The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • D2

Filename: D2-SPORTS-AJCD0417-AJCD created: Apr 16 2008 Username: SPEED2 Thursday, Apr 17, 2008 SPORTS 2 AJCD 2 Cyan Magenta Yellow Black D2 Thursday, April 17, 2008 4 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ajc.com 2 Cyan Magenta Yellow Black AJCD i File name: D2-SPORTS-AJCD0417-AJCD created: Apr 16 2008 Username: SPEED2 Book: A chance help people that are his football career ended in 1998, he said he was confused about who he truly was. He said as many as 12 alternate personalities controlled him. Now, eight years after starting therapy, Walker is sharing his story. could have hid all this bad Walker said. could have hid that, but that have been fair.

I have an opportunity to help people that are hurting. There are a lot more people with DID than want to admit Walker said he is working with medical professionals to set up a network of hospitals. University Behavioral Health in Denton, Texas, is the of those. Another is scheduled to open in El Paso, Texas, in May. Land in San Francisco has just been acquired for a third hospital.

get so many letters today from people that are Walker said. answer their letters, but I can point them in the right biggest step in his mission to help others was the release of his book this week. The cathartic autobiography chronicles years of not understanding who he was and how the different manifested themselves in his life. used to think, I Walker said. When the former Georgia running back learned he and how to cope and deal with his DID, he said he immediately wanted to help others.

lot of people have said, jeez, this is something that is going to be devastating because you are Herschel he said. am not sure what they expect. I am a man that admitted that I had a problem. Any man out there this is for women too if you get knocked down you get up. That is what makes a man.

I look at as something positive, not something Walker views the book as positive because it could help other people struggling with the same questions he once had. The foremost expert on the disease, Dr. David Spiegel, the associate chair of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford, has opined that about 1 percent of Americans have DID. Others in the psychiatric profession have dismissed the diagnosis. It remains a controversial subject within the psychiatric But for Walker it is real.

The disease, which Walker said affects him because of verbal abuse he received outside the home as a child, manifested itself in different forms over his lifetime. Walker said he had episodes when he nearly took his own life and at other times that of his former wife, Cindy Grossman. He would play Russian roulette. He threatened Grossman with guns, knives and a straight razor. He said he remember most of those episodes but does believe they happened.

Walker said he had personalities that helped him overcome the odds in football and business. But he said his problem was he reconcile or control his personalities. about a person that lives at home and wears a white Walker said. he goes to play football he wears a red hat. When he goes to a business meeting he wears a blue hat.

And when he is with his friends he wears a pink hat. person with DID starts mixing the hats up and gets confused. They need somebody to help get the hats straight Walker said he found that person in Dr. Jerry Mungadze. The two had known each other in passing since days at Georgia.

Mungadze was an amateur runner and Walker used to see him at national meets. When Mungadze was recommended, Walker said he went in with skepticism but a willingness to listen. told me, look at some of the writing that I wrote months And I started realizing some of the content was totally Walker said. It true voice on the pages. Walker said that Mungadze suggested he may have been dissociating.

man is crazy Walker said he remembers thinking. But Mungadze started to further the disease. Walker said that the more he heard, the more he became convinced. A trip to an outpatient hospital in California convinced Walker he had DID. The violent mood swings, the gaps of lost time, the different personalities he displayed at different times were all explained by DID.

Mungadze has not returned several messages left at his various during the past four months. understood it was a coping Walker said. could be positive or Walker said his family in Wrightsville fully understand the disease but is supporting his efforts. He has also been overwhelmed by the letters and calls he has received from people thanking him for his honesty and helping them better understand themselves. God really care about Walker said.

cares about helping someone That is what Walker is trying to do now. Walker will be in Athens at the University Bookstore for a signing Friday from 12:30 p.m.- 2 p.m. He is scheduled to give a speech at the Jimmy Carter Library Friday at 7 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. Continued from D1 RICK McKAY Cox Washington Bureau In his book Herschel Walker tells how he came to grips with a disorder that caused multiple personalities.

GIMME 5 The daily list Peachy prospects Rob Rang, a senior analyst for NFLDraftScout.com, gives us the best NFL draft prospects who played their college football in the Peach State: 1. Marcus Howard, OLB, Georgia. Former defensive end needed to prove to scouts he had enough athleticism to move to linebacker, and did so, proving to be one of the most athletic linebacker prospects at the NFL scouting combine. Stock is rising. 2.

Tashard Choice, RB, Georgia Tech. Choice endeared himself to scouts with the toughness and determination he showed running through injuries in 2007. 3. Philip Wheeler, ILB, Georgia Tech. Disappointing senior season, but the former defensive end has the tools to warrant further development.

4. Thomas Brown, RB, Georgia. Productive back throughout his career, but scouts are worried about his lack of durability. 5. Curtis Johnson, OLB, Clark Atlanta.

Talented pass rusher drew comparisons to Joey Porter at the East- West Shrine game. GIVE US FIVE: Got someone like to see us go after? E-mail list ideas to Ronnie Ramos at Tashard Choice impressed scouts with his grit. Compiled by Jeff JOHNNY CRAWFORD Staff SPORTS GEORGIA TECH Punters, kickers cross-train By MIKE KNOBLER Georgia Tech plan to choose its punter or its kicker this spring. The Yellow Jackets even decided which specialist does what. Scott Blair and Mohamed Yahiaoui have been practicing in both roles this spring.

