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EWING – For many high school students, they know what they’re going to do after they graduate. Some will attend college, while others will move onto the workforce or the military.
However, for sophomore running back Khani Glover, he knew that he wanted to go to college. Yet, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do.
Glover had a family member insist that he attend The College of New Jersey.
“I applied here because I was being recruited for football and my dad told me to give it a try,” he said. “In a few weeks, I was accepted. I was still on the fence until accepted students day, but once I visited and felt the atmosphere of the existing students and my class students, I felt right at home.”
Besides being a football player – and its hectic schedule already – he is majoring in nursing. He is one of two players who are nursing majors, (the other is senior wide receiver Conor Mulholland.)
“I chose nursing because as cliche as it may be, I enjoy helping people,” Glover stated. “I decided that nursing would be a great avenue for that. Plus, I would get the opportunity to work in a hospital, which I feel would be fun. I’ve been in the hospital for a couple of bumps and bruises in my football career, so seeing how they helped me made me want to reciprocate that to other patients in the future. I wanted to pick a major that in the end I would enjoy what I am doing and be proud of it. I just couldn’t see myself sitting in a cubicle all day.”
As he wants to help others, senior running back Victor Scalici has helped him learn the ropes on the field. For the past two years, the two have been able to form a bond.
“Learning from Victor is great,” Glover mentioned. “I love the guy; he is great to be around. A real selfless guy. He is all about the team. I really enjoy his work ethic. Being two different types of runners – and of course, him being in the program longer than I have helped me learn a lot. Being passed the torch from a Shore Conference man, like Vic, would be an honor.”
Glover has carried the ball 28 times for 78 yards and a touchdown this season. He also has three receptions for 73 yards and another touchdown.
Scalici leads the team in rushing with 47 attempts for 206 yards and three touchdowns. Glover is second on the team in rushing.
The team will return to the field this Saturday afternoon with a noon kickoff against No. 5 Wesley College. It will be their first game since Sept. 19 when they lost 23-6 to Kean University.
“My expectations for the rest of the season are high,” Glover said. “It’s not how you start, its how you
finish. We let a few games slip away from us, but I know the guys we have on the team. We have the potential to win. We want to win. That drive will carry us through the rest of the season and hopefully brings us some wins. We know what we are capable of; we just have to go out and perform.”
The team will be looking for its first win since Nov. 1st, 2014 last season against Kean University. They are 0-3 on the season.
While Glover is still young, head coach Wayne Dickens believes that he can be one of the best running backs in school history.
“He’s a good young running back,” coach Dickens added. “He works hard at it, and those things you can’t manufacture. When it’s all said in done, he’s going to be a really good back here. He’s just young right now.”
He led the team with 475 rushing yards and five touchdowns last season as a freshman. He has 553 yards in 13 career games.
Glover said that going down as one of the best running backs in school history would mean a great deal to him.
“It would truly be an honor to be remembered like that,” he said. “If that were the case, it wouldn’t have been able to be accomplished without the team around me. At this point in my career, that is not something I think about, however. Right now, we are just focused on winning. Individual accolades will come. Because, realistically, who knows what the future holds. Only time will tell. Somebody can join the team tomorrow and take it from me. My spot is not given to me. I have to work each and every day to get where I want to be.”