woodbuck27
08-14-2006, 03:55 PM
Defensive lineman relishes his opportunity -
Tollefson probably won't make the roster, but he's grateful for the shot
By LORI NICKEL
lnickel@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Aug. 13, 2006
Green Bay - The Green Bay Packers have depth at defensive line. He shrugs; so what?
But he hasn't got much of a shot to make the Packers roster. He shakes his head; what's new?
Dave Tollefson stands in a real Packers uniform, and it sure suits him better than the orange Home Depot apron he used to wear. And these training-camp practices beat 12-hour days under the California sun driving nails into two by fours when he was a carpenter.
Playing behind Aaron Kampman, with all its uncertainty, still beats being broke, wondering if he should enlist in the military and fight in Iraq, or finish school and somehow scrape up enough cash to pay off loans and buy a decent engagement ring for his girlfriend.
There's a reason the 6-foot-4, 255 pound right end has a permanent grin these days.
"These guys kind of look at me funny because I know so much about the NFL, I've been such a huge fan," Tollefson said. "They're also like, 'Why you always smiling?' Hey, if this is coming to work, man, I'll come to work every day."
Tollefson was the last of general manager Ted Thompson's 12 draft choices in April, a seventh-round compensatory pickup. He's 25, having missed three seasons of football because of injury and his own passive aggressiveness. He's athletic and has good size, but if he wants to make this team he needs to work on his hand technique to shake blockers and rush the quarterback.
But he's here, and that's a start.
At Ygnacio Valley High in Concord, Calif., he was a two-time all-city linebacker and tight end. He went on to Los Medanos Community College in Pittsburg, Calif. where he played in 1999 and 2000.
But he'd been playing with an injured right shoulder for a few years and decided it needed correcting. After surgery he got an offer from Fresno State to walk on at defensive end.
Back in the weight room, however, Tollefson separated the shoulder. It needed surgery again.
"I didn't know how to handle the situation, so I ignored it. I didn't return their calls," Tollefson said. "I was totally embarrassed, I didn't know if I wanted to go there hurt, I was losing weight. I just really had no idea how to handle it, so I totally mishandled it."
Fresno State dropped him.
Out of options, Tollefson took a job at The Home Depot and spent one year out of football.
Then he started working for his cousin at a construction company as an apprentice in carpentry. He was making pretty decent money for a 21-year-old, and while it wasn't the future he had envisioned, life wasn't so bad. That was the second year out of football.
Then an old juco teammate called him - Damienn Chumley, then a safety at Northwest Missouri State. Chumley told Tollefson he could still play but Tollefson had his doubts. He hadn't been working out, and he had lost some of the bulk he'd put on.
"I told him he was way too good of a player not to be on a football field," Chumley told The St. Joseph (Mo.) News-Press last year. "I knew the motor he had, and I really respected the way he played. All I said to him was get some film together, and I'll do the rest."
Said Tollefson, "For some reason they liked it. I've seen the film. It's crap."
But defensive coordinator Scott Bostwick said they wanted him anyway, and Tollefson jumped at the second chance. But he didn't disclose that he still had a bad shoulder that was never repaired. He got a second surgery on his own and crossed his fingers.
At Northwest Missouri State in Division II, despite being last on the depth chart, Tollefson started out great - for a whole week. He tested well. He was strong, in shape. But in a pre-season scrimmage, he felt a pop in his left foot.
Unbelievable.
The mid-foot sprain that required surgery was the end of 2003, his third consecutive season out of football.
"I was like, uh, whatever," Tollefson said. "At least I'm in school. I could be working."
It paid off. As a junior in 2004, his first time on the football field since 2000, Tollefson led the Bearcats with 8 1/2 sacks in a total of 48 tackles. He made second team all-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Conference.
In 2005, he was the conference's most valuable defensive player with 12 1/2 5 sacks and 16 1/2 tackles for loss.
The Packers flew him in for a visit, assuring him that he would be signed as a free agent as soon as the NFL draft in April was over. He had to explain to the Packers, and other teams, why he had a three-year gap in his playing career.
"I had to tell this story 32 times," Tollefson said. "You should have seen some teams. 'You were never in jail? You swear you weren't in prison?' They wanted to see my check stubs from work."
Being drafted, then, was a total shock.
"The really cool thing about me getting drafted was it gave me extra money so that I could help my Mom out with all the school loans," Tollefson said. "That was the only reason I wanted to get drafted. I had no disillusions. I was at a bass fishing contest draft weekend. I didn't even care.
"When they called and said they're picking me, I said, 'If you want to pick me, pick me. I'm going to bust my (butt) for you whether you pick me or not.' "
The Packers' exhibition game Saturday night in San Diego was special for Tollefson. His mother, Debi Crocker, bought tickets for at least 30 people, including his brother, Brett Baatrup. The 21-year-old Marine will deploy to Iraq in September. He plans to make it back by June for Tollefson's wedding, to be his best man.
"Sure, I worry, but at least he's doing something honorable, not like somebody selling drugs on the street," Tollefson said. "You wouldn't want anybody else over there other than him, man, he's great. He's my motivation, by far."
From the Aug. 14, 2006 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Note:
Chat: Cliff Christl, 7 p.m. Monday 14 Aug. 2006
Comment on Lori Nickel's Story:
Dave Tollefson may be in "the right place", at the exact right time? He's just got to want it badly enough.
