Publication: San Antonio Express-News
Section: Sports
Date: April 19, 1997
Page: 1C
It was a chance meeting, as most encounters with Priest Holmes tend to be. Down from Houston to watch the Texas Relays two weeks ago, Ndukwe Kalu ran into his former high school teammate at Royal- Memorial Stadium.
A little more than five years ago the pair helped lead Marshall to the 1991 Class 5A Division II state championship game. Holmes was the team’s senior star tailback, returning from a four-game absence because of a deep thigh bruise to run for 853 yards and six touchdowns in the Rams’ six-game playoff march. Kalu was a junior defensive end, picking off a pitchout and racing 81 yards for a touchdown in the semifinals against Aldine to spark a victory when Holmes was held to just 47 yards.
With Holmes going on to the University of Texas and Kalu leaving for Rice a year later, the two had spoken only periodically since that season. But given a chance to recount their glory days, Holmes and Kalu instead discussed the uncertain, yet promising future they share. That meant talking about pro days, 40-yard dash times, scouts and agents. All of which adds up to this weekend’s NFL draft, a two-day event that no doubt will strain their nerves, but, quite possibly, also fulfill Holmes’ and Kalu’s lifelong dreams.
“It’s weird,” Kalu said. “I didn’t think we would be in this position together because he left a year before me. I always knew I wanted to play in the NFL, but I don’t know if I dreamed so hard I made it happen. “I told Priest he’s going to get his chance, too. He’s still the best running back I’ve ever seen.” Kalu’s assessment of Holmes is honest, but not popular among NFL scouts. There are faster backs, bigger backs, backs without rebuilt left knees. Just as there are defensive ends bigger and stronger than Kalu. That’s why Holmes and Kalu will watch the draft here in San Antonio with their families instead of in Madison Square Garden with the nation’s top 50 prospects. And that’s why Kalu and Holmes look at this weekend not as a $6.5 million payday, but an opportunity. A $25 cab ride. That’s what one NFL scouting report says it will take for a defensive end to get around 6-foot-8, 333-pound Arizona State tackle Juan Roque. Given the option back in January in Mobile, Ala., Kalu would have hailed one and never looked back.
In a one-on-one drill resembling an illegal pitbull fight, Kalu and Roque were placed in a tight circle of NFL coaches, scouts and various other talent evaluators during one practice for the Senior Bowl. When instructed, the pair would smash into each other with the winner determined by who remained standing. Although it was an opportunity to show what he could do against one of college football’s best offensive linemen, Kalu – giving up four inches and close to 90 pounds to Roque – would have been happy to escape with his dignity. “He was an All-American,” Kalu explained. “I was All-Whatever. I had my doubts.” But when the whistle blew, Kalu exploded into Roque, snapping the lineman’s head back like an empty Pez dispenser. Roque fell to the ground, his draft stock dropping with his heavy frame. Around the circle, the scouts spoke hurriedly into their tape recorders. Vann McElroy, Kalu’s agent, cheered wildly from the stands. “I had to go against (Roque) again and I was worried he was mad,” Kalu said. “But the same thing happened. After that point I knew I could play with these guys.”
The week got better for Kalu. On the third play of the Senior Bowl, he used a counter move to blitz past Iowa tackle Ross Verba, a possible first-rounder, and drop Virginia Tech quarterback Jim Druckenmiller, another possible first-rounder, for a sack and a forced fumble. Kalu finished with eight tackles, one sack and four pressures and was named the defensive player of the game. Then in February at the NFL’s college combine in Indianapolis, Kalu endured a seven-hour physical, stripped down to nothing but a pair of gray shorts and paraded around on stage for hundreds of scouts to gape at. “It felt like a big slave auction,” Kalu said. “They made us spread our arms and then would yell out measurements to everyone. I made sure to do some extra sit ups that week. “But it definitely isn’t slavery when they’re going to pay you hundreds of thousands of dollars. I’ll walk around naked all day for them if they’re going to give me that type of money.”
Fortunately, that was not required. But Kalu did undergo tests for strength, speed and jumping ability. And a psychoanalysis was thrown in for good measure. His 39-inch vertical leap rated the best among defensive linemen. His 4.78 40-yard dash left a lot to be desired. The track at the RCA Dome was widely criticized – the state-of- the-art surface was actually laid on top of the artificial surface it was meant to replace – and Kalu was able to consistently run 4.5s for scouts at Rice, so his combine time shouldn’t hurt too much.
