In "Rough Draft," lawyer-turned-writer-turned-football-player Clay Travis recounts his experience training for the 2008 NFL draft alongside some future pros. The following is Part 10 of 10 (read Chapter 9 here) installments that FanHouse will roll out every weekday leading up to the 2009 NFL Draft on April 25.At 6:35 in the morning, gray mist encircles the stone barracks of West Point. First-year cadets stand in the hallways counting down the minutes until formation, Cadet Caleb Campbell tucks in the corner of his bed, the green cover tight and without wrinkles. He adjusts his hat and steps outside of Eisenhower Barracks room E313. It's 6:39 in the morning. Look quickly across the timeless cadet procession standing in the courtyard, past the parade ground bleachers that say Beat Navy, and it could be any year, any time, but only one place: West Point at morning.
Caleb Campbell strides into the mess hall, and stands in front of his chair, until they receive a command to seat all cadets must remain standing. Once seated, before they can begin to eat, announcements begin. Cadet Campbell steels himself, clenches his stomach for just a moment, waits for the first words to filter down over the 4,000 cadets eating breakfast together. If it's a good day, the announcement won't begin, "It is my deepest regret to inform you..."
On days that begin with those words, a pall settles on the banks of the Hudson River, another West Point cadet, a man or woman who once ate breakfast in this same room, has died. In less than a month Caleb Campbell could be drafted by the NFL, in two months, May 31, 2008, he'll graduate from West Point, but right now he's just Cadet Campbell, firstie at West Point in a time of war. He's been back from the combine for eight days, in that time he's turned in three papers. "Bookman," he says, "I'm so tired. This is the first semester that I've been here that I've been able to stay awake until 11."
Lights go out in the dorm rooms every day at 11:30. Except for the weekends, then it's a wild party, cadets can stay awake until 1. For his entire freshman and sophomore year, called plebe and yearling years on campus, Campbell was allowed no civilian clothes on campus. Now, as a firstie (senior) he has more privileges. "We get a couch in the dorm room," he brags.
Cadet Campbell's a big man on campus. When greeted by plebes, they're supposed to all say, "Beat Navy, sir," but Campbell doesn't ever yell at the younger soldiers when they forget. "My whole first year I got hazed so much, I couldn't imagine doing it to them now. So I go easy on them."
In the Eisenhower Barracks, Campbell lives with two other cadets. There are three bunk beds in their dorm room, Campbell sleeps on the lower bunk pressed up against a stone wall. After a rare morning off, Campbell takes me to his dorm room and collapses on his bed, "One of my friends tried to sleep 12 hours a day, he said that way I'm only awake for two years here. It was so tough he thought that would help pass the time." Campbell laughs, stares at the underside of the upper bunk bed, "I used to get so mad at kids if they made too much noise in the barracks. I was so tired, I'd yell at them."
"In high school I didn't worry about anything, I had a whole different lifestyle. Freshman year you're terrified, you're stressed all the time, faced with so much. They try to break you down here. My friends at Texas Tech or TCU would bitch about stuff at Christmas and I wanted to shake them, 'Quit being a p****. Do you know what we do?'"
So close to graduation, Campbell's in a reflective mood. "People either love this place or they hate. Some do both. I used to hate it. Now I'm starting to love it. Does that make sense? The other day I was walking across campus, freezing my ass off, and I thought, 'I'm not going to be doing this forever.'"
Campbell laughs softly to himself, "I got in trouble so much as a plebe. For not wearing the right uniform, once for having a beer. It didn't look like I was going to make it. I'd call my Mom or Dad and talk about how miserable I was every day. They talked me into staying."
He returns to the mess hall for lunch, chili with Powerade, water, or milk is on the menu. Campbell pulls up a ladle of chili and looks across at me, "Now you see why getting to pick your food was so nice," he says. "Some of the cadets complain because football players get more food." He dumps the chili into a pile of bread. "Boy, are we lucky."
After lunch I accompany Campbell to his Politics of Latin America class. Fifteen students dressed in their uniforms, blue shirts, olive green pants, surround a brown table. Their instructor is Army Major Lorenzo Rios, who has been in the Army for 12 years. He was part of the initial invasion in Iraq, with the unit that found Saddam Hussein in Tikrit, and holds a PhD in International Relations.
"Hugo Chavez has moved 10 battalions to the border near Columbia," says Major Rios. "Why is he doing that, what's his tactical objective?"
