didn’t guarantee him a different situation, and the fact that Teems didn’t like the idea of being a quitter helped convince him to stay at least for an education.

“I’m glad I did stay,” Teems said. “I don’t like quitting, so I looked at it like a personal challenge.”

Teems compiled 47 tackles, including a career-high eight against Oregon and Stanford as a junior, and began to recognize playing professional football was becoming more and more realistic. But a rough senior year dropped his stock, and when his pro workout rolled around he couldn’t run the 40 because of a hamstring injury.

It seemed his dream was slipping out of reach for good.

So Teems, who earned his bachelor’s in social sciences, stopped playing and started working. He was making good money working at oil refineries back home in Southern California. As the end of 2006 rolled around, Teems decided it wasn’t as satisfying watching football from the sidelines.

“Sitting out a season and watching everybody play, I kind of missed playing ball again,” Teems said.

He started working out and less than two months later returned to the area in early March for another shot at a pro workout.

“It was a last-minute decision,” Teems said. “I had to talk to a couple of friends and a couple of people I look up to about wanting to play ball again, and I decided to give it another shot. Plus, I was sitting out for a year so my love for playing ball kind of grew again.”

So did his stock.

While he didn’t make it all the way – not yet at least – he caught the eye of Shock coach Adam Shackleford.

“He was on the short list for some NFL teams,” Shackleford said, “and when that never happened, we got him up here and he’s been our starting guy in the middle since.”

“He’s a big, physical defensive back that can run and cover and I think he’s a young man who will definitely have an AFL opportunity next year. He can cover, play the middle and is great on special teams, and a guy like that will get his opportunity.”

He’s making the most of his opportunity with the Shock – coming into his own a little more each week. He is ranked second behind veteran defender Rob Keefe with 42 tackles and is leading the team with 18 pass breakups. But he is still in the shadow of what Shock fans have lovingly coined the Keefe-ense.

He’s perfectly happy to be there – for now.

“It seems like I get more and more fans every week,” Teems said. “Yeah, I think I’m under the shadow of the Keefe-ense, and I don’t mind. I’m the type of player that doesn’t like all the attention. I’d rather be under the radar and I like the whole Keefe-ense thing. He’s a good player and everything I learned about the (arena) game I learned from him.”

Teems has no idea what the future holds, but hopes it involves football at the next level. He doesn’t consider the af2 minor success because it is, after all, professional football. But the $200 per game paychecks won’t cut it forever, and he’s pretty sure the next step isn’t too far out of reach.

“I’m just like anyone else – I want to get to the next level,” Teems said. “I believe I’ve got a decent enough shot of making it.”