vlad had some decent offers. he sucks ass though.
It starts when you first listen to Vlad Faustin speak, the trace of French dialect that makes him sound a bit different. Then you find out he was born in Brussels, Belgium, instilled with a culture that has greatly impacted his life. And how he is a second-degree black belt in karate, a longtime interest and an art that has always intrigued this 6-foot-3, 230-pound physical specimen.
How he enjoys reading philosophy during his spare time. How he constantly wonders why things are the way they are, how simple things originate — the curiosity of it all. His thirst for knowledge and education. His love of medicine. His intentions of studying kinesiology and bio mechanics as an incoming freshman at Kansas State.
This, gulp, is your defensive end?
"People say I'm not the average football player," Faustin concedes. "I'm not the average person, period, but people say I'm not the average football player because I know what I want, I know this and that and I say certain things.
"They say I'm not too common amongst ballplayers, but it's what interests me. I do this and I can play ball, and I can do it well."
No objection there.
Faustin, of Sunrise, Fla., might be the most unique member of K-State's 28-man recruiting class of 2004, but he is not short on talent. He started both his junior and senior seasons after transferring from a private school to Pace High in north Miami, a program known as a hotbed for Division I-A prospects.
Pace was undefeated in 2002 before falling in the third round of Class 3A playoffs, and featured the likes of this senior crew: blue-chip linebacker Willie Williams (Miami Hurricanes before legal troubles), cornerback Byron Garvin (Kansas State), running back Jerry Seymour (MAC freshman of the year at Central Michigan) and others at Tennessee State and Florida Atlantic.
When Faustin was a senior, Pace rolled to a
12-3 record and the state championship.
Faustin was named a first-team 3A all-state selection at defensive end by the Florida Sports Writers Association, totaling 112 tackles and a startling 16 sacks that season. That gave him 194 stops and 20 sacks in just two years.
He was considered one of the top 50 prospects in talent-rich Miami-Dade County's class of '04 by the Miami Herald. He could have seemingly gone to any college he desired with his combination of brains and brawn. He was offered football scholarships by six other D-IA schools and recruited by at least 10 in all.
Faustin chose the Wildcats.
"You look at all the things he's involved with and what he stands for, we're very fortunate to have him coming to Kansas State," said Greg Peterson, one of coach Bill Snyder's top assistants and a one-time recruiting coordinator for the program.
"He's a very mature person. You don't always see those things that he's accomplished or experienced this early in someone's career, and it speaks volumes about his work ethic and his character. He's a unique man, isn't he?"
That's quite the understatement for Faustin, who was scheduled to arrive in Manhattan on Monday and cited plans to live the remainder of the summer with fellow defensive end Alax Carrier.
But Faustin doesn't mind the label.
He'll gladly tell you about recollections from his childhood, the first couple of years in Belgium, a couple more in New York and the rest in the Miami and Ft. Lauderdale area of Florida. He moved to the Sunshine State when he was 4.
He'll chuckle when describing some of his favorite French foods, like the fried egg, ham and cheese sandwich he always requests for his mother to cook, or her special recipe for crepes. Faustin's parents grew up in Europe and were studying medicine — where Vlad developed his strong interest — in Brussels before he was born.
"People ask me where I'm from, because they say something's different about how I speak," said Faustin, who admits he's rusty on his French but can understand it well, particularly with his mom and dad using the language often around the house. "I don't know. I'm not sure if it's an accent, but people can pick up on it very easily."
And Faustin will forecast his overseas return sometime in the near future, perhaps as early as next summer, to visit family and friends for 2-3 weeks. After all, he has relied on telephone conversations and storytime most of his life.
He wants to relive first-hand the culture that has shaped him in so many ways, regaining the knowledge and the memories.
"It really broadens your horizons," Faustin said of his upbringing in life, which now takes a transitional turn.
Faustin traveled early to Manhattan in hopes of getting a head start, taking time to get acquainted with his new surroundings — a bit different than back home in Florida. He plans to do plenty of Kevin Huntley-shadowing, learning and absorbing from the senior starter who will leave a substantial void at one end spot after his final year of eligibility.
Waiting to fill it will be Faustin.
"Coach Snyder sat me down and projected what it's going to look like the next two or three years, and the opportunity's there, let's put it that way," he said. "The rest is in my hands."
These hands are nowhere near the size of the mammoth, 6-foot-8 Huntley — "Huuuuge hands," Faustin says in awe — but Faustin can pack a punch.
He said he has a natural ability to play defensive end, utilizing quickness and above-average speed to combat his mildly undersized frame. He likes nothing more than making a sack on the quarterback, the one player on the field that fans constantly fix their eyes on.
And soon enough, he could be a dominating defensive presence at K-State, just like his senior year position coach at Pace: hard-hitting safety Mario Smith.
"A lot of us didn't know who he was when he first came," Faustin recalled, "and then he put on his highlight tape. Then we REALLY knew who he was. We were like, 'Wow, this guy is amazing.' "
How about that clip from the 1997 Cotton Bowl, when Smith delivered a bone-crushing hit that nearly beheaded a BYU receiver?
"We rewound that sooo many times," Faustin said. "Oh, my gosh, we didn't know he was that caliber. And he's like in better shape than he was back then. He could still put on the pads right now and probably knock someone out."
But they too discovered Smith's extreme passion and work ethic, his desire to train with the Pace players and run along with them during practices. It spoke volumes.
"That showed the K-State program was really disciplined," Faustin said, "and that separated them from a lot of colleges. Other colleges showed me what they had. K-State showed me what their results were. They threw out numbers. They said this is what we can do. Here's the charts.
"They were so disciplined in what they did, even with the testing that they provide. Everybody trains hard, and I'm looking forward to it. That's also why I wanted to come in the summertime, because I didn't want to train down (in Florida) and then go up there and not even be at the level of training they were at. I want to be right there with them."