Tollefson probably won't make the roster, but he's grateful for the shot
By LORI NICKEL
lnickel@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Aug. 13, 2006
Green Bay - The Green Bay Packers have depth at defensive line. He shrugs; so what?
But he hasn't got much of a shot to make the Packers roster. He shakes his head; what's new?
Dave Tollefson stands in a real Packers uniform, and it sure suits him better than the orange Home Depot apron he used to wear. And these training-camp practices beat 12-hour days under the California sun driving nails into two by fours when he was a carpenter.
Playing behind Aaron Kampman, with all its uncertainty, still beats being broke, wondering if he should enlist in the military and fight in Iraq, or finish school and somehow scrape up enough cash to pay off loans and buy a decent engagement ring for his girlfriend.
There's a reason the 6-foot-4, 255 pound right end has a permanent grin these days.
"These guys kind of look at me funny because I know so much about the NFL, I've been such a huge fan," Tollefson said. "They're also like, 'Why you always smiling?' Hey, if this is coming to work, man, I'll come to work every day."
Tollefson was the last of general manager Ted Thompson's 12 draft choices in April, a seventh-round compensatory pickup. He's 25, having missed three seasons of football because of injury and his own passive aggressiveness. He's athletic and has good size, but if he wants to make this team he needs to work on his hand technique to shake blockers and rush the quarterback.
But he's here, and that's a start.
At Ygnacio Valley High in Concord, Calif., he was a two-time all-city linebacker and tight end. He went on to Los Medanos Community College in Pittsburg, Calif. where he played in 1999 and 2000.
But he'd been playing with an injured right shoulder for a few years and decided it needed correcting. After surgery he got an offer from Fresno State to walk on at defensive end.
Back in the weight room, however, Tollefson separated the shoulder. It needed surgery again.
"I didn't know how to handle the situation, so I ignored it. I didn't return their calls," Tollefson said. "I was totally embarrassed, I didn't know if I wanted to go there hurt, I was losing weight. I just really had no idea how to handle it, so I totally mishandled it."
Fresno State dropped him.
Out of options, Tollefson took a job at The Home Depot and spent one year out of football.
Then he started working for his cousin at a construction company as an apprentice in carpentry. He was making pretty decent money for a 21-year-old, and while it wasn't the future he had envisioned, life wasn't so bad. That was the second year out of football.
Then an old juco teammate called him - Damienn Chumley, then a safety at Northwest Missouri State. Chumley told Tollefson he could still play but Tollefson had his doubts. He hadn't been working out, and he had lost some of the bulk he'd put on.
"I told him he was way too good of a player not to be on a football field," Chumley told The St. Joseph (Mo.) News-Press last year. "I knew the motor he had, and I really respected the way he played. All I said to him was get some film together, and I'll do the rest."
Said Tollefson, "For some reason they liked it. I've seen the film. It's crap."
But defensive coordinator Scott Bostwick said they wanted him anyway, and Tollefson jumped at the second chance. But he didn't disclose that he still had a bad shoulder that was never repaired. He got a second surgery on his own and crossed his fingers.
At Northwest Missouri State in Division II, despite being last on the depth chart, Tollefson started out great - for a whole week. He tested well. He was strong, in shape. But in a pre-season scrimmage, he felt a pop in his left foot.
Unbelievable.
The mid-foot sprain that required surgery was the end of 2003, his third consecutive season out of football.
"I was like, uh, whatever," Tollefson said. "At least I'm in school. I could be working."
It paid off. As a junior in 2004, his first time on the football field since 2000, Tollefson led the Bearcats with 8 1/2 sacks in a total of 48 tackles. He made second team all-Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Conference.
In 2005, he was the conference's most valuable defensive player with 12 1/2 5 sacks and 16 1/2 tackles for loss.
The Packers flew him in for a visit, assuring him that he would be signed as a free agent as soon as the NFL draft in April was over. He had to explain to the Packers, and other teams, why he had a three-year gap in his playing career.
"I had to tell this story 32 times," Tollefson said. "You should have seen some teams. 'You were never in jail? You swear you weren't in prison?' They wanted to see my check stubs from work."
Being drafted, then, was a total shock.
"The really cool thing about me getting drafted was it gave me extra money so that I could help my Mom out with all the school loans," Tollefson said. "That was the only reason I wanted to get drafted. I had no disillusions. I was at a bass fishing contest draft weekend. I didn't even care.
"When they called and said they're picking me, I said, 'If you want to pick me, pick me. I'm going to bust my (butt) for you whether you pick me or not.' "
The Packers' exhibition game Saturday night in San Diego was special for Tollefson. His mother, Debi Crocker, bought tickets for at least 30 people, including his brother, Brett Baatrup. The 21-year-old Marine will deploy to Iraq in September. He plans to make it back by June for Tollefson's wedding, to be his best man.
"Sure, I worry, but at least he's doing something honorable, not like somebody selling drugs on the street," Tollefson said. "You wouldn't want anybody else over there other than him, man, he's great. He's my motivation, by far."
From the Aug. 14, 2006 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Note:
Chat: Cliff Christl, 7 p.m. Monday 14 Aug. 2006
Comment on Lori Nickel's Story:
Dave Tollefson may be in "the right place", at the exact right time? He's just got to want it badly enough.