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Life Lessons 101 Draft prospect continues to learn by living on the roadPosted: Thursday April 10, 2003 1:24 PM
This is the fourth in a series as SI.com follows West Texas A&M linebacker Chaun Thompson in the weeks leading up to the 2003 NFL Draft. By B. Duane Cross, SI.com The good news is that Chaun Thompson's phone continues to ring. The bad news -- the same anxiety that grips the other 261 players who will be selected during draft weekend April 26-27 -- is that he remains in the dark about where he'll be living. Not that it bothers him, mind you, but it's a learning process. A native of Mt. Pleasant, Texas, Chaun is comfortable in the warm weather that embraces the Lone Star State. But during his travels to prospective NFL employers ... well, that's where the learning comes into play. After a face-to-face with the Buffalo Bills on campus at West Texas A&M, Chaun flew to Cleveland to meet the Browns. Leaving the tepid temps of Texas in a collared shirt, Chaun was greeted in Cleveland by cold temperature. And he didn't pack a jacket. "I'm dumb," he joked. "I didn't think there were cold places in America. I'm from Texas; it's hot all the time in Texas." Welcome to Life Lessons 101. "It's all been good," Chaun said of his post-Scouting Combine dog and pony shows. "A lot of the coaches just want to meet you, look you in the eyes. That's what the Bills' scout wanted. He was here [at West Texas] to look at a couple wide receivers we have and wanted to see me, find out what kind of person I am." In Cleveland, the look-you-in-the-eyes part went a little deeper. The Browns gave Chaun a physical and X-rays to check out his once-injured ankle. He came out with a clean bill of health. "I had lunch with their linebackers coach [Keith Butler] and I got to talk with [defensive coordinator] Dave Campo again. The Browns are looking to possibly solidify their linebackers, so it would be a good fit for me. A few days later Chaun jetted to Kansas City to visit the Chiefs, an experience that left him feeling "like I was already on the team." "Both of the visits were great; the teams are really friendly. In Kansas City, I got to tour the facilities and the practice field, even met the owner [Lamar Hunt]. ... And I asked [head coach] Dick Vermeil for his autograph. He's a really sincere person; you can tell he really cares about the players." Also in K.C. that day were fellow LBs Nick Barnett of Oregon State, Pisa Tinoisamoa of Hawaii and Khalid Abdullah of Mars Hill, players he'd previously met at the Combine. "I told Pisa it was like we were already teammates," Chaun said. Every time we're on the road -- in Indianapolis and Kansas City -- we're roommates.
"It's good to know you've got at least one friend going in. We're all friendly and it's fun to be around those guys."
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