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Oct. 27, 2007

Peter Finney
New Orleans Times Picayune

As you listen to Gilda and Gene Forté turn back the clock of life, you get the impression you're thumbing through a parent's scrapbook, a collection of snapshots on those growing-up days of a 21-year-old, who at the moment is the leading rusher in college football.

Gilda: "Matt was 4 when he went to the soccer games in Slidell to watch his brother (Brian) play on a team of 6-year-olds. He didn't understand why he couldn't join the team. 'You don't know how to play soccer,' I kept telling him. 'I can learn,' he'd say, tears in his eyes. That was Matt at 4. He always wanted to be out there, competing."

Gene: "When Matt was 5, he'd sit in my lap watching NFL games. I'm from Texarkana, Texas, and grew up a Cowboys fan. Matt never missed a play. It wasn't long before he was wearing an Emmitt Smith jersey."

Gilda: "Matt was 9, pitching on the Little League baseball team. He was awesome. Slidell had a lot of baseball fields. When word got out Matt was pitching, 5- and 6-year-olds would line the fences to watch. It was sort of amazing to see someone that young have a fan club."

Gene: "I coached Matt in all sports in the Slidell Youth League -- football, baseball, basketball -- from age 6 to 12. I remember the day, he was 7 at the time, we were running tackling drills, and this kid laid Matt out. The kid was 85 pounds, 20 pounds heavier than Matt. 'If you want to play football,' I told Matt, 'you've got to take hits.' He looked up at me and said, 'Can we do it again?' They did. This time Matt, with the football under his arm, ran over the 85-pounder and laid him out."

Gene: "I guess the moment I'll never forget was a football game with a championship on the line. Matt was 11. He was playing quarterback and it was raining. In the final seconds, his team was backed up near its end zone, facing something like a fourth-and-30. Matt takes the snap in shotgun formation and throws a pass that must have traveled 50 yards in the air. The receiver grabs it near midfield and turns it into a 90-yard touchdown to win the game."

Gene: "Matt liked pitching. When he was 10, a radar gun clocked his fastball at 60 miles an hour. But pitching would always play second fiddle to running back. At 7, Matt thought all he needed was speed to do the job. He had the speed to run away from people. One day he asks me, 'Dad, can I make people miss?' Sure, I told him. That's when he started making the kind of moves you can't coach. It was strictly a God-given talent."

Fate decreed Matt Forté was a talent Tulane would inherit, largely because his dad fell in love with Tulane and New Orleans.

Coming out of high school, Gene Forté was more of a blue-chipper than Matt and Brian, who played at McNeese State. A defensive lineman, Gene was pursued by Texas, LSU, Baylor and Arkansas, but he chose the Green Wave for a number of reasons.

He liked the school's academic reputation, which he turned into a 29-years-and-counting job with Shell Oil. He also liked New Orleans food, the oak trees on St. Charles Avenue and the idea of playing in the Superdome.

As a sophomore in '75, Gene Forté began his three-letterman career on the first Tulane team to play in the Superdome. He ended it as the Green Wave captain in 1977, leaving behind some bittersweet memories.

"I wouldn't trade those years for anything," Gene said. "On the other hand, there were three losing seasons and my moment of infamy, going one-on-one with Terry Robiskie," LSU's star runner at the time.

"It was '75 in the Superdome," Gene said. "LSU killed us (42-6), but there was a play when I had a chance to nail Robiskie. All I remember is I'm set to make the tackle and Terry just takes it to another gear. He's gone."

Which is exactly what the son of Gene and Gilda Forté has been doing to defenses this season, rushing for an average of 180 yards, rushing for more than 200 yards each of the past three weeks.

"I think that 65-yard run Matt made last Saturday against SMU ranks way up there," Gene said. "There's a crowd of guys, it's like a scrum, and out pops Matt. He's off."

Tulane running backs coach Greg Davis said Forté got his biggest confidence boost in his freshman season of '04 when he rushed for 216 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-31 victory over Army.

"He made a 48-yard run across the grain that showed patience, the knack to make people miss, the savvy to use his blockers," Davis said. "I think that run convinced Matt he could be more than good. He could be special.

"He has more than the measurements (6 feet 2, 223 pounds). He has the work ethic. I talked to his dad one time during the offseason and he told me Matt was out in the street at 2 in the morning the previous day running wind sprints. One of the reasons he can take so much punishment, and keep coming back, is his approach to conditioning. He's a gym rat. During the summer, he's working twice a day, not once a day. His mind-set is to be an every-down back. And when you get down to it, all this falls short of the whole package Matt Forté represents. Ask his teammates and they'll tell you what the bottom line is. That Matt is a better person than football player."

As his first season as Tulane's coach ticks away, Bob Toledo's amazement at Matt's accomplishments are magnified by two factors: Forté was coming off knee surgery that sidelined him for the past three games in '06, and the Green Wave's most suspect area was an inexperienced offensive line.

"I was thinking if I were back at UCLA, and Matt was doing the same kind of things, he'd be right in the Heisman Trophy mix," Toledo said. "For NFL scouts, he's just beginning to become less and less of a secret. I'd love to see him get a chance to play in the Senior Bowl."

That's no problem, coach.

On behalf of the Senior Bowl committee, I hereby extend an invitation to Matt Forté, running back, Tulane University.

See you in January, in Mobile.