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jonesbonesy
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« Reply #10 on: April 25, 2008, 04:21:10 AM » |
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Plus Raiders great Jack Tatum has has family in the draft.
A chance to undo 'mistake'
By RICK HERRINStar-Telegram Staff Writer
STAR-TELEGRAM/JEFFERY WASHINGTON
Bobby Tatum has worked at Wal-Mart, Ross Dress for Less and in a real estate office answering phones and doing paperwork.
It's been tough finding the perfect job schedule to fit in with a commitment to his dream. But Tatum, a former do-it-all star recruit from Fort Worth Dunbar High School, makes it happen and is now working at D/FW Airport catering airplanes. The paychecks go toward his apartment, meals and gas.
"I have to find a way to eat," Tatum said.
Tatum, a cornerback who played at Texas before transferring to Abilene Christian, is also trying to find his way into the NFL as a late-round draft pick or free agent. As the draft approaches Saturday and Sunday, Tatum is working out five days a week (twice a day) and drives from Arlington to Mesquite to get training help.
"You have to do that when you're the underdog," said Tatum, 22. "Hopefully, it won't be that way for too long."
Since his dominating days at Dunbar, Tatum has dealt with a disappointing college career that ended playing in West Texas anonymity at the Division II level. He left Texas after two years unhappy as a backup and bolted before the national championship season in 2005.
Leaving the Longhorns, he believes, set his career back and knocked him out of visibility to scouts.
"Bad decision on my part," Tatum said. "I just didn't think about it. I was just thinking at this time. It was just being young, and I was looking for right now and not looking into the future."
So anxious to get his career going, Tatum said he turned down transfer possibilities to TCU, Fresno State and Houston. Had he stayed patient at Texas, he was expected to become a starter. But he felt he had already wasted two years.
"He would have certainly been a phenomenal player for us," Texas assistant head coach/defensive backs coach Duane Akina said. "I really believe that. Those other guys just got here first and got ahead of him. They were doing everything right."
Tatum's new career at ACU didn't take off like he thought it would or get him noticed. He started as a junior and had 40 tackles. As a senior, he dislocated a shoulder in the opener and missed the rest of the season.
So Tatum's only chance to get the attention of scouts has been through a few local workouts. The ACU All-American in track performed well at a recent workout at UT-Arlington, running a 4.27 and 4.32 in the 40. Tatum also started working heavily on his hands with Mesquite-based Raw Power Sports trainer Reggie Fish Sr., father of Arkansas wide receiver Reggie Fish.
"He is very determined, and he wants that opportunity to show what type of athlete he can be," Fish said. "He wants to shut up the critics and put it out in the open that he can perform at another level."
Tatum, at 5-foot-11, 200 pounds, still has the impressive measurables (40-inch vertical) that made him a promising recruit.
"If you look at him run, jump and put him in the weight room, I'm not sure I have had anyone like that," said Akina, who coached Baltimore Ravens Pro Bowl cornerback Chris McAlister at Arizona. "None of them had those kind of measurables. Bobby was a phenomenal athlete."
Tatum, whose great uncle is ex-Oakland Raider Jack Tatum, believes he has matured and learned from his frustrating times.
"I have been under the radar for a while," Tatum said. "I am ready to go against top competition again. I want to really show the world what I can do."
2008 NFL DRAFT
Saturday-Sunday, Radio City Music Hall, New York
TV: Saturday (Rounds 1-2), NFL Network, 2-10 p.m.; ESPN 2-7 p.m.; ESPN2 7-10 p.m.; Sunday (Rounds 3-7), NFL Network, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; ESPN 9 a.m.-5 p.m..
Notable: Only the first two rounds Saturday with 10 minutes to make a selection in Round 1 and 7 minutes to make a selection in Round 2. On Sunday, Rounds 3-7 will be held with 5 minutes to make a selection.
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