But just where Kalu, who ended his college career as Rice’s all- time sacks leader, will wind up going is anyone’s guess. Scouts love his athleticism, explosive start and balance. His 6-foot-4, 245-pound narrow frame, however, has some teams wondering if he would be better suited playing outside linebacker.
The Miami Dolphins, who drafted undersized but quick linebacker Zach Thomas last season, have expressed interest. As have the Cowboys, Tampa Bay, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Oakland. One draft analyst also has the Pittsburgh Steelers taking Kalu in the third round. “There is a possibility that anything can happen,” said McElroy, who also represented Churchill and Baylor great Cody Carlson for the Dallas-based firm of Casterline, Vines and McElroy. “I’ve had some teams tell me second. I’ve had some teams tell me third or fourth. I’ve had some teams tell me later than that. “Obviously, he’s a phenomenal athlete. I think when he’s at 260 or 265 with a couple of years in the NFL coaching ranks, he’ll be able to play in the league for a long time.”
Kalu was in San Diego Dec. 7 as the guest of a prospective agent when he spotted Holmes on television in the Big 12 title game between Texas and Nebraska. “I told him that if Priest got the chance, he would do something,” Kalu said. “He said, ‘Yeah, right.’ He hadn’t heard of Priest.” When the Longhorns’ stunning 37-27 victory was complete, Holmes had 120 yards and three touchdowns on just nine carries. The agent had another client to recruit.
Until that game, few had considered Holmes much of a prospect. Knee surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament forced him to miss the entire 1995 season. Last season, he played behind Ricky Williams and Shon Mitchell, used primarily in goal-line situations. But helped by the exposure of the championship game, Holmes is projected as a third-down back or a special teams player in the pros. Draft analysts have him as a late-round pick or a free-agent signee. New England and Baltimore like him, and the same goes for Washington and Oakland, both of whom are in the market for a backup fullback.
At 5-9, 215 pounds, Holmes is extremely well-built, but also a bit undersized for an NFL fullback. He has good run vision, but not great speed. He had a poor combine, but had a great pro testing day at UT, turning in a 4.5 40, a 37-inch vertical leap and bench-pressing 225 pounds 20 times. In short, one scouting report says, Holmes is an enigma. Of course, that doesn’t come as much of a surprise to the few who know him. Holmes shies away from publicity – he did not return repeated phone calls for this story – and chooses only a few well- placed moments to speak up. “Priest was so quiet and unassuming that I couldn’t tell whether I was getting to him,” said David Visentine, Holmes’ coach at Marshall. “I was always wondering whether he was listening. But then I would see some quotes in the newspaper from him and he would give the reporter verbatim what I had told him. It was almost eerie.”
Bucky Godbolt, who was Holmes’ running backs coach during his five years at Texas and now represents him for Boston-based Wolff & Associates, had a similar experience. “I think all Priest has ever wanted is an opportunity,” Godbolt said. “And if he gets that, he’ll be a hard guy to cut.” With the draft divided over two days – first through third rounds today, followed by the fourth through the seventh Sunday – Kalu isn’t sure whether his nerves will allow him to watch the whole thing. “I think I’m going to play basketball,” he said. “(Oilers 1996 sixth-round pick) Anthony Dorsett told me it was the worst day of his life. Unless you’re a sure top-10 pick, it’s going to be a long two days.” Kalu’s agent, McElroy, has his own draft-day horror story to tell. Rated as the No. 1 safety prospect in the 1982 draft after a standout career at Baylor, McElroy was listening to the radio on the day of the draft when he heard a report saying the Cowboys were going to take him in the first round. “Then the phone rang and I thought this is it. It’s really going to happen,” McElroy said. “But I pick it up and it’s some fraternity guy saying they needed me to play softball that day.” McElroy wound up lasting until the third round when the Raiders took him. That experience and his 10 seasons in the NFL lead McElroy to give Kalu the most important piece of advice he knows. “It’s not where you go in the draft that’s important,” McElroy said. “It’s how long you play in the league.”
