Rams News

In Holcombe, Rams see back with staying power
04/25 02:03 AM

By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch Staff

Ask Ron Turner for his favorite Robert Holcombe story, and there is no hesitation.
``We're playing Ohio State,'' says Turner, head football coach for the University of Illinois. ``It's cold, it's windy, it's snowing, it's miserable. We're getting beat pretty good. It's 35-0 in the third quarter.''
This is loss No. 10 in an 0-11 season. Defeat No. 16 in a row dating to the '96 season for the woebegone Illini. Turner turns to Holcombe on the sidelines and says he wants to take him out for the day.
``No. No, I want to keep going. One more series. One more series,'' Holcombe replied.
``He already had 140 yards or something,'' Turner said. ``I didn't say this to him, but in my mind I'm thinking, `I don't want to do anything to jeopardize your pro career. We're getting beat 35-0. We're not blocking anybody. You're taking a beating.' ''
Holcombe talked his way into one more series, then Turner took him out for good. Still, Holcombe was not pleased.
``I could see it in his eyes -- he was real upset that he came out,'' Turner said.
Rams scout Lawrence McCutcheon was on to Holcombe early, long before the team made him a second-round draft choice. McCutcheon paid a campus visit to Champaign last October. Watched Holcombe practice. Watched film of Illini games. Even then, the season was already down the tubes. But here's what McCutcheon saw on tape:
``He continued to play hard, as if they were 6-0 or 7-0,'' he said. ``I was impressed with the way he ran between the tackles. The kid had very good vision and quick feet, and ran with a good base.''
By ``good base,'' McCutcheon means with good balance, with his feet far enough apart. Some backs run with their feet too close together.
``Which hinders their ability to cut one way or the other,'' McCutcheon said. ``They only give themselves one way to go.''
(Some scouts believe that was one of Lawrence Phillips' problems as a running back -- too narrow of a base. But that's another story.)
McCutcheon came away from Champaign sold on Holcombe. His work habits. His running style. His maturity. He saw in Holcombe a guy who took the game seriously, who would never coast on talent or reputation.
``That's kind of missing commodity, in my opinion, in today's game,'' McCutcheon said. ``I kind of pull for that kind of guy.''
During predraft meetings at Rams Park, McCutcheon was squarely in Holcombe's corner. He told the Rams' football braintrust that four or five years down the road, he wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Holcombe was more productive than Penn State's Curtis Enis. Enis, of course, was the Rams' first choice at running back, and widely regarded as the top back in this year's draft.
But McCutcheon didn't have to do much lobbying.
``You put on the film, the kid kind of speaks for himself,'' McCutcheon said. ``Once people saw how he ran the football, and how aggressive he was as a football player, it kind of spoke volumes.''
In his previous life as a college football analyst, Dick Vermeil broadcast several Illinois games early in Holcombe's career. Vermeil wasn't all that impressed.
``He didn't catch my eye,'' Vermeil said. ``I never left the stadium saying, `Hey, this guy's going to be a heck of a running back.' It didn't appear to me that he was going to be that caliber of a back.''
Until Vermeil popped in some game tape from 1997.
``I said, `Hey, this is not the same kid I saw play as a true freshman,' '' Vermeil said. ``He has matured into a darn fine football player. . . . He's learned how to run in traffic, believe me. Because he was always in traffic.''
More like traffic jams.
``We counted one ballgame, I think it was Michigan, where he took 14 hits behind the line of scrimmage,'' said Charley Armey, Rams vice president of player personnel. ``He turned every one of them into at least a `zero' play. In other words, he at least got the ball back to the line of scrimmage. This player makes a lot of plays after contact.''
In college, Holcombe didn't brace himself for oncoming tacklers, he exploded into them.
``Walter Payton had that,'' Rams running backs coach Wilbert Montgomery said. ``When someone came to tackle Walter Payton, he would make them feel sorry for tackling him. Right now, I see a lot of that in what he's doing.''
Montgomery knows a good running back when he sees one. He had three 1,000-yard rushing seasons himself as a Philadelphia Eagle in the late 1970s and early '80s.
McCutcheon also knows a good one when he sees one. He had four 1,000-yard seasons for the Rams in the '70s. McCutcheon says Holcombe, ``is not quite as fast as Curtis Martin. But he has those kinds of attributes.''
When he watches Holcombe run, Turner sees a little bit of Terry Allen, the Washington Redskins Pro Bowler. ``He's got such a strong lower body and good leg strength,'' said Turner, offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears before taking the Illini job.
The extra is Holcombe's burning desire to compete, regardless of the score or won-lost record.
``If you're a coach and you don't love Robert, there's something wrong with you,'' Turner said. ``He was by far our best player. And by far our best worker.
``I'd leave (the football facility) at 10:30, 11 at night, and I'd see his car here. He'd either be in there studying for school, or he'd be studying film for the upcoming game. One or the other.''

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