NFL lockout leaves rookies in the lurch

Former LSU running back Stevan Ridley had to wait for 72 other players get picked before the New England Patriots drafted him.

Teams Ridley visited before the draft—the Detroit Lions, the Miami Dolphins and the Dallas Cowboys—all took running backs other than Ridley.

He watched the draft on television at his mom’s home in Natchez, Mississippi, and a phone call from Patriots coach Bill Belichick is how he learned where he’d be going after LSU

“I couldn’t ask for a better fit,” Ridley said after being chosen. “I’m thankful.”

But this is no ordinary year in the NFL. Owners and players remain at odds over how to share the league’s profits, so players are in limbo. For veterans, the challenge is about remaining in shape and coping with a sudden cash crunch. For rookies like Ridley, it means working harder than ever to prepare for what will his biggest day ever, yet not knowing when that will be.

That night, Ridley and his family celebrated with a cookout. More than 60 people packed into the house, including the boss from his job in junior high school, as well as high school friends and well-wishers.

Still, as soon as the draft was over, Ridley’s life as a professional began.

“I had to drive back down to Baton Rouge first thing in the morning. From there, the Patriots flew me up to Massachusetts at 6:30 a.m. to meet with the Patriots’ staff, including Belichick.” Yet due to the rules of the lockout, they couldn’t actually talk about football.

“We weren’t even allowed to get the playbook,” said Ridley, a 2010 All SEC first-team running back. “So we just had conversations about general stuff. Afterwards, they put us in a hotel room and flew us out the very next day.”

Uncertainty is the watchword for Ridley and his fellow draftees.

“Nobody really knows what’s going to happen with the lockout until everything works itself out in court,” Ridley said. “But I’ve been playing football all my life, and I’ve never gotten one dollar yet, so no matter what happens, I’m happy.”

Since he declared for the draft, Ridley has been training hard for the NFL, at times with his draftee Patrick Peterson, who went 5th overall to the Arizona Cardinals.

He also worked hard to prepare for the interview process, where coaches interview potential draftees. “You have to go up to the chalk board and draw plays and things of that nature,” Ridley explained. “You have to draw up defenses, defensive line fronts, your blocking schemes—all that. But basically, you just have to go in there and be yourself. They can look at your film and see how well you play. That speaks volumes more than anything else.”

The most unusual question Ridley was asked during the interview process? “One NFL team asked me: ‘Why does food have to be cooked?’ I mean, what does that have to do with how I play football?” Ridley said with a laugh. “But there’s a science to everything they do.”

Living in Massachusetts will be different for Ridley, a born-and-bred Mississippian. “Obviously, one of my biggest concerns is adjusting to the cold weather up North. But I’m excited about it. I’m not worried.”

For the time being, Ridley has been staying in Baton Rouge. He plans to finish his degree in general studies with a minor in African-American studies, for which he has 27 hours left. And he’ll continue training with LSU strength and conditioning coach Tommy Moffitt, as well as former LSU players like Joseph Addai, Matt Flynn and Brandon LaFell.

“They’re people that I can talk to and get advice,” he said. “They each say pretty much the same thing: The NFL is a business. Once the lockout gets settled and I’m able to get my playbook, my biggest thing will be to learn it and train hard.”

He has plenty of motivation to work hard. Being drafted is “a dream come true. The whole process is something I‘ll never forget.”