Sunday, August 10, 2003

By Mike White, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

First in a series on top high school football players in the WPIAL and City League.

TWISM.

Butler High School's Tyrell Sales isn't afraid of a little hard work on or off the field. (Bob Donaldson, Post-Gazette) KEY DATES Dates to mark on the calendar as the high school football season arrives: Tomorrow: First day teams are permitted to practice Saturday: First scrimmages Aug. 22-23: Second scrimmages Aug. 29: Opening night of the regular season Related articles Demand increasing for Aliquippa's Revis (8/25/03) Pitt-bound duo takes major leadership role seriously at Kiski (8/23/03) Peabody's Davis truly big man in the middle (8/22/03) Sto-Rox QB nearing WPIAL pass record (8/21/03) Spotlight finally focuses on Lyons (8/20/03) Gateway's Ivy quickly growing as a top quarterback talent (8/19/03) Beaver's Nicol has shown worth at tight end (8/18/03) Pine-Richland's Walker will add QB to resume (8/17/03) Shipley shapes up as defensive star at Moon (8/15/03) Hopewell lineman reinvents himself (8/14/03) McKeesport LB fan of blockbuster hits (8/13/03) After rocky start, Rogers is thriving (8/11/03) Butler relies heavily on Sales to turn around its football fortunes (8/10/03)

The word is on Tyrell Sales' school notebooks. It's part of his computer screen name. He thought about getting the word tattooed on his arm.

OK, so TWISM is not a word. You can't find it in the dictionary. But to Sales, it's the meaning of life. TWISM is short for "The World Is Mine."

"I heard Shaquille O'Neal say it years ago," Sales said. "Ever since then, it's always stuck with me. I always say to myself, 'the world is mine.' "

In Sales' case, it's hard to argue.

A senior at Butler High School, he is a star linebacker in football who has scholarship offers from a couple dozen NCAA Division I colleges. He's a talented basketball player, who averaged 19.3 points a game as a junior and made all-section. He was sixth in the discus at the PIAA Class AAA track and field championships this past spring. He's also a good student, with a 3.6 grade point average.

"I'm not saying the world is mine just to be conceited," Sales said. "I just feel like, if I want something, I'm capable of getting it. Nothing can hold me back. I just feel really good about everything because I have a lot going on."

Garry Cathell feels fortunate Sales is part of his world. Cathell is in his second year as Butler's coach.

"I've never had a kid of this caliber," said Cathell, who also coached at Peters Township.

Sales is 6 feet 3, 235 pounds. He bench presses 325 pounds and is as nimble as a basketball point guard. Butler's players ran the 40-yard dash Wednesday. Sales' time of 4.58 seconds was one of the fastest.

Speed runs in the family. One of Sales' cousins, Maurice Sales, ran track at Peabody. In 2002, he won the PIAA championship in the 200-meter dash and was second in the 100.

Although Tyrell Sales plays inside linebacker and tight end for Butler, college coaches see a number of Sales positions.

He also can play outside linebacker. Some colleges like him at both positions. He also might be a defensive end in college, andRivals100.com ranks him the No. 4 prospect in the country at that position.

"He's so much bigger and stronger than he was a year ago," Cathell said. "With his size and speed, I think he can be a dominant defensive player."

Sales said, "I used to be better in basketball because I was always so much bigger than everybody. I used to think that basketball was going to be my sport until about ninth grade. Then, I started really hitting people in football. I loved it, and it became my sport."

Cathell said Sales reminds him of former McKeesport and Penn State star linebacker Brandon Short, now a member of the New York Giants.

"Body-wise, he reminds me of Short," Cathell said. "They don't have big, popping out muscles, but they're big kids. Brandon Short was the best defensive player I've ever seen. I really think Tyrell could be on the level of a Brandon Short."

Sales might follow in Short's footsteps and play at Penn State. Florida State, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Virginia and Virginia Tech are among the schools that have offered him a scholarship.

But Penn State and Pitt are Sales' top two choices. He has visited both schools and planned to make one more trip to both this weekend.

Sales might make a college decision before the start of the season.

"I like the coaches a lot at Pitt and I like the facilities," Sales said. "But I'd rather go to a school with a little better campus. I don't know if I want to be right in the middle of the city. But I like Pitt's coaches and facilities so much, and that's what's holding them in. I really like it out at Penn State. They have a great campus, good coaches and everything. It's just that Penn State is so big."

Sales is certainly the big man on campus at Butler. He carries himself with an air of confidence, but not cockiness.

Sales has been voted one of Butler's team captains, and he yearns for team success. Look at the sincerity in his eyes and you know it's not a phony Sales pitch.

"We haven't made the playoffs in my two years here," Sales said. "This is my last year of high school football, so I have to do whatever it takes to make this team successful and make me successful. I have to remember that if we want it, no one can keep us from it."

That's a TWISM attitude.

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