Changes abound for Oakland hopeful
Rick Devereux
Instead of being in the happiest place on earth Tuesday, Andre
Sommersell was at one of the meanest places on earth.
Sommersell, chosen 255th in the NFL draft by the Oakland Raiders,
was scheduled to be a VIP guest of Disneyland and Disney’s California
Adventure for being Mr. Irrelevant, the last man selected in the NFL
draft. Instead, the 6-foot-2, 235-pound defensive end from Colorado
State was in Oakland for a mandatory mini-camp. He will fly back
today in time for the 6 p.m. Lowsman Trophy Banquet at the Newport
Marriott.
Sommersell, who went to Estancia High as a freshman and sophomore
and played for Fountain Valley as a junior and senior, is expected to
be an outside linebacker for the Raiders.
“The experience of making plays at that position as opposed to
making plays at defensive end will definitely be a transition,”
former Fountain Valley Coach George Berg said. “But as far as effort
and attitude and willingness to make the play, he’ll have all that.”
It will be an uphill battle for Sommersell to even make the final
roster because the Raiders, switching to a 3-4 alignment under new
defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, have plenty of linebackers on the
roster.
Sommersell will also have to make an adjustment in his attitude in
order to fit in with the Raider mystique.
“He was always a funny guy,” Fountain Valley teammate Chris
Neilson said. “He’s always friendly to everybody. Everybody liked
[Sommersell] on the team.”
The advice given by members of the Raider Nation on how Sommersell
could make a good impression contrasted the soft-spoken nature of the
man raised in Guyana until he was 12 years old.
“Do something crazy like to stick out,” Mark “Spike” Shadinger
said. “Back in the day Ted Hendricks came riding in on a horse doing
a war scream. Recently, Jon Ritchie came into camp with an [unusual]
haircut and they were like, ‘Dude, he combs his hair with a rock.’ He
looked like a caveman.”
Shadinger also suggested Sommersell get into a fight to show the
coaching staff his competitive spirit, but Georgia Felix,
Sommersell’s mother, doesn’t think her son has that type of
personality.
“He’s always been laid back,” she said. “He doesn’t have a chip on
his shoulder, or anything like that.”
Despite his gentle nature, Sommersell does have the qualities to
make it in the NFL and with the Raiders, according to his former
coach.
“He’s risen to every challenge he’s had,” Berg said. “He’s
entering a great organization that will put the pressure on him to
perform.”
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