Combatting NFL’s Boot Camp : Rookies Try to Display Staying Power as They Battle Long Odds

The Raiders’ public relations department is rivaled in its courtesy only by the Tehran Chamber of Commerce. Another line was added to that legacy this week when a reporter told a Raider spokesman that he wanted to set up an interview with free agent Mike Miller of Cal Lutheran.

“You’re planning to come here tomorrow to do a story on Mike Miller?” the Raider official asked. “Well, you might want to reevaluate that plan. Mike won’t be here tomorrow. Today is his last day.”

This, of course, was called news. Especially to Miller, who was told of his release by the Raiders late Wednesday, several hours after the Raiders had made it public information.

Just Rip Out Someone’s Heart, Baby.

Life in the NFL is tough, but it’s a breeze compared to life for rookies with marginal credentials trying to get into the NFL. In most cases, the ax falls.

Miller, a defensive lineman at CLU who was being converted to an offensive lineman for the Raiders, was one of a handful of Valley players invited to an NFL training camp. Most of them will meet the same fate as Miller. Some met it even sooner than did Miller. Former CSUN defensive back Ron Foster was cut by the Raiders last week.

Other longshots remaining in camps include former San Fernando High and Arizona State lineman Jim Reynosa; quarterback Erik Kramer, who went from Burroughs High to Pierce College to North Carolina State, where he was named the 1986 Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year; and ex-Cal Lutheran tight end Darren Gottschalk.

Jeff Bregel, a former lineman at Kennedy High who went on to win All-American honors at USC, will play for the San Francisco 49ers this year, but that isn’t a surprise. He was the 49ers’ second-round draft pick and is thought by many scouts to be a future star in the league.

Babe Laufenberg, who played quarterback at Crespi High and Pierce College, signed a two-year contract with the Kansas City Chiefs in June and is still on the roster. Laufenberg formerly played for the Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers before catching on with the Chiefs.

The list of established players from the Valley in the NFL is a short one, but it is headed by a great one, Denver quarterback John Elway, a former standout at Granada Hills High. Others include San Francisco lineman Randy Cross (Crespi), Rams’ running back Charles White (San Fernando) and New England reserve quarterback Tom Ramsey (Kennedy).

And the list likely will grow this year by just one name, ex-Valley College receiver Eric Yarber, who seems a safe bet to earn a berth on the Washington Redskins’ 45-man roster.

Yarber was the Redskins’ 12th-round draft pick last year and surprised most observers by making the final cut. But a knee injury before the first regular-season game put him on the injured reserve list until the 15th week of the season.

In the final two regular-season games, Yarber returned nine punts for 143 yards and in the Redskins’ three playoff games he returned eight punts for 49 yards. He was replaced by Darrell Green in the final postseason game but has been reinstated as the No. 1 punt returner on the 1987 depth chart.

And it’s a very good thing that Yarber doesn’t mind playing on the suicide squads, because his regular position--receiver--is, well, let’s say filled. On one side is All-Pro Art Monk. On the other side is All-Pro Gary Clark. They teamed last year to become the NFL’s best pass-catching tandem, combining for 147 catches and 2,333 yards. And the third receiver, Ricky Sanders, is considered faster than either Monk or Clark.

“Eric is fighting it out with with two ex-USFL’ers, Clarence Verdin and Derrick Holloway, for the No. 4 receiver spot,” Redskins spokesman Donnie Tuck said. “Right now he’s listed No. 4 on the depth chart behind Clark, Monk and Sanders. But he’s always been listed as the No. 1 punt returner on the depth chart.”

And because of that speciality, Yarber has found himself a job.

For the others, life isn’t so pleasant.

Reynosa, a 6-4, 270-pound lineman who was only a part-time starter for Arizona State, was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the 12th-round and was brought to camp as a right defensive end. And while the Colts aren’t exactly a spitting image of the 1985 Chicago Bears, right defensive end is definitely not where an untested and little-known rookie is going to make the squad.

