Pat Tillman, for good reason, is all over the web today. Sports Illustrated Online posted an article the magazine ran about him in 1997, before he was drafted by the NFL. A couple of excerpts from the story told of things to come:
On his recruiting visit to Arizona State, one of three Division I-A schools willing to risk a scholarship on a 5’11”, 195-pounder classified by many college coaches as a too-slow, too-small tweener, Tillman was asked by Sun Devils coach Bruce Snyder what he thought of the recruiting process. “It stinks,” Tillman shot back. “Nobody tells the truth.”
Taken aback, Snyder filed the comment away. He remembered it the following August when he sat Tillman down to discuss–as he does with all freshmen — the concept of redshirting. “I’m not redshirting,” Tillman said. “I’ve got things to do with my life. You can do whatever you want with me, but in four years, I’m gone.” Snyder thought, This kid is different.
And another:
“I’ve told NFL guys, ‘If you don’t want him on your team, don’t take him, because he won’t let you cut him,'” said Snyder.
What will Tillman do if he doesn’t make the NFL? “Beats me,” he says, grinning like a man with no fear and, just in case, good grades.
If you’ve read other stories about Tillman, you know that the majority of Army Ranger candidates don’t make the cut. Snyder’s last quote reveals that for Tillman, it was a foregone conclusion.
