Glove Holding Saints Together

La’Roi Glover might be downright annoying if he weren’t so nice.

After all, Glover’s built a first-rate NFL career and a charitable foundation while earning his college degree and working with youths.

Quite a turnaround for a guy that plenty of people never expected to do much of anything.

“He’s such a beautiful person,” New Orleans Saints teammate Norman Hand said. “Sometimes I wonder if there’s anything he can’t do.”

A fifth-round draft pick, Glover at 6-foot-1 and 285 pounds was considered too small for the defensive line. The Oakland Raiders wrote him off in 1997 and the Saints picked him up for just $100.

“I wish I could find a few more bargains like that,” Saints coach Jim Haslett said.

By 1998 Glover was a starter for New Orleans, playing well enough to make 67 tackles, 59 of them solo, and have 10 sacks--eighth best in the NFL.

Last year, Glover was put at nose tackle, where, despite his size and constant double teams, he had 62 tackles and 8.5 sacks. He attracted enough attention to be selected as a second alternate in the Pro Bowl.

He also played well enough that the Saints signed him to an $11 million contract.

This year, with the addition of a healthy Joe Johnson, second-round draft pick Darren Howard, and the 310-pound Hand in the middle, the Saints defense has been ranked near the top all season.

Glover has been a big part of it, too.

He’s supplemented his pay with another $2 million in bonuses this year. He’s been the NFC defensive player of the week three times -- something that’s never happened before -- and ranks second in the NFL in sacks, half a sack behind Miami defensive end Trace Armstrong, who has 16 1/2. He also was selected as a starter for the Pro Bowl.

“No one works harder at being good at his job than La’Roi,” Saints defensive coordinator Ron Zook said. “He studies film, he practices every practice hard, he works out. He’s relentless.”

That’s the same word Haslett uses to describe Glover -- relentless, whether he’s in a game, in a meeting room, studying film or on the practice field.

“La’Roi plays and practices the same way all the time,” Haslett said. “He’s full speed. His motor never stops.”

Glover not only studies his opponents, he studies his heroes, including John Randle, Warren Sapp and Brian Young, among others.

“I’ve devoted a lot of time to becoming someone who can play in this league,” Glover said. “Training, studying the films. All the little things it takes to be a good ball player, I’ve done them.”

Glover makes up for his lack of size with superior quickness, acceleration and strength. He has bench-pressed 540 pounds -- close to twice his weight--and squatted more than 700 pounds.

“If you look at the top tackles in the league, I’d say he’s one of the top three along with Johnny Randle and Warren Sapp,” Haslett said.

And it’s not just football that Glover has worked at. True to his promise to his mother, he stayed in school while playing in the NFL and graduated from San Diego State last year with a double major in public administration and sociology.

“That means more to me than all his football awards, and they mean a lot,” said Glover’s mother, Betty. “That’s the kind of person he is. If he gives his word, he does it, no matter how hard it is to do.”

And then there’s that nice guy thing.

Working through the Giving Back Foundation in Boston, Glover provides a suite and tickets for 20 Children’s Hospital patients for each Saints home game.

“He goes to the box after every game, win or lose,” said Nina Biggar, who works with the foundation. “He spends time with the kids no matter what.”

Glover has also set up two $5,000 scholarships at Point Loma High School in San Diego, which he attended. This spring he will provide scholarships or donate to a new athletic center San Diego State is building, Biggar said.

“He does a lot of things just on his own,” said Josselyn Timko, of the Saints’ community relations department. “Things that aren’t arranged. He just goes and talks to groups or visits kids on his own.”

When he was growing up, Glover’s family struggled through a period Glover calls “the downs.” His mother worked two jobs and Glover and his brother, Darcel, earned money at a variety of odd jobs.

It made him appreciate his success even more now.

“When you’re an underdog you stay focused and you work hard,” Glover said. “You realize that you can’t be happy just doing enough, because you know the negative side of things. You always have to keep pressing on.”