Hester Pleased With His Speedy Debut in the NFL

Jessie (the Jet) Hester, built for speed and named the same way, became a one-exhibition veteran of the National Football League last weekend. Thanks, he needed that.

He played one half against the San Francisco 49ers and caught three passes, including one he broke for 17 yards over the middle, giving Raider fans their first chance to see what their Jet looks like in full flight. What he looks like is fast.

What he feels like is relieved.

“When I first got here (with a $1.8-million contract, after a four-day holdout), there was a lot of pressure on me, being the No. 1 draft pick,” Hester said Wednesday.

“The guys are all watching you, trying to evaluate you for themselves, to see whether you should have been a No. 1 pick. You want to do something to show you belong here. I was nervous at first.

“A lot of guys talked to me, let me know they knew the type of situation I was in. Cle Montgomery was the first one who came up. Todd Christensen, Cliff Branch would always come over. They told me just to relax. I appreciated that. I’m more settled in now, laughing and joking with them.

“I was a little anxious before the game. It was my first professional game. I wondered how things are going to go. I wondered just how good I am.”

The 49ers arrived for the exhibition with Jerry Rice, the third receiver picked in the draft. They had traded up so they could take him. Rice had been an early camp sensation, and on his first play, 49er Coach Bill Walsh sent him deep against Lester Hayes. Hayes covered him, and Joe Montana’s pass fell incomplete.

So Rice settled for three catches for 49 yards. He lost a fourth, a ball that he caught behind Ted Watts on a play that went for 80 yards, when an official ruled that he’d been out of bounds and had come back in.

“I was checking him out,” Hester said. “Seeing exactly what he had. A lot of teams had him rated high. This was the first time I’d seen him.

“What’s he got? Me being a receiver, I think he’s got the talent to be a great receiver, also.”

Hester was the fourth receiver taken in the draft, and the Raiders had him rated above Rice, too. The 49ers play their cornerbacks deeper and in more zone coverages than the Raiders, so Hester was running shorter patterns.

Said receiver coach Tom Walsh: “From the (Florida State) film I’ve seen, it looks like Jessie was more of an up-the-field receiver there, more of a home run type. We not only want that, but also a few other things. You just can’t be a one-dimensional player. You can’t just be a deep-ball guy.”

Voila, Hester caught two passes on short routes and a third that he stretched into the 17-yarder by dashing up the middle of the secondary. Hester, as soft-spoken as he is swift, said it was a thrill.

“It felt good, getting one game under your belt, playing against some guys who are well-known in the NFL,” he said. “Now, I know more what to expect so I can just go out and get the job done.

“The pressure is never off, simply because anywhere you go, you’re still going to be the No. 1 draft choice. People are still going to be looking to see if the investment in you was the right one. People are going to check you out. When the season ends, they’ll say, ‘Well, OK, he got the job done. We made the right choice.’

“Like you say, it comes with the territory. Pressure is what you make of it. If you see it as tough, it’s going to be tough. If you make it into an everyday routine, it’ll be that way.

“I think great things are going to happen, simply because I’m that type of player who makes things happen. I feel like something is going to happen, sooner or later, pretty good.”

When it was over, Hester said, he looked for Rice on the field, but couldn’t find him. They may meet again somewhere, though.

The Raiders’ next exhibition is Sunday at the Coliseum against the Washington Redskins. They set up a conference call from the Redskins’ training camp in Carlisle, Pa., and running back John Riggins held court.

How had he lasted until age 36?

“Either I knew what I was doing or dumb luck,” he said. “And we all know I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Would he like to run in the same backfield with newly acquired George Rogers?

“No, not really,” he said. “I know I can’t block. I don’t know whether George can. Someone would end up getting hurt.”

Riggins didn’t discuss his off-season exploits, which included advising Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor to “loosen up,” and then passing out at a Washington banquet. When Riggins held a press conference after reporting Tuesday in Carlisle, though, the subject was raised. Riggins was asked, point-blank, if he has a drinking problem.

Riggins said he does not. What he did say about his conduct was, “I’ve been a b-a-a-a-d boy.”

He also said: “I like to be who I am, and who I am is a guy who likes to have a lot of fun. I don’t get into fights when I go to bars. . . . That’s not to say I can’t be obnoxious, but that’s usually the exception and not the rule.”