| MOBILE, Ala. — He won the Butkus
Award as the nation’s top linebacker and was a finalist for the Nagurski Award as the
nation’s top defender. Seven outlets named him a first-team All-American and All-Big
12. It was quite a senior season for LB Rocky Calmus, but what he’ll remember most
about his playing days at Oklahoma happened during his junior season. "It’s
such a great accomplishment, it’s overwhelming to be considered the best linebacker
and be All-America two years in a row," Calmus said. "But that national
championship and those memories of that whole season is what I’ll remember the
most."
Everyone in Oklahoma remembers the fumble he forced from Florida State QB Chris Weinke,
leading to the Sooners’ lone touchdown of the game. Calmus is that kind of playmaker.
He led Oklahoma in tackles in each of his last three seasons, finishing his college career
No. 4 on the school’s career list.
Among PFW personnel expert Joel Buchsbaum’s top 10 linebackers in the country,
Calmus is leaving a favorable impression on the Arizona Cardinals’ coaching staff,
who will head Calmus’ South team in Saturday’s Senior Bowl (5 p.m. EST, ESPN).
"Rocky has a feel for playing the position," said head coach Dave McGinnis, a
former LB coach. "Playing linebacker is something that is somewhat like playing
quarterback in a sense that a lot of guys may not fit the exact height, weight and speed
standards, but they have a feel for the position."
Calmus certainly doesn’t fit one of those standards: his weight. At about 234
pounds, Calmus is below the size of prototypical NFL linebackers. But that has done little
to quell the excitement his coaches have for him.
"I coached probably one of the best of all time, Mike Singletary," McGinnis
said, "and in all the years that I was with Mike, we would talk about things and
watch films. And so many times you could see the things that had been talked about during
the week, things that were coming to fruition on the game on Sunday.
"But that’s because of study, work and those types of things. I think Rocky
is a type of player that will study, that will work at it, and you have to have a feel to
play behind the line and to make some plays. And he does, and when he gets in this league,
he’s going to be a playmaker."
Nevertheless, scouts have been somewhat disappointed in Calmus’ overall play,
specifically citing some problems dropping into coverage. But at the same time, Calmus has
been helped by playing a system similar to the one he played at Oklahoma, though its
simplicity, he says, has hurt him. With only a week to prepare for a game, the coaching
staffs for both teams have greatly simplified their schemes for the players’ benefit.
"I know what to do when I want to ‘fit’ certain places, (but) I
can’t because we’re doing it vanilla and (the coaches’) way," Calmus
said. "So it’s tough to hold back. But I think I did pretty well. Had one real
good day and two probably average days."
Speaking of playmakers
Like Calmus, DT Ryan Sims knows all about beating Florida State. On Sept. 22,
Sims’ underdog North Carolina team, coming off an 0-3 season-opening road trip,
trounced the heavily favored Seminoles 41-9. In the game, Sims recorded two sacks and two
QB hurries.
"The FSU game was probably the biggest win in Carolina history," Sims said.
Now, the Senior Bowl becomes the biggest game in Sims’ career, serving as a chance
to showcase himself to NFL teams. Ranked among the top five defensive tackles in the
country by PFW, Sims is off to a good start.
"I think he has a lot of talent and attributes that he’s shown," said
Seahawks assistant Larry Brooks, the DL coach of Sims’ North team. "He’s
shown that he has some explosiveness, (he’s) a good athlete, he can make moves in the
pass rush. He’s got a good upside."
Scouts say Sims (6-3 7/8, 309 pounds) has quickness but is more of a power tackle. This
past season Sims ranked second on the Tar Heels with five sacks and led the team with 20
QB hurries. He also had 51 tackles (23 solo), including eight for loss.
Sims has played the three-technique tackle for the last two seasons, meaning he lines
up over a guard’s outside shoulder, like Warren Sapp. The alignment allows Sims to
best utilize his explosiveness, but he realizes there’s more to the game than just
exploding.
"A lot of the game, I learned later on, is not as much physical as it is
mental," Sims said. "Because if I can outthink this guy, it’s a lot easier
to beat him. If I know he’s going to charge at me, it’s better for me just to
move out of his way and let him fall and make a play. You have to also play hard, but you
have to play smart."
No passing fancy
Mike Holmgren, head coach of the Seahawks and the North squad, kept his word.
On Tuesday, Holmgren said he would spend some time Wednesday working with
Indiana’s Antwaan Randle El on his mechanics as a quarterback. Randle El is projected
as a wide receiver, but he played quarterback for the Hoosiers and would like to do so in
the NFL.
So, for 15 minutes before Wednesday’s practice, Randle El worked with two wideouts
and two tight ends on a drill run by Holmgren — and the results were impressive.
"I worked him through a little drill period that if I was on the road working out
quarterbacks, I would do," Holmgren said. "And I had him do nothing but
drop-back passing, three-step, five-step, seven-step throws, hot throws, some stuff like
that.
"He’d like to play quarterback in the league. What actually happens,
we’ll have to wait and see. But certainly I wanted to give him a chance to do some
stuff, and he was very impressive. You know, it’s a 15-minute drill, but he threw the
ball with good accuracy, a tight spiral, good footwork."
Randle is Division I-A’s only member of the "40-40" club, as in 40
touchdowns thrown and 40 touchdowns scored in his career.
Joke man
Holmgren was asked, with the infusion of so many juniors in the NFL draft, if they
should be allowed to play in the Senior Bowl. Holmgren’s response was serious yet
comical.
"I would prefer to leave it just as it is," he said. "It’s the
Senior Bowl; it’s been the Senior Bowl for 53 years. I’m not a big fan, to be
quite honest, of underclassmen coming out in the draft. I think a young man’s college
time and college education are hugely important.
"Sure, we go through changes. But some things, I kind of think, shouldn’t
change. You know, the shape of a football, I kind of like that. There’s a lot of
things that I think about this game are pretty good."
To Wednesday's Senior Bowl notebook |
