THE NFL DRAFT : Brostek’s Back X-Rays Don’t Scare Off Rams

While others turned their backs on Bern Brostek and his back, the Rams shunned some medical-report gossip Sunday and drafted with their own hearts and charts, selecting the University of Washington center with the 23rd pick on the first round.

Brostek, the heir apparent to 33-year-old Pro Bowl center Doug Smith, admits to having a congenital spinal defect, an interesting problem facing a youngster entering a professional career of hunching and squatting. Brostek flunked a Buffalo Bills’ physical recently, and a few other teams passed on him, too.

To which the native Hawaiian, Brostek, a 300-pound bundle of poi (one of his favorite snacks), remarked, “I guess some of the X-rays kind of blew their minds.”

The X-rays blew their minds?

No worries, Brostek claims.

“It’s never bothered me,” he said of his back. “It’s something I’ve had from birth. It’s called a congenital defect. My last two or three disks are kind of defective, but what’s happened is the muscles in my back all these years have compensated, the muscle is just stronger.”

Brostek’s back requires no special treatment or therapy. In fact, it only bothers him when people broach the subject.

The Rams’ medical team tweaked and twisted Brostek’s back and reached the following conclusion:

“It’s a big one,” Coach John Robinson said.

Any concerns about it lasting?

“None,” Robinson added.

That question aside, Brostek was just what the Rams had in mind, a bruising interior linemen who can play guard until Smith retires in a few years.

This isn’t a reach, by any means, on the scale of plucking first-round tackle Mike Schad from Queen’s University, Canada, in 1986. Brostek was a consensus late-round pick and fell into line, right on schedule.

The Rams only wavered on Brostek while Georgia defensive back, Ben Smith, remained on the board after 21 picks.

“I don’t know who we would have picked had we had them both,” Robinson remarked. “We just sat and waited to see.”

When the Philadelphia Eagles took Smith at 22, the Rams’ decision was made.

Hudson Houck, the Rams’ offensive line coach, worked Brostek out personally in Hawaii and returned with glowing reports.

“It’s not a mystery whether he’s a player or not,” Houck said. “Or whether we’re going on potential. He can play football. He’s already shown he can do that.”

And if this man has a back problem, how did he manage to start 41 of the last 42 games at Washington?

“He hasn’t missed a day of practice, I don’t think, in three years,” Robinson continued. “So he may have a bad back, but it’s usually at night and in the morning, but never in the afternoon.”

Brostek, for one, was overjoyed to be joining a line long noted for sending players to his home state, Hawaii, each season for the annual Pro Bowl game.

Brostek wants to continue the tradition.

“A free trip home at the end of January, that sounds good,” he said. “If it’s possible.”

Brostek grew up on the island of Oahu, not far from the University of Hawaii. He said his dad encouraged him to play his collegiate ball on the mainland, so Brostek landed in Seattle.

Instead of taking a chance on a marginal cornerback in the second round (49th overall), the Rams opted for Pat Terrell of Notre Dame, a player most rated among the top safety prospects in the draft. If Terrell proves to be that good, it gives Jerry Gray the flexibility to remain at corner or play safety.

Robinson: “We did not feel there was any corner there worthy of being picked in that area. You’d have to say that Jerry Gray, instead of safety/corner, which he was an hour ago, is now a corner/safety, which is fine with us. We will still have Jerry play both in training camp.”

Of course, those plans might change again with the late-day acquisition of New York Jet cornerback Bobby Humphery.

Terrell, about 6-0 and 195, is projected at free safety for the Rams, who are impressed with his range, his smarts--Terrell graduates next month with a degree in business/marketing--and his 4.5 speed in the 40-yard dash.

Terrell last summer interned with IBM.

“They’re really interested in my career,” Terrell said. “But they do know I play football.”

Terrell was disappointed he wasn’t chosen sooner, since draft slots equate directly to dollars, but admits a future with the Rams isn’t bad, particularly since he’ll be reunited with former Notre Dame teammate Frank Stams.

How badly did the Rams want Terrell?

“We were sweating out the last four picks, holding our breath, hoping he’d get through,” Robinson said.

In the third round, with the 78th choice, the Rams took fullback Latin Berry of Oregon (5-9, 196). In an admitted risk, the Rams are planning to use Berry as a kick returner to replace Ron Brown while they convert him to cornerback over the next year.

“We’re going to take the risk and give him a year to learn,” said Robinson, who has compared Berry’s toughness to ex-Ram Charles White. While Berry has 4.4 speed in the 40, most felt he wasn’t elusive enough to shake tacklers in the NFL as a runner.

The Rams decided on Berry after two preferred choices were taken just prior to this pick. Linebacker Bobby Houston of North Carolina State went to Green Bay with the 22nd pick, and Brigham Young guard Mohammed Elewonibi was taken with the 23rd pick. The Rams selected 25th.