Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 18, 1995 TAG: 9504180104
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTS WRITER LENGTH: Long
If Mike Frederick hadn't entered the NFL draft process with a fair amount of self-esteem, it would have been easy to develop an inferiority complex.
``It's the first time in my life that people have been looking for negatives,'' said Frederick, a former standout defensive end at Virginia. ``There are so many good players that [scouts] are looking for something that sets you apart in the opposite direction.
``It's also the first time I've found that not everybody wants you. There may be 30 teams [in the NFL], but maybe only five think that Mike Frederick can make their team or really help them. What I've been told is: You've got to be careful, because one of those teams might not be the team that picks you.''
Frederick hasn't forgotten former teammate Mark Dixon, a consensus All-American in 1993. Dixon, a guard, went undrafted last year and ended up working at a golf course after an aborted tryout with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Dixon carried some baggage with him, including a bad back, but no one at Virginia denied he was among the best offensive linemen to play for the Cavaliers. Likewise, Frederick ranks among UVa's best defensive linemen ever.
``I'm not expecting too much,'' Frederick said. ``I'm not really stressed at all. I talked to my dad last week and he's about to lose his mind. He doesn't know what's wrong with me. He thinks I must have a character flaw.
``I know I can play at the next level. I think my week at the Senior Bowl, if nothing else, taught me that. At the Senior Bowl, they were telling me I was a first- or second-rounder; then, I get home and read where I'm projected in the middle rounds. It's like a roller coaster and you just hope you stop somewhere near the top.''
Frederick's undoing, should he slip to the later rounds or not be selected at all, came in early February at the National Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. It was at the combine that he was timed in 5.09 seconds for 40 yards.
``The combine was probably the worst weekend I've had in football,'' Frederick said. ``Those were just not ideal conditions to perform well. You'd do one drill full-speed, wait 20 minutes and do another one, and then they'd strip you down into these little underwear and put you on parade before a thousand coaches.
``It really showed me that our product is our bodies and what we look like. They don't take your character into account as much, I guess, as I would have. It's really bizarre. They base so much on potential and the possibility you could become a great player rather than on whether you're a good player right now.''
Frederick has run three more times for some of the same scouts who saw him in Indianapolis and been clocked at 4.93 seconds for the 40, but first impressions have been hard to erase.
``In the NFL, he could hit a wall due to a lack of top-notch skills and closing speeds,'' said draft analyst Mel Kiper, regurgitating what he has heard from scouts. ``He doesn't have an assortment of moves, getting by more with hustle and relentless style.''
Frederick had enough moves to accumulate 26 sacks, second to Chris Slade on the Cavaliers' all-time list, and register 36 tackles for losses in his last two seasons (50 for his career).
``I've always thought of myself as a pass-rusher,'' said Frederick, who last year received the Dudley Award as the top college football player in Virginia, ``but I'm learning now that other people see me differently. I thought of myself as kind of Slade-like, but obviously my mind was warped.''
Frederick, who weighed close to 260 pounds for his last two years at Virginia, showed up at the combine at nearly 280.
``It's hard to tell what you're supposed to do,'' he said. ``A lot of people offer you different advice. At the Senior Bowl, a [New Orleans] Saints scout told me I was fine at 6-5 and 260, but somebody else told me there was no way I would last against 330-pound offensive tackles.
``I'm sure I upset some people when I showed up at 280, but I think it opened up some new avenues for me. Now, the people who thought I had to be a defensive end are thinking that maybe I could play tackle, too.''
Frederick has been projected as an NFC East player because most of the teams in that division use a 4-3 defense; however, he heard last week from a Pittsburgh scout who said Frederick is ``more than big enough'' to play in the Steelers' 3-4.
``I've been told things since the beginning of the year which obviously don't apply now,'' Frederick said. ``I was told things a month ago that don't apply anymore. These pro teams call and schedule a workout, then they don't show up two days later. Or they'll call you at night and tell you, `We'll be there tomorrow.' It's really been frustrating.''
At least Frederick has company. Scouts are taking a look at eight Virginia seniors, including the two defensive linemen with whom Frederick has been inseparable for the past five years, Mark Krichbaum and Ryan Kuehl.
``In the first two or three rounds, you'll see a lot of guys drafted who went to smaller schools or only started one year or had outstanding athletic performances at the combine,'' said Frederick, who plans to spend the first day of the draft on the golf course.
``I can't wait till it's over. That will be the fun part - getting out there and seeing what you're up against. This has been ridiculous.''
by CNB