The students dive into an analysis of Chavez's motives, decide the dispute is over oil and relative standing in Latin America. But the class discussion peters out, silence reigns. "I'm not showing you any sympathy," Major Rios says, "in one year you might be in Iraq, and you're not going to have time to sit around and debate tactical issues. You've got to do that now."
Major Rios was an illegal immigrant, "I got out of the orchards to join the Marine Corps," he says. "From the orchard to teaching kids in West Point." He shakes his head. "Now we've got to develop leaders of character. Men who are prepared to put band-aids on kids one minute, fight terrorists the next, and understand how to interact with clerical scholars after that." The West Point classroom environment is unique because, "Most lieutenants never get to talk to majors as equals. We don't know who the next General or President is sitting in the classroom, I want them to seek more, think broader." I ask him what he thinks of Cadet Campbell's quest to play in the NFL. "The Army is all about allowing you to be the best at something, if he can be the best in the NFL, then we should embrace it."
From class, Campbell leads me to an auditorium where a speaker will address the West Point community on the dangers of driving drunk. Before the speaker can begin, a cadet leans down a row and taps Campbell on the shoulder, "When's the draft?" he asks. The speaker begins by saying, "You're all of you, the very best our country has to offer." The cadets lower their heads, giggle, tap one another on the shoulder. In one year, many will be dodging bullets, now they dodge compliments. "The very best," says Campell, rolling his eyes.
Leaving the talk, another cadet approaches Campbell, "Are you coming to Army/Navy next year?" he asks.
"Hope to," says Campbell. "Hope we can win for a change."
As we walk across the campus, skies have turned bright blue, cloudless, it's a March day that seems like it should be much warmer than it is. The sun shines brightly, cadets pass on jogs, but the wind is brisk, cool as it sweeps off the Hudson River down the long sloping valley to our east. Campbell stops in front of the West Point library, walks over and rubs Abraham Lincoln's head for good luck. "I don't think anyone's ever rubbed it for the draft," Campbell says, catches himself, "the NFL Draft anyway."
Campbell takes me onto Army's Michie Field and stops in front of his favorite quote, from General George C. Marshall, "I want an officer for a secret and dangerous mission. I want a West Point football player."
"That's what it's all about," Campbell says, rubbing the bronzed plaque. Out on the football field the lacrosse team is practicing. "The whole school comes to the games en masse," he says. "I thought about that when they asked me to transfer after my sophomore year." The "they" in question were the dozens of other major football powerhouses who let it be known that they had room for a safety with 4.4 speed who weighed 230 pounds and made tackles like he'd been fired from a rocket. In the weight room, Campbell, a captain on last year's team, acknowledges the returning players who lift weights in a facility lined by artillery shells, a constant reminder of the life that waits after football.
Campbell carried his transfer papers to then-head coach Bobby Ross after his sophomore season. "He told me I'd graduate, but I wouldn't care and that I probably wouldn't even go to my own graduation," Campbell says. "That got to me. I've never quit anything in my life. It's hard here, really hard, but they make leaders of character."
Outside we sit on a stone wall and wait for a bus to take us back to Campbell's dorm. Caleb is antsy, standing, then sitting, craning his neck down the hillside to look for an approaching bus.
"I used to freeze my ass off out here waiting for buses," he says. "Thank God it's almost spring."
It's cloudy now, and the wind is whipping down off the hills. "I should have brought a bigger coat," Campbell says. His phone rings.
He answers, talks for a few moments. Hangs up and literally jumps in the air. "That was the Atlanta Falcons," Campbell says, "they want me down for a private workout on April 10th!"
The next day on Friday, March 7, 2008, Campbell sits in his Constitutional Military Law class and doodles on his notepad. "It's so hard to pay attention once you get this close to being done," Campbell says. Later we walk across the campus. Campbell turns to me, "I didn't know I had a chance to play in the NFL until after my sophomore year. I never really thought I had a chance before then. Now it's so close, I don't know what I'll do if it doesn't happen for me."
Cadet Campbell pivots in is black dress shoes, stares up the hillside in the direction of Michie Stadium.
"Bookman," he says, "even if I don't get drafted you're still going to put me in the book, right?"
