AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 Texas linebacker Rasheem Biles has three career interceptions.<\/p>\n
He also has three career touchdowns.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s right. Every time Biles has picked off a pass in college – he’s scored.<\/p>\n
That kind of athleticism is nothing new for Biles. Long before he became a linebacker, he was accustomed to having the football in his hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn high school, I played running back, receiver, I did a lot of Wildcat, and I played free safety my senior year,\u201d Biles said. \u201cSo really, I just started playing linebacker when I got to college.\u201d<\/p>\n
He has learned the position quickly. Through just 24 collegiate games at linebacker, Biles has piled up 183 tackles, 10.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and three interceptions \u2014 with all three picks returned for touchdowns.<\/p>\n
It helps explain Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian\u2019s succinct description of his new defender:<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Biles agrees, although he has a more detailed scouting report.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like to refer to myself as a three-level threat,\u201d Biles said. \u201cI can cover good, I can obviously play the run and blitz, and I can rush the passer. So if you just put all three of those together, like you say, you have a problem on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chasing bigger games<\/p>\n
Texas admired Biles\u2019 versatility. Biles admired something bigger about Texas: the opportunity to play when the stakes are highest.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m tired of just having to sit home in December and January and watch big games on TV,\u201d Biles said. \u201cI want to be a part of that game. I want to be a part of big games. I want to win the national championship. That\u2019s my biggest goal. And coming here, I feel like I can do that for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those ambitions fit the nickname Biles has carried since his youth: Heem the Dream.<\/p>\n
There is the NFL dream. There is the national championship dream.<\/p>\n
But another dream says even more about the person behind the player.<\/p>\n
Giving kids in Columbus an outlet<\/p>\n
Biles and his mother started the Dream Foundation in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio, with a mission that is deeply personal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Dream Foundation is a foundation for kids and adolescents, just helping with mental behavior,\u201d Biles said. \u201cObviously growing up, I was a troubled kid. I was kind of a bad kid, but I always had people around me who just kind of helped me and got me to where I am now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now Biles wants to be that person for someone else.<\/p>\n
Working alongside his mother and the Reset Rec Center, Biles has helped create programs designed to give children a safe and productive place to spend their time. The facility includes a basketball court, turf, classrooms, computers and games. There are after-school programs, transportation and meals, while Biles has also helped organize basketball opportunities for local kids.<\/p>\n
The purpose is simple: give them an outlet.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything I could do to help in the city, because I knew growing up it was hard,\u201d Biles said. \u201cColumbus, it\u2019s not a lot of people that really make it out. But if you just keep your head on straight and just keep grinding and have something to do, have an outlet, it can really do a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just before reporting to preseason camp, Biles returned home for an Aug. 1 back-to-school drive. Families received backpacks and school supplies, while the event also featured games, bounce houses, snow cones, raffles and gift-card competitions.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe and my mom try to help them kids in any way we can,\u201d Biles said. \u201cThe Dream Foundation, I\u2019ve just been pushing that a lot. I\u2019m just trying to give back.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Biles, the work is more than charity. He sees himself in the children he is trying to help.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is very personal, because like I said, I was once one of them kids,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Biles was raised by his mother, and he remembers spending his childhood outside with his siblings, sometimes finding trouble at school and elsewhere. Those experiences now shape what he wants the Dream Foundation to provide.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know how it is when you\u2019ve got ADHD and stuff like that and your brain is just like, you just want to do this and do that,\u201d Biles said. \u201cSo I just try to give them kids an outlet.\u201d<\/p>\n
One game already circled<\/p>\n
Biles is committed to making Columbus a better place.<\/p>\n
That does not mean he has forgotten what awaits Texas on the field.<\/p>\n
The Longhorns\u2019 matchup with Ohio State carries an obvious extra layer for the Columbus native. Staying home was never particularly appealing after the Buckeyes did not recruit him coming out of high school.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I made my list, I told my mom, Columbus, I ain\u2019t really trying to be in Columbus,\u201d Biles said. \u201cI ain\u2019t trying to be a Buckeye. They ain\u2019t want me out of high school and I was right there, so ain\u2019t no point in trying to get me now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then he smiled at the opportunity ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited for that game, definitely,\u201d Biles said. \u201cThat\u2019s circled on my calendar for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heem the Dream wants a national championship. He wants a future in football. And he wants the kids back home to have opportunities of their own.<\/p>\n
For opposing offenses, Sarkisian’s assessment may be the simplest way to put it.<\/p>\n
Rasheem Biles is a problem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 Texas linebacker Rasheem Biles has three career interceptions. He also has three career touchdowns. That\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":408975,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":["post-408974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408974"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408974\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}