Bucs rookie's mentor also is his competition
By STEPHEN F. HOLDER
Published August 24, 2005
TAMPA - Barrett Ruud had heard the cautionary tales about what happens when a veteran feels threatened by a younger player. In those stories, the younger player usually was met with disdain, and often worse.
So upon entering the NFL, the Bucs rookie middle linebacker prepared himself for the worst. Then he met Shelton Quarles - the man whose starting job Ruud is trying to take - and Ruud's concerns went out the window.
"Growing up, I had a lot of guys warn me that a lot of times guys can be not only not helpful, but sometimes actually give you the wrong information when you're battling for a position," said Ruud, who has led the Bucs in tackles in both preseason games. "But Shelton has been nothing but helpful to me since I got here. He's gone out of his way."
It defies logic that a soon-to-be 34-year-old linebacker would go to great lengths to ensure that the player who eventually will replace him looks good, but that is the strange phenomenon unfolding at One Buc Place.
It isn't, however, a new phenomenon.
Bucs linebackers have been lending a hand to newcomers for years. It's a tradition that dates to the prime years of Hardy Nickerson's tenure, when he helped jumpstart the careers of today's accomplished linebackers: Quarles, Derrick Brooks and Jeff Gooch.
Today, that tradition is paying dividends for Ruud, who is putting the lessons he is learning from Quarles to use. That blur you've seen racing toward ballcarriers this preseason was probably the second-round pick from the University of Nebraska. His performance has coaches taking note, and they are open to the concept of Ruud starting this season.
But the rookie has plenty more to learn. And learning the complexities of the middle linebacker position in the NFL can be daunting with the play-calling and recognition responsibilities that come with the job.
The way Quarles sees it, who better to point the way than him, the man who has held the job for the past six years? He is more than happy to do it.
"I think it starts with how you're raised," said Quarles, whose relationship with Ruud has extended beyond the field. "I think one of the mottos I live by is that it's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice. That's just my personality."
Linebackers coach Joe Barry said: "As a coach, to witness it is amazing because it ain't like that everywhere. My meeting room is a special place. It's competitive though. There's no one more competitive than Derrick Brooks. He looks behind him and will tell a guy, "You're not going to get my spot.' But at the same time, he says, "I'm not going to be a (jerk) to you. I'm not going to give the cold shoulder to you.'
"Shelton is the same way with Barrett. I hope those guys realize how special it is. I don't know if they'll truly understand today or tomorrow, but seven, eight years down the line, Barrett Ruud and Ryan Nece and Marquis Cooper will look back and say, "Damn, how fortunate was I to be able to learn from Derrick Brooks and Shelton Quarles and Jeff Gooch every day?' "
Quarles received similar grooming when he joined the Bucs as a journeyman out of the Canadian Football League in 1997, playing behind Nickerson and Brooks. Quarles has never forgotten the far-reaching influence they had on his career. He recalls how different the situation was when he tried unsuccessfully to break into the league with the Dolphins in 1994.
"When I came in, those guys took me under their wings and showed me the ropes," Quarles said. "In Miami, it wasn't like that. It was like the older veterans were over there and the rookies were over here. They didn't mix. It wasn't a good working environment. A lot of things I probably could have learned, I didn't learn. I wasn't getting ahead of the game to be the best player I could be.
"That's what I want to do for (Ruud), to allow him to be the best linebacker he can be. If I can share all that knowledge with him, he might be able to pick things up a little faster."
But for all Quarles' good intentions, the relationship would never work if Ruud was an unreceptive know-it-all.
Quarles "is a guy who's completely self-made," Ruud said. "He's where he is because of his work ethic and the details he knows about the defense. He's not a super freak athlete. But he's a guy who's just pretty much worked himself into the player that he is. And those are the best guys to learn from."
Ruud was careful to point out that it hasn't been all peaches. Like all rookies, he often has to haul his older teammates' shoulder pads to the locker room after practice, and when he and Quarles get together for meals, you know where the bill goes.
"Oh, I definitely pay," Ruud said.
Said Quarles: "I didn't hurt him too bad."
For Ruud, it's a small price to pay for a wealth of knowledge.