******
On Saturday, April 26, draft day finally comes. Football players across the country hunker down in hopes that they'll be one of 252 names called. Jason Jones, defensive end from Michigan, is the first to hear his name called from the D1 contingent, pick No. 54 in the second round to the Tennessee Titans. Jones' draft stock has risen to the point where in his final mock draft Mel Kiper has him going in the first round. Jones is ecstatic, the basketball player who picked up football as a side habit, will sign a four-year, $3.5 million contract with $1.5 million in guarantees. Jones will be an extremely productive defensive tackle for the Titans. Starting in Week 16 in a crucial late-season game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jones has 3.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, and five overall tackles. He finishes the season with 31 tackles and 5 sacks.
With the 13th pick of the third round, No. 76 overall, the Kansas City Chiefs select Brad Cottam, the University of Tennessee tight end who went through six surgeries in five years. Cottam's combination of size and speed proves too much for the Chiefs to pass up. He will finish 2009 with seven catches for 63 yards. He doesn't catch a pass until October 26. The week before this game, I ask him what percentage of NFL fantasy football players are starting him at tight end. "Maybe my mom," he says. ESPN lists the percentage at .02.
Just nine selections later, at 86, the Tennessee Titans select Cal tight end Craig Stevens. Just before he's drafted by the Titans, Stevens receives a telephone call from the Baltimore Ravens, "Ready to be a Raven?" Brian Billick asks. Stevens says that he is, but his phone buzzes with a message from the 615 area code. "I thought it was you, because I've got a new phone and my numbers aren't programmed in," says Stevens. Instead, it's Jeff Fisher. "Welcome to the Titans," he says. The Titans have swooped in and stolen Stevens away from the Ravens at the last moment. Moments after the selection my phone buzzes with a text message, "What are the odds?" Stevens writes. As a third-string blocking tight end, Stevens will make one catch for nine yards on the season. He narrowly misses a touchdown catch when his second foot comes down out of bounds. "That damn second foot," he will say later.
At No. 108 in the fourth round, the Denver Broncos select Kory Lichtensteiger, center from Bowling Green. His family celebrates. Later Lichtensteiger calls me, "I haven't ever been to Denver before," he says. "But I think it's going to work out well for Mandy and Aiden." Lichtensteiger's wife is pregnant with their second child. He signs a four-year deal, and will play sixteen games on special teams for the Broncos.
Frank Okam comes off the board at pick No. 151 of the fifth round to the Houston Texans. Frank the Tank is going back to his hometown. He will play in five games, recording four tackles on the season. On Christmas, he sends me a text message, "Merry Christmas, Bookman," he writes.
In the sixth round, at pick No. 201, the Indianapolis Colts select Wake Forest center Steve Justice. It's been a long wait for Justice and he'll later claim that he was red-flagged by several teams for his heart condition, the one that almost killed him as an infant. Justice will play in eight games for the Colts, starting in Week 3 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. At the preseason opener, in the brand-new Lucas Oil Stadium, Justice starts at center with Peyton Manning behind him.
With the 227th pick in the seventh round of the NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos select Peyton Hillis, fullback from Arkansas. It's been a tremendous wait for Hillis, but the 2008 football season will prove he belongs in the NFL. Through the first nine games of the season, Pretty Boy Hillis has just three carries for 14 yards. Then Denver injuries thrust him into the starting lineup. In Week 9 against Miami, Hillis catches seven passes for 116 yards. The next week, he starts at running back. Over the next five weeks, he will gain 343 yards before tearing a hamstring and finishing the season on the injured reserve. Even still, he will lead the Broncos in rushing for the year.
At pick No. 241 of the seventh round, the Carolina Panthers select Geoff Schwartz. All day long Schwartz has been watching the draft with his family in Los Angeles, flipping back and forth between NBA playoff games. "At last," he says. Schwartz spends the 2008 season on the practice squad for the Carolina Panthers. In January of 2009 he will sign a futures contract with the team that should keep him there for the foreseeable future. He telephones me all football season, "The Pac-10 is so much better than the SEC," he'll always say.
Marcus Monk waits until only four spots remain. He's selected by the Chicago Bears with the 248th pick of the draft. On August 24, the team waives him, and he returns to Arkansas, where he plays for the basketball team. Having graduated in four years, and never played basketball professionally, Monk has one year of collegiate eligibility in another sport. On December 30, 2008 Monk starts and scores 12 points with six rebounds while defending Oklahoma's star forward, Blake Griffin. The Razorbacks win the game, but Monk is declared ineligible shortly thereafter. In the spring of 2009, he participates in Arkansas's pro day. He puts up great times.
