Most opposing receivers tower over Sacramento State junior cornerback Dre Terrell, but that hasn’t stopped him from intercepting balls from under their noses and picking up accolades.

Terrell, 21, stands modestly at 5-foot-8 with his Big Sky Conference and Football Championship Subdivision — which is a national collegiate football conference with over 120 programs — Defensive Player of the Week awards next to him.

With height in mind, the University of Incarnate Word tested Terrell with consistent pass attempts on his side of the ball Sept. 9 at Hornet Stadium. He passed the pop quiz and tied a Sac State record with three interceptions, all in the first half, and helped the team stride away with 56-22 home-opening win.  

“I love it,” Terrell said, referring to opposing team’s eagerness to attack him in the passing game. “It has been like that my whole life because I’ve always been shorter, but I like the challenge.”

Jody Sears explains how junior CB Dre Terrell is able to compete with opposing receivers, despite his 5-foot-8 stature. pic.twitter.com/3wucqLwjD0

— Angel 👨🏽‍💻 (@angelguerrerooo) September 12, 2017

Terrell — an Elk Grove native who leads the team with four interceptions — started his highlight-reel season with a falling-on-his-back end zone takeaway Aug. 31 against Idaho and most recently a one-handed Odell Beckham Jr.-esque steal at the one-yard line against UIW.

“Dre came into the game real focused, real prepared,” Sac State junior safety Mister Harriel said. “He had a good week of practice, he came into the game and made his plays. I’ve seen him make these plays everyday in practice and he just did what he did.”

This isn’t an empty boast on Harriel’s part, as Terrell had nearly 20 interceptions and drove coaches “nuts” with his flare for the one-handed grab during spring training camp in 2015, Sac State coach Jody Sears said.

“He’s got great ball skills,” Sears said. “He’ll have interceptions after interceptions during practice (and) it wasn’t surprising to me, but it’s nice to see a hard worker and a very skilled athlete have some success.”

However, cornerback wasn’t always the position plan for Terrell at Sac State after he played quarterback and defensive back at Pleasant Grove High School. After originally being asked to play receiver, he transitioned to safety in 2014 and then to cornerback in 2016.

“I think why they made the decision was because of my ball skills,” Terrell said. “I can track the ball well when the ball is in the air, so I think putting me at safety, it gave me the opportunity to make more plays. I enjoyed it, but I think I love corner so that’s where I want to be.”

Terrell credits his early junior season success to his baptism by fire against two former Sac State receivers that rank in the top six in career receiving yards and receptions during his first year with the team in 2014.

“My redshirt year I was playing against DeAndre Carter, Nnamdi (Agude) and I’m not going to lie — I was getting torched in practice every day,” Terrell said. “But it was also making me better as a player, making me smarter watching them work.”

After starting four games at cornerback, totaling 22 tackles and zero interceptions, Terrell is the first to say he didn’t play well enough or compete to his standards in 2016. Sears is next in line to describe his sophomore stint as “OK,” but is also eager to praise his evolution.

“The award that he got last week was very deserving, but more than anything I love the fact and I’m more proud of him for his persistence and his hard work ethic because we’ve challenged him and we’ve coached him hard the last couple years,” Sears said. “It’s nice to see a guy reap what he’s been sowing.”