Stams Wants to Play, Anywhere : Rams: All-American defensive end at Notre Dame, who was moved to middle linebacker last season, is Knox’s choice at outside linebacker.

Frank Stams was a fullback his first two years at Notre Dame. As a sophomore, he started every game and finished third on the team in rushing.

The next year, he broke an ankle and had to sit out the season. When he returned, the Irish had a new coach and Lou Holtz saw defense in Stams’ future. So Stams spent his junior season as an outside linebacker.

But his tour through the Notre Dame depth chart wasn’t over yet. As a senior, when he helped the Irish win a national championship, Stams earned All-America honors . . . as a defensive end.

The Rams had Stams pegged as an outside linebacker when they drafted him in the second round in 1989, but last season a new defensive staff decided he was more suited to middle linebacker.

Now, the Chuck Knox Regime is in charge and Stams is penciled in at an outside linebacking spot again.

Inside? Outside? Stams doesn’t really care anymore. He just wants to make sure he doesn’t end up like he did last season: On the outside looking in.

Stams played in all 16 games as a rookie. In 1990, he started 12 games and finished second on the team in tackles with 68.

But he injured his left quadriceps in the exhibition season last year, was inactive for the first two regular-season games and ended up languishing--and anguishing--on the injured reserve list for the next nine games because the Rams didn’t want to use a roster move to activate him even after he was healthy.

He finished the season with eight tackles.

“The quad was completely healthy four or five weeks into the season, but as far as the roster moves and all that, they didn’t have room for me until about the 12th week,” Stams said. “I was plenty healthy before that, but that’s when they did it.

“It was just the way that all works with the roster moves a team has. I understood. It wasn’t my position to come forward and say I should be on the active roster. I think they know what’s best for the whole team. But it was very frustrating.

“When you’re hurt, there’s nothing you can do about it. But when you’re healthy, you would like to be able to contribute.”

Watching and waiting is especially difficult when your teammates need all the help they can muster. And 3-13 teams obviously need help.

Stams, however, is confident he and the Rams can put the lost season of 1991 behind them. So why not another position switch to go with a fresh start?

“I don’t know what to think yet,” Stams said after working at outside linebacker during mini-camp last week. “I feel comfortable at the position, but there’s still a lot I have to learn about the system. I can’t really make an assessment of it yet, and I’m not sure they’ve made up their minds for sure.

“I just have to look at it as a compliment that I can play both inside and outside, so I’m going from there. As long as I’m on the field, I’m happy. And I’m sure they’ll find the best spot for me.”

That, Knox says, is what the mini-camp that ended Sunday at Rams Park was all about.

“We came into mini-camp with some ideas about how we were going to line people up,” he said. “Now, we’re going to sit down and evaluate what kind of talent we have and make some personnel decisions.

“We want to take a good look at each guy, give them the opportunity to play in the preseason and participate in scrimmages, and then we’ll evaluate them accordingly.”

Translation: Nothing is etched in stone, but Stams figures to be an outside linebacker.

“We’re just putting him back to where he started,” linebacker coach Dick Selcer said, “to where he’s naturally been. We’re just taking a look at him where he’s most comfortable.

“And Frank’s comfortable outside. He has a feel for our reads there. There’s a lot of carry-over (from inside linebacker) because the outside guy ends up on the inside a lot in our scheme. Frank’s position is really a combination of both.

“And, in a three-linebacker defense, there aren’t that many guys who play just one position. It’s pretty easy to move the outside guys inside.”

OK. Now, if Stams can only remember if he’s Mr. Inside or Mr. Outside.

Stams has two primary goals for 1992:

--Play a lot.

--Win more than a few.

The Rams finished 1991 ranked 23rd in the NFL in defense, yielding more than 325 yards a game. There’s plenty of room for improvement, but he doesn’t see himself as a savior.

“The things that happened last year, happened for a number of reasons,” Stams said. “I don’t think I could have turned the tide myself. I don’t think one person would have made that kind of difference.”

Indeed, former defensive coordinator Jeff Fisher’s attacking 4-3 style failed for too many reasons to enumerate, but on top of the list was the lack of a pass rush. Knox’s 4-3, which figures to be far more conservative than Fisher’s, will have the advantage of being anchored by No. 1 draft choice Sean Gilbert, a 315-pound tackle.

“I think it’s a solid system,” Stams said. “We have all the faith in the world with the design, it’s just a matter of executing. The discipline of it is very sound.”

It’s a bid odd that Stams--who has been criticized for taking too many gambles in search of the big play--would bring up the d-word . But he knows free-lancers don’t see a lot of playing time on a Chuck Knox team.

“I feel real comfortable with the new system,” Stams said. “Some of the things we’re doing now are similar to what we’ve done in the past. The assimilation is already started, it’s just a matter of drilling it into your head.

“Playing on the outside, I’ll have to be more aware of what the tight end is doing, how the backs block and their patterns out of the backfield. I’ll basically be focusing on the perimeter of the offense instead of the middle. A lot of my focus will be on forcing the ball back inside.”

Stams is clearly looking forward to the beginning of training camp. He admits that “it’s always more exciting to learn new things,” but says he would be plenty pumped up for this camp regardless of what position he was scheduled to play.

“I think this coaching staff is going to give me the avenue to be a good football player,” he said, “but whether or not I’m a good football player is up to me.

“They have a lot to do with allowing me to have success, but ultimately it’s up to me.”