For starters, there is Jon Hand, the team’s top draft pick from Alabama last year who blossomed into a fine player as a rookie. Behind him is ex-USC player Byron Darby, a three-year starter for the Philadelphia Eagles obtained as a free agent by the Colts. And No. 3 on the depth chart is John Haines, who was Hand’s backup at right end last season and is highly regarded by the team. Throw in Booker Reese, a veteran free agent from Tampa Bay, and the fact that the team will only keep a total of six players for the entire defensive line, and Reynosa’s days in the Colts’ camp appear to be dwindling fast.

“The general feeling here is that no one has really thought much about Reynosa,” said a writer from an Indianapolis newspaper who has covered the Colts’ camp from the first day.

“To be honest, he doesn’t have much of a shot. He hasn’t done anything particularly bad, but he’s done nothing to really light people up, either. When he was drafted, Reynosa was thought of as a speed rusher, a specialist kind of guy to bring in for passing situations. But he hasn’t shown any particular ability in that area. The defensive line isn’t great, but there’s a certain amount of depth at the end position and Reynosa just doesn’t seem to fit in.”

Colts defensive line coach John Marshall sounded more optimistic.

“Right now he’s doing well, as well as can be expected for a rookie,” Marshall said. “He has good speed and good quickness and a great work attitude. He has a lot of work to do on the running game, but that’s normal. He’s going against veterans on the defensive line and they can throw these rookies around pretty easy for a while.

“But Jim is right in the thick of the battle. We started with 16 defensive linemen and we’re down to 11 now and he’s still here.”

Then came the bad news for Reynosa.

“But we kept only six defensive linemen last year and we’ll only keep six again this year,” Marshall said. “Jim is fighting it out with some very stiff competition and he’s holding his own right now. But we can’t afford to look down the road to who might develop. We need production now. We need to win now .”

Sounds like Reynosa should be packing his bags now .

And Kramer, the ACC standout last year, might want to keep his luggage handy, too. He was not drafted but was invited to the New Orleans Saints’ training camp as a free agent.

“We’ve got four quarterbacks in camp, and Erik is the fourth,” a Saints official said. “He’s throwing the ball well, but one thing against him is that he’s pretty short. He’s listed at 6-1, but that’s being kind. He’s probably 5-11.

“We play Minnesota this weekend and there will be some cuts after that game and maybe even a few cuts before that game. If Erik’s still with us he might not see any action against Minnesota, but he would get some plays against the Houston Oilers on the 22nd.”

According to one follower of Kramer during his days at North Carolina State, if the Saints do give Kramer the thumb, they’d be making a mistake.

“Everybody had the feeling here that if it was based just on the physical thing, he can’t go to the NFL,” Raleigh Times sports writer Tim Stevens said. “But you’ve got to measure his heart. Every game he picked his team up and made them win. He is a tremendously gutty leader. With the Saints he kind of knew he was a longshot, but he isn’t going to quit until they make him quit. The Saints don’t know what he can do until they put him in a game and they need a drive to win the game. Then they’ll see what he’s made of. We just saw it so many times here. N.C. State was down and they came back, time after time. And it was all Erik Kramer.

“He may not make it with the Saints but it won’t be the end for him. He’ll try somewhere else. And if he’s not a success in the NFL, you can bet he’ll be a big success in something else.”

Gottschalk, a teammate of Miller’s at Cal Lutheran, also went to the Saints for a free-agent tryout. Like Kramer, he is still with the team but also is considered a longshot to survive the final cuts. He is No. 4 on the depth chart behind 1986 starter Hoby Brenner of USC, John Tice and 11th-round draft pick Arthur Wells.

“We kept two tight ends last year, but might keep three this year,” team spokesman Rusty Kazmierski said. “And that’s because Wells has been really impressive. Gottschalk is going to have trouble.”