This Raider’s Mind Is in a Confused State : Pro football: Andrew Glover is concerned about gubernatorial election in Louisiana.

Andrew Glover is monitoring two important races this week.

In the AFC West, the Raiders remained in contention after a 17-16 victory over Denver last Sunday, thanks in part to an 11-yard scoring reception by Glover, a rookie tight end from Grambling State.

In the USA South, Glover’s home state of Louisiana braces for Saturday’s runoff election for governor between former Democrat Edwin W. Edwards, a former governor, and David Duke, a former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.

Glover, a 24-year-old African-American who can trace his lineage in Louisiana back to slavery, has a considerable stake in both contests.

Because they pay the bills, the Raiders occupy most of his time at present. There isn’t much of a comfort zone for 10th-round draft choices who didn’t figure to survive training camp.

Glover fits that description.

“One morning, around that time, I was sitting at my locker, and I was thinking about it, the last cut day,” Glover said. “And (Raider executive) Mr. (Al) LoCasale came around the corner and he just kind of stopped, right in front of my locker, looking for someone. And I was thinking, ‘Oh my God, this is it.’ He was looking for somebody, and he just kind of hesitated in front of my locker, and my heart almost popped out. ‘Man, I’m gone.’ It so happens he was looking for someone else.”

Glover tears through each practice as though the NFL were a dream that could end in a minute. Glover learned much from legendary Grambling Coach Eddie Robinson, but two of the biggest things were never let anyone work harder, and take advantage of your mind and the opportunities presented in college.

Glover, 6 feet 7, kept his grade-point average high enough to compete four years in football and basketball at Grambling. He went out for track his junior year and won the conference triple-jump title.

Glover graduated with a degree in criminal justice. Eddie Robinson taught him the importance of thinking.

“He taught the game of football, but he taught the game of life also,” Glover said.

So Glover thinks: “What if David Duke wins?”

Glover was born and grew up in Gonzales, La., halfway between Baton Rouge and New Orleans on the Mississippi River.

The Glovers have lived near Gonzales as long as anyone can remember. Andrew remembers his grandmother recounting stories of slavery, discrimination, segregation.

Glover’s family--parents, five brothers, two sisters, numerous relatives--still make their homes in Gonzales.

Glover was planning to return home in the off-season. Now, he’s not so sure.

“If Duke is elected, I’ll be in limbo,” he said. “I won’t know until it happens what I would do.”

If Duke wins, Glover said he might leave the state.

“Yeah, I would think about it, definitely,” he said. “My family, they like it there. I wouldn’t expect them to leave because all their friends are there. But me, I’ve been on the road, the whole time I was in college, with football and basketball. I’m not settled. I could make the transition quicker than they could.”

Glover’s family does not have the same options.

“It is scary,” he said. “I feel for them--everything they fought for, everything they had to go through during the periods when there was racial tension. But they still have to go on living, whatever happens, they have to do the best they can to survive, make the adjustment.”

Glover has been charting the race as best one can while fighting for a job with the Raiders. If anything, Glover is efficient. He has only four receptions this season, but two touchdowns, one more than starting wide receiver Mervyn Fernandez.

Of Glover’s 33 receptions at Grambling, 15 were for touchdowns.

“I’ve done this before,” he said of his impressive touchdown-to-receptions ratio.

Louisiana politics have a shady history, but Glover has never seen anything like this before.

He is not an adamant supporter of the former governor, Edwards, who was accused but never convicted of racketeering charges. But the choice to him is as clear as the situation is explosive.

“It’s going to be a chaotic situation if Duke wins,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to be a part of that. The economy is bad right now, we desperately need help. Someone has to come along and steer the state in the right direction. But we don’t need anybody to come in and cause racial tension. We don’t need that.”

Glover doesn’t believe that Duke has changed the radical views of his youth. Glover was convinced of that this week by the resignation of Duke’s state campaign coordinator, Bob Hawks, who claimed that Duke “has not changed and is a racist.”

Glover said: “I wouldn’t say that you couldn’t change. I think you can change. But when someone in your campaign pulls out, somebody in your management, saying this guy is not all what he seems, there has to be some truth to that. I’ve told all the people I’ve known: ‘Go out and register to vote and vote for Edwards.’ ”

The Raiders will play at New Orleans on Dec. 16. Glover hopes it will feel good to be home.