T.O. 2.0: Who is this kinder, gentler Terrell Owens on 'Celebrity Apprentice?'

Comedian Gilbert Godfried, former talk show host Geraldo Rivera, and ex-NFL bad boy Terrell Owens endure time in the boardroom on Donald Trump's "Celebrity Apprentice." (NBC Photo)
Comedian Gilbert Godfried, former talk show host Geraldo Rivera, and ex-NFL bad boy Terrell Owens endure time in the boardroom on Donald Trump's "Celebrity Apprentice." (NBC Photo)

NBC's reality TV show "Celebrity Apprentice" thrives on the outrageous antics and inane and insane drama that swirls around C-list celebrities. Folks with bloated egos and fading careers compete in business-oriented tasks overseen by real estate entrepreneur Donald Trump.

Sounds like a perfect fit with Terrell Owens' flashy football persona -- T.O.

* T.O.: The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga athlete and NFL wide receiver whose provocative quotes in controversial interviews got him suspended from the Philadelphia Eagles.

photo Terrell Owens, playing for the San Francisco 49ers during the 1996-2003 seasons.

* T.O: Who, as a San Francisco 49er, thumbed his nose at Dallas Cowboy fans by celebrating a touchdown catch on Texas Stadium's famous center-field star logo. (Ironically, he would later play for the Cowboys.)

photo Terrell Owens, playing for the Dallas Cowboys during the 2006-2008 seasons.

* T.O.: The guy who pulled a Sharpie from his sock to sign a football after a touchdown reception during a "Monday Night Football" game against the Seattle Seahawks.

* T.O.: The player so controversial he's even earned a 14-paragraph section subtitled "Controversy" under his Wikipedia file.

But the Terrell Owens viewers are watching on "Celebrity Apprentice" is not that flamboyant player known for his touchdown celebrations. This is T.O. 2.0. He's quiet, s T.O. 2.0. He's quiet, low-key, reserved, respectful; so much so that even The Donald praised his demeanor after Task No. 3 and deemed the athlete "matured."

What?!

As surprising as this may be to TV viewers, Owens' friends, fans and former coaches -- those who knew him when he played football and basketball for UTC from 1992-95 -- say this is the T.O. they know.

T.O. Timeline

* 1992-95: Played for UTC Mocs.* 1996: Selected in third round of the NFL Draft.* 1996-2003: Played for San Francisco 49ers.* 1999: Played himself in the sports movie, "Any Given Sunday."* 2004-2005: Played for Philadelphia Eagles.* 2005: Appeared in episode of "Punk'd," lampooning his suspension from the Eagles.* 2006: Writes "Little T. Learns to Share" children's book.* 2006-2008: Played for Dallas Cowboys.* 2008: Played in NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, scored 18 points, named game MVP. Radio co-host of "Inside the Huddle," a player commentary show.* 2009: Played for Buffalo Bills. Starred in his own reality TV show, "The T.O. Show," which followed him, his best friends and publicist as they discussed T.O's personal life. Played in second NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, again named MVP.* 2010: Played for Cincinnati Bengals.* 2011: Played for Allen Wranglers indoor football team. Guest star on USA Network's "Necessary Roughness."* 2012: Guest on "Dr. Phil."* 2013: Had five-episode arc on NBC sitcom "Go On," playing Matthew Perry's temporary assistant.* 2014: Makes a cameo shot in "I Deserve It" R&B video that featured Faith Evans, Missy Elliott and Sharaya J.* 2015: Contestant on "Celebrity Apprentice."Source: Various Internet sites

"The Terrell Owens I knew was that very respectful, low-key kind of guy," says Jim Reynolds, talk radio host and the radio voice of the Mocs for more than three decades. "He and I talked a lot, so I felt like I knew him pretty well. He was always respectful. The kind of humor he displayed in the NFL, I never saw that.

"I do know there were stories of coaches getting mad at him in the locker room. But I don't even know if I would say he was flashy. I never witnessed that. He was just one of the guys."

photo Terrell Owens, playing for the Cincinnati Bengals during the 2010 season.

"Watching the little I've seen, he doesn't surprise me," says David Smotherman, owner of Winder Binder Gallery and Bookstore on the North Shore and a longtime friend of Owens, having met him when Owens was a UTC football player and Smotherman was a fan.

"If anything, the last couple of years have really humbled him. Things didn't go the way he wanted in the end. I think Terrell is a lot smarter than people realize he is. I think this will be good for his image to show this other side of him."

Tune in

"Celebrity Apprentice" airs tonight in back-to-back episodes starting at 8 p.m. on NBC, Comcast channel 4, EPB channel 3.

By contract with NBC, Owens is not allowed to talk to the media until after the "Celebrity Apprentice" season is over -- or he gets booted off the show, whichever comes first.

Russell Wright, a Mocs football teammate of Owens and now a UTC assistant football coach, recalls "when we played ball together, he was just like all the rest of us."

