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.”