The RoundHouse | 9/27/2024 8:08:00 AM

By Paul Suellentrop

He looked too small to play NCAA Division I football, so coaches advised him to wear a loose-fitting sweater to pump up his appearance. By his own admission, Maurice Foxworth didn't dedicate himself to his studies while at Wichita State University.
 
None of that ultimately impeded Foxworth, now an intellectual property lawyer and consultant who lives in Woodbridge, Va. He had help, which is one reason he will return to Wichita this weekend for Wichita State's All-Years Football Reunion.
 
"I want to honor Coach (Willie) Jeffries for making those types of opportunities possible," he said.

Foxworth's size didn't dissuade Jeffries, the Wichita State football coach who signed him as a defensive back out of University City High School in St. Louis. Foxworth went onto a strong career as a cornerback for the Shockers, helped by Jeffries' belief. After college, Jeffries stepped up again to help Foxworth pay for graduate school and launch a path that took him from NASA to law school and a career in  intellectual property and tech transfer.
 
"That's where it starts," Foxworth said. "Coach Jeffries, as a coach and as a person, taught me a lesson. If you have the skills and the right attitude, you have an opportunity. He proved that to me."

 
Foxworth returns to Wichita this weekend for the All-Years Football Reunion on Friday and Saturday. On Friday, the "Success Has No Zip Code," documentary about Jeffries will be shown in the Rhatigan Student Center.
 
Jeffries, 87, won't attend due to medical reasons. For former players such as Foxworth, the story of Jeffries' trailblazing life will spark many memories. Jeffries, the first Black head coach at an NCAA Division I school, coached the Shockers from 1979-83, a tenure highlighted by an 8-3 record in 1982.
 
Jeffries, from Union, S.C., was inducted into the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame in 2010 after winning three Black national titles and eight conference titles. He finished his career as the winningest coach in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference history with tenures at South Carolina State (1973-78, 1989-2001) and Howard (1984-88).
 
At Wichita State, he took over a program with one winning season since 1964. The 1982 team produced the program's highest win total, helped by a 13-10 win at Kansas, since the 1961 team also finished 8-3. He coached NFL players Jumpy Geathers and Anthony Jones, as well as quarterback Prince McJunkins and receiver Reuben Eckels.
 
Foxworth is part of Jeffries' success story at Wichita State. Listed at 5-foot-10, 165 pounds as a freshman, he started at cornerback and intercepted two passes. In 1984, he intercepted four passes and broke up 12 to earn second-team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors. In 1985, he earned first-team honors in a selection by coaches.

He remembers himself as a 130-pound linebacker in high school. Shocker assistant coach Ben Blacknall liked Foxworth's play on film and recruited him.
 
"I don't think he realized how small I was," Foxworth said. "They gave me a visit. Coach Blacknall told me to wear big sweaters and maybe I'd get away with it. I'd had similar experiences at other schools, where the coach that was recruiting me had me put on big sweaters and act like I was bigger. At the end of the day, they always caught on."
 
His size didn't turn away Jeffries and Blacknall and their instincts proved correct throughout Foxworth's time as a Shocker. He intercepted nine passes for his career, tied for third in the WSU record book. Foxworth played three seasons (one while sitting out with an injury) and two for coach Ron Chismar.
 
Foxworth graduated with a general studies degree, but didn't excel in the classroom.
 
"I had some challenges in the classroom, mainly due to dedication," he said.
 
He returned to St. Louis and worked at a fast food chain. He knew he wanted to attend graduate school, so he saved money and bulked up his transcript by taking classes at Missouri-St. Louis.
 
"I thought I left a lot on the table," he said. "I wanted another opportunity."
 
Jeffries, fired by Wichita State after the 1983 season, moved to Howard, in Washington, D.C. While Foxworth didn't want to coach for a career, he offered to do anything Jeffries needed with the football team in exchange for a spot in graduate school.
 
"Given his southern roots and segregated society, he understood the struggles of young people and how important a great foundation is," Foxworth said. "He took pride in doing something about it, being an active change agent in young men's lives."
 
Foxworth ran out of tuition money during his two years as a graduate assistant on the Howard football team. He went to Jeffries to talk through his issue. Jeffries wrote a note, sealed it in an envelope, and instructed Foxworth to take it to his bank. At the bank, Foxworth handed over the note. A teller read it and returned with $10,000 in the envelope for his tuition.
 
 He repaid Jeffries the money the next semester. Foxworth earned his master's degree in instructional technology at Howard.
 
"He said, 'Whenever you get your money, get it back to me,'" Foxworth said. "Coach Blacknall and Coach Jeffries opened those doors for me. That's how my path has run. I used that foundation."
 
While coaching defensive backs for Jeffries, Foxworth used his academic path to help football. In 1987, long before computer-based analytics became mainstream, he designed a computer program to analyze and predict the play-calling tendencies of an opponent. Foxworth, from the press box, used the computer program to help set the defense.
 
"We created a database that provided predictive suggestions about what the next play would be," he said. "(Coach Jeffries) allowed me to be in the press box and refer to it. That was an amazing opportunity for me to show how technology could impact whatever type of situation."
 
That second-chance foundation, built on football and Jeffries belief in an under-sized cornerback from St. Louis, took Foxworth to NASA as a program specialist from 1998-1990. He earned his degree in intellectual property law from Saint Louis University.
 
His education, helped by Jeffries, put him on the ground floor of a new era of computing and artificial intelligence.
 
Foxworth, as it turns out, wasn't too small to play football. When he found his motivation, he found his academic path and excelled at that, as well. Jeffries, Foxworth remembers well, boosted him in both areas.

Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.