Fall — 2004

Anthony Cephas

SMC Student 1997-98,
Member of the Corsairs ‘Fab Five’

“It was a lot of work, getting to SMC and playing football. Coming from high school, a lot of guys were bigger and tough on you. But you also had a lot of good guidance and positive influences.”

According to one of his teammates on the 1997-98 Corsairs football team, Anthony Cephas was the fastest of all the wide receivers known as the ‘Fab Five.’ “I was really looking forward to my shot at the NFL, which is why I transferred to Tennessee State,” recalls Anthony. “But I got hurt down there; a knee got blown out.” That was two years—and a lot of rehabilitation—ago. “But it’s all healed now,” he says. “And if the opportunity arises to play or coach, I’ll be there. ”

If Anthony ends up coaching, he’ll be able to pass along lessons he learned from one of the best. “You know, I messed up academically a couple of times, but Coach Taylor (Coach T) was there to help me out. I’d been to high school with a lot of my friends at SMC, so we’d all be messin’ around. I just wasn’t studying that hard,” Anthony admits. “But when it came down to me not being eligible to play, I got eligible real quick, because football was my life. And Coach Taylor helped me every step of the way. I mean, he comes to your house to talk to you, and he talks to your parents. He was really a second father to me. The best.”

Now working for a large mortgage company and conducting research all over America, Anthony still awaits that call from the NFL. “But you know, I’ve had a lot of other opportunities and options because of what I learned at SMC,” he says. “And my advice to people coming there for the first time is to take advantage of everything you possibly can. Don’t be afraid to work hard, because nothing prepares you more for life than making it to a good university.”

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