Tennessee tight end Chris Brown isn't drafted, but quickly inks a free-agent deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars. During the preseason, Brown will play fullback and score a touchdown. After signing a practice squad deal with the Jaguars, Brown is waived and ultimately joins the Miami Dolphins on their practice squad. He is there now.
Arkansas linebacker Weston Dacus signs with the Kansas City Chiefs as a free agent and makes their practice squad. After three weeks, he's promoted to the active roster and signs a two-year deal with the team. He makes eight tackles on the season, and rooms with combine training partner Brad Cottam. In a September 28 game against the Denver Broncos, Dacus smashes into Kory Lichtensteiger during a special teams play. "Easy there, McConaughey," Lichtensteiger says as both men climb off the ground.
Ryan Firecracker Karl is contacted by no teams, his NFL football dreams come to a close.
Purdue wide receiver Dorien Bryant signs a free-agent deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but is cut after he fails the physical. He tries out for a variety of other teams, but receives no offers. It appears likely that his football career is also over.
Big Michael Oher returns to Ole Miss where his Rebels go 9-4, winning their final six games of the season and handing eventual national champion Florida their only loss of the season. Projected once more as a first-round pick, Oher changes his workout facility to prepare for the combine and his results suffer. He returns to Kurt Hester and D1. He tells the Memphis-Commercial Appeal.
"Working out in Dallas, I felt that place was more for a skill position guy, and I'm a power guy who likes the heavy lifting," Oher said. "I got away from that in Dallas, but I got back to that in Nashville. They knew me, knew what I needed and I went right back to work. They got me stronger in three weeks, and I exploded at (Ole Miss') pro day."
Kurt Hester works with another year of combine participants in Nashville. Asked to sum up the 2009 combine class, he responds, "Well, there's no Bookmans."
With the 218th pick in the seventh round, the Detroit Lions select Army's Caleb Campbell, who is attending the draft live in New York City. Wearing his uniform, white top and gray slacks, Campbell strides to the elevated ESPN television stage as the crowd chants, "Ca-leb Camp-bell" while clapping. Soon "USA" chants emerge as Campbell puts on a Detroit Lions hat, looks directly into the camera and says he's going to be ready to play. The next day he calls me, "Bookman, I can't believe it," he says. Campbell is the toast of America's sporting town, he is everywhere, and virtually everyone is rooting for him.
On May 31 Campbell graduates from the United States Military Academy. Two months later, on the day before NFL training camp starts, the Army rescinds the special exemption that allows Caleb Campbell to play football. They order him back to West Point. Lions coach Rod Marinelli has Campbell stand in a meeting and inform the team of the change in policy. "The team was blown away, just shocked," says Campbell. "So was I."
On the day he learns the news, Campbell tells me, "I'm a soldier first and foremost and I go where they order me to go." Campbell's ordered back to West Point where he works as a graduate assistant with the Army football team. Under the revised policy, he's going to be required to serve two years before he's eligible to play NFL football.
But Campbell's story doesn't end there. That winter he's contacted by a coach for the United States bobsledding team who has heard his story. Under another policy the Army allows athletes to train for the Olympics if they have special skills. The Army bobsledding coach needs an athlete of Campbell's size and speed, Campbell needs to maintain a top fitness level to have a chance with the NFL in two years. By April of 2009, Campbell is in Colorado training for the U.S. Bobsled Team. There Campbell notches a third-place finish with his teammate in the America's Cup. "Who knows Bookman, I may end up in the 2010 Winter Olympics."
******
It's been over a year since I finished training for the NFL Combine. My times have slowed, my left ankle's healed, I no longer crack when I walk or want to cry when I come home and see the staircase to my upstairs bedroom. I still keep in regular contact with several of the guys I trained with, consider them friends, catch myself watching for them if their NFL team is on television.
My son Fox is over a year old now. Someday he'll stumble across old photos of his dad wearing football cleats and workout attire. When that happens, I already know exactly what I'm going to tell him, "Daddy trained for the NFL, but they didn't call his name on draft day. So he became a writer instead."
I think Fox will believe me. Until he gets timed in his first 40.
One of FanHouse's newest additions, Clay Travis is the author of Dixieland Delight and the forthcoming On Rocky Top: A Front-Row Seat to the End of an Era. For several years he wrote the ClayNation column for CBS Sportsline, worked as an editor for Deadspin.com, and practiced law, where his love for the billable hour rivaled only his love for the WNBA. He's convinced that his 40 time is much better than yours.