"We were just college kids playing ball and trying to scrounge for money to go hang out," Wright says. "He kept to himself a lot. We would go on road trips, and he was always at the back of the bus, just hanging out."

Erik Gray, whom Mocs fans will remember was mascot Chief Mocanooga until he graduated from UTC in the mid-'90s, has remained friends with Owens since their graduation. Gray also was Mocs director of ticket sales and promotions until 2000 and now is employed with Unum.

"To people who are around him, he's fairly laid back, and he loves to have fun with the moment and the people he's with -- whether at a Waffle House, a charity event or a basketball game," says Gray.

He recalls Owens' genuine interest in Mocs football when he came back to UTC for a pre-game talk to the 2011 football team.

"All eyes were on him and he gave a great pep talk," Gray says. "But after the game, he made it a point to go back to the locker room to shake hands with the student-athletes, take pictures and spend some time with the players who wanted to talk to him."

Mack McCarthy, former UTC men's basketball coach, now the assistant athletic director at East Carolina University, says he and Owens have remained in touch, their most recent conversation held over the holidays.

"He was the ultimate team guy in basketball," says McCarthy. "He made everybody better because he worked so hard, and he made everybody else work hard. He was a great athlete who gave great effort, who would do anything he could to help the team win."

McCarthy points out that, in the two years Owens played hoops for UTC, the receiver-turned-basketball walk-on had to wait until after football season ended to join the basketball team, which had already started its season. He would spend weeks learning the team plays "and it was up into January before he was comfortable enough to contribute in a game situation," says McCarthy. "I've told him often how much I appreciated his work ethic."

OWENS' UTC BACKSTORY

How Owens came to play for UTC was something of a fluke in itself -- and the story has grown almost to urban legend.

Buddy Nix, the Mocs football coach who recruited Owens, says he actually went to Benjamin Russell High School in Alexander City, Ala., to recruit receiver Derek Hall for the Mocs. He never saw Owens play football, but noticed him in a basketball game.

"You could just tell he was a really good athlete," recalls Nix, who is now special assistant with the NFL's Buffalo Bills.

Mocs folklore holds that Hall wouldn't sign to UTC without his buddy Owens coming, too, which Nix says is untrue. But the trip did net UTC a pair of stand-outs from one school.

Owens held the single-season reception record at UTC (57) until 2007 (12 years after his graduation). But Owens' name is still notched in six of UTC football's Top 10 offensive record lists.

photo Terrell Owens, playing for the Buffalo Bills during the 2009 season.

It was Owens' play in the Mocs' 1993 game against No. 1 ranked Marshall that made him a true star -- a game he almost missed, according to Wright.

"Not many people know this, but before we played Marshall ... Terrell fell asleep in the dorm after pre-game meal," he recalls. "One of our coaches saw he was missing, and no one knew where he was. So we get ready to walk up for warm-ups and they send me, fully dressed, to get him up.

"We told him to go up with the linemen and stay away from Coach (Tommy) West because, if he knew, he wouldn't let Terrell play. He made it through warm-ups without (Coach West) knowing and caught four TDs that night. They were No. 1 in the country, and we beat them up on old Chamberlain Field."

Nix recalls Owens was "immature, always on the edge, never did anything bad," but stayed on the coaches' radar for "little things like being on time."

Ironically, Owens and Nix would meet again when the player was signed by the Buffalo Bills in 2009.

"I don't remember him ever being subdued about anything, and he wasn't that way when I knew him in the NFL," Nix says. "But he's been through a lot of hard times and he's been humbled some. I think he has matured.

"The last conversation we had wasn't very pleasant because I had to call and tell him I was letting him go from Buffalo. But he was very professional about it," Nix says.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

Before his current run on "Celebrity Apprentice," one of Owens' last national television appearances was an embarrassing confrontation/intervention with the mothers of his children on a "Dr. Phil" episode in 2012. Three of the four mothers of his children claimed he was coming up short on child support and that he took no part in his children's lives. Owens replied he was paying up to $45,000 a month in child support at one time.

But the positive editing he's received so far on "Celebrity Apprentice," combined with the business-like manner in which he has filled his assignments, could go a long way to erase that image. "Celebrity Apprentice" has revived careers (Gary Busey) and vilified others (Omarosa Manigault).

"I'm excited for his opportunity," Gray says about Owens' participation in the show. "He's a businessman and a philanthropist. This supports his goals. I think he is trying to be as genuine as possible. It sounds like Donald Trump said he was a model citizen on the show."

"I think he's one of those, especially with a camera around, who rises to the occasion. Don't tell Terrell Owens he can't do something because he'll prove you wrong. He could out-trump Donald Trump," says Reynolds.

But if Owens does hear Trump's famous dismissal line -- "You're fired" -- before the end of the season, his friends say it won't be a terrible blow.

"He's been fired by millionaires before," reminds Reynolds, laughing. "It ain't no big thing."

Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.

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