For Santos, Draft Day Turned Out to Be Anything but Special

The face was once one of the more recognizable in town.

There was talk of records and the Heisman Trophy and the Holiday Bowl, and Todd Santos was so busy living through it all that he never really thought much about the day it would end. Pro football, he figured. That’s what he would do.

Why not? He was major college football’s all-time passing leader with 11,425 yards. San Diego State had retired his No. 8 by the time he left. Santos was a big-time player, a legitimate draw. And this was just the beginning.

Wasn’t it?

Three years later, Santos is sitting in a Mission Valley restaurant, eyeing a chicken sandwich. It is a few days before the NFL draft.

He has been in town since January, taking three classes at SDSU and working part-time for a company that sells photos of athletes to publications. Santos takes orders and sends the photos away.

In its files, the company even has a few photos of Santos.

Nobody has ordered one since he started work.

One day, everyone wants to take your picture. Next thing you know, people are asking you to dig out pictures of someone else.

“I’m going to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ camp in June,” he says. “Two-year contract. It’s not guaranteed, though, it’s standard.

“Wish it was guaranteed. It would make things a lot easier.”

He hasn’t had a team to call his own in two years, since his career at SDSU ended after the 1987 season. But Todd Santos is still a football player.

As for this morning’s NFL draft, he won’t pay much attention. Two springs ago, it hurt him worse than any defensive lineman ever could.

He sat at home in Selma, Calif., that day with his parents, a couple of agents and a few friends. He was on the edge of a dream, expecting to get picked in the second or third round.

He waited. And waited.

The New Orleans Saints picked him in the 10th round, on the second day of the draft.

Things were so bad by then, he said, that the New York Jets called, wanting to know what was wrong. Was he sick? Injured? Why hadn’t he been picked?

Santos told them the truth: “I said, ‘I’m perfectly healthy. I’m just sitting here waiting.’ ”

He was just sitting there. Waiting.

His resume reads like that of most other late-round picks: cut by the Saints in August 1988. Picked up by the San Francisco 49ers. Cut. Mini-camp with the 49ers last May. Waived. Broke a finger playing basketball in Selma. Got a telephone call from the Saints, asking if he could go to their mini-camp. Told them about the broken finger and couldn’t, but that he would be available for camp in July. July came, and the Saints said, ‘No thanks.’

“Actually, it’s kind of nice to be (in San Diego),” Santos says. “It was nice to be home, but I really wasn’t doing that much. I was trying to pursue the NFL, and that didn’t work out. . . . It was slow at home.”

He said he didn’t do much there during the past two years. He mostly worked on his golf game and called NFL teams looking for tryouts.

“I probably should have signed up for some classes,” he says. “Got something on the back burner. I thought last year would be my year. It wasn’t.”

He broke the finger playing basketball on a court with nine-foot rims. He and some friends were playing a pickup game, and someone caught his finger and bent it back the wrong way. It was the index finger on his throwing hand.

He says it’s better now and that he has been working out regularly.

“It’s been really difficult,” he says. “Football is something I’ve always wanted to do. I just don’t understand the reasons why I’m not (still playing).”

That’s the catch, right there. Todd Santos has not spent the past two years looking for one more chance. In his own mind, he is still seeking his first fair chance.

“At times, I get down a little,” he says. “But I’m still working real hard, trying to get something going. That’s why I’m going up to Canada and give that a shot.

“Nothing has really gone my way. I don’t think anyone has given me a real good look. What can I do? And then I break my finger.

“Then, all your friends are asking, ‘What are you going to do?’ They’re always on you.”

The Saints cut him in late August 1988. They had played three exhibition games, and Santos hadn’t been in for a play.

When he was drafted, Saint General Manager Jim Finks expressed doubts about his arm.

“He’ll have to speed up his delivery,” Finks said at the time. “He has what I call a lazy arm.”

When he was cut, Saint Coach Jim Mora told him he was behind in his knowledge of the offense.

“When I first got there, I did really well,” Santos said. “After the veterans came in, I just sat there and watched.

“I was upset. I know it’s a business, and things like that happen. I don’t look down on the Saints. I just wish they had given me a chance to show what I can do in a game situation. They never gave me that opportunity.”

When you’re a football player, all you ask for is an opportunity. When you’re young, you figure there are plenty of them out there. You get older. You find out they’re limited, and you hope you can get your break before they disappear.

Santos is 26. He said he just mailed the contract back to Hamilton last week.

“We’re looking forward to him coming up,” said Joe Zuger, Hamilton’s general manager. “I think he can have a good career.”

Zuger said Santos’ two-year layoff is not a concern.

“He was in (NFL) camp last year,” Zuger said. “I don’t think it should hurt him.”

As for Santos’ chances of making the team, Zuger said, well, it’s hard to say. The team is in the process of negotiating with incumbent quarterback Mike Kerrigan, who is a free agent. And former Notre Dame quarterback Terry Andrysiak is on the roster.

Still, Zuger is curious to see Santos.

“He was a heck of a productive player coming out of college,” he said. “Those things you don’t forget.”

No, you don’t forget.

Santos says he has been surprised by how many people recognize him since his return to SDSU.

“It’s kind of nice,” he says. “People still see you for what you’ve done and accomplished, and they’re pulling for you.”

He isn’t as tight with SDSU now as he was during those heady days a few years ago. He said he visits some coaches and professors from time to time but has been to only one football game. He doesn’t stop by the practice field.

“It’s kind of nice to sit back and enjoy everything,” he said. “Everything happened so fast. It’s nice to be in control of what I’m doing now. Back then, there was a list of things I was supposed to do--be here then, be there then. Now, it’s not that way anymore.”

So, no, Todd Santos won’t be watching the draft this morning. He would only see football players, on the edge of their dreams, smiling and laughing and talking.

“It’s frustrating sitting in front of the TV looking at all these guys getting drafted, and you know you’re better than they are,” he said. “It’s like, what is going on? What did I do?”

Lunch is finished, and Santos is expected back at work. He is walking toward his car. He has never been to Canada. All he knows is that it could be the break he is looking for. He is not sure how many other quarterbacks will be in camp and knows nothing about his competition.

“It’s good not knowing,” he says. “I’m just going to go up and do it. Maybe I’ll stay up there.

“Who knows?”

The car door slams, and Santos shifts into gear. He drives off toward June, and one more opportunity.