So has Chandler Anderson. expect any of the three to continue doing both once the season begins Aug. 28. pretty hard to do both in college, just because you have to be so good at each particular thing and pretty stiff Blair said. would be a pretty thing to So in fact, that Tech special teams coordinator Jeff Monken remember a time one player served in both roles on a Paul Johnson-coached team.

The closest: Jason Elam in 1992 at Hawaii, where Johnson was offensive coordinator. Elam averaged 44.5 yards in his one full season as a punter and still ranks fourth in NCAA history in points scored by a kicker. A Brookwood High School alumnus, he signed with the Falcons this year after 15 seasons kicking for the Denver Broncos. Tech have anybody like him. Blair handled 68 of 70 kickoffs last season as a freshman and might be the best leg the Yellow Jackets have at either the punter or the kicker position.

Blair is part of the reason Tech ranked second in the nation last season in kickoff coverage. Yahiaoui handled most of the kickoffs in 2005 and 2006 but redshirted last fall. Neither has shown the 45-yards- and-in consistency on goals that Travis Bell gave Tech last season, though they appear to be the leaders in a long list of candidates that even includes former wide receiver Tyler Davis. Johnson and Monken are in no hurry to tip their hand about whom pick. been the most consistent this Monken said.

just see where it goes. the kicked it good. kicked it good at times. Chandler hit some good punts. I know who the punter is.

make that decision when got to, and be in the The kickers and punters work with the coaches at the beginning of practice and sometimes at the end. In between, on their own, because Monken coaches the slot backs. Before each practice, he prepares a sheet of paper that tells the kickers, snappers and holders what to do while working on their own. been told whoever does best will get the job, but it has been an open- ended audition, with no clear progress report. told us in the Blair said.

just a have the pressure of knowing you have to be on all the time. You want them to see you He will have to wait awhile to learn whether a kicker or punter. His preference? love it Blair said. not one thing I like Specialists work on both duties, but that last GEORGIA STATE Panthers join rich football tradition By STAN AWTREY The names familiar to casual fans, but Georgia State fans will soon learn that football in the Colonial Athletic Association is serious business. The CAA is considered by many to be the Southeastern Conference of what was formerly known as Division I-AA.

The league was known as the Yankee Conference from 1946-96, then as the Atlantic 10 through 2006. A-10 football programs joined CAA Football in 2007, while their other sports remained in the A-10. How divided: The Northern Division includes Massachusetts, Hofstra, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island and Northeastern. The Southern Division has Richmond, James Madison, Delaware, Villanova, William Mary and Towson. Old Dominion begins football in 2009 and will begin league play in 2011.

a good chance things will be with Georgia State winding up in the Southern Division with the Virginia schools. Tradition Delaware is considered the signature program. The Blue Hens won the national championship in 2003 and lost to Appalachian State in the championship game last fall. James Madison won the 2004 national championship. The CAA has had four teams play for the national title over the past years.

The most successful team in the league has been Massachusetts, which has won or shared the conference title 20 times, the last coming in 2006 when the Minutemen lost in the NCAA championship game. New Hampshire (12) and Maine (11) also have double titles. UConn won 15 titles before joining the Big East. Only the Southern Conference (81) and Big Sky (55) have won more playoff games than the CAA (46). Travel time spend more time waiting to get your Coppertone through the TSA line at than have in the air.

two hours or less to Boston, Richmond, Providence, Philly or Baltimore. Maine and New Hampshire take a bit more time, but are worth the effort. Facilities hard to an empty seat at the Tubby Raymond Field at Delaware Stadium. They say it rivals the atmosphere and ambience of Georgia Paulson Stadium, without the extra championship banners. James Bridgeforth Stadium seats 14,513 and is being enlarged.

Most teams play in facilities that seat around 10,00012,000, which allows for intimacy not experienced at bigger schools. Playoffs Playoffs? Are you kidding me? Playoffs? This conference dominates the playoffs. In 2007 the CAA had of the 16 teams in the Massachusetts, Richmond, Delaware, New Hampshire and James Madison. No conference had ever placed that many teams in the playoffs. Three won their round games and James Madison had eventual national champion Appalachian State beaten when it opted to run one more play rather than kick a goal.

Greed is not good: Appalachian State caused a fumble, recovered it and ran out the clock to win 28-27. NFL players A year ago there were 39 CAA players who spent at least one week on an NFL roster. There have been 85 players drafted from the league, including such well-known players as Brian Westbrook (Villanova), Rich Gannon (Delaware), Marques Colston (Hofstra), Shaun Barber (Richmond) and Darren Sharper (William Mary). Each Super Bowl team had a CAA representative on its roster: New Brandon London (Massachusetts) and New Raymond Ventrone (Villanova). And please get the Brian Finneran (Villanova) or former Falcon Brian Jordan (Richmond) started.

Two CAA players competed at the NFL combine recently and should be drafted: Delaware quarterback Joey Flacco and Richmond wide receiver Arman Shields. SCHOOL SPIRIT: Georgia State student reaction. B1.