Corey Chavous mentors, cooks for his young teammates
August 16th, 2007 | by Kevin Morris |
By
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
When he talks, teammates listen. And when he cooks, most everybody heads to his
place.
When the Rams signed Corey Chavous to a free-agent contract in March 2006, it
was as much for the impact he would have on those around him as for his play on
the field.
The Rams haven’t been cheated on either score. Chavous was his usual solid self
at strong safety last season, finishing second on the team in tackles (116),
with a sack, an interception, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries.
Beyond that, the player known as “CoChav” provides food for thought — and food
for consumption — for his teammates.
“I’ve been around Corey for five of his 10 years (in the NFL),” coach Scott
Linehan said. “And one of the big reasons — not the only one, obviously — but
one of the big reasons he’s here is so that he can show people how to be a
professional.
“It’s not just about playing and having talent. It’s about working hard daily,
studying the game, knowing everything you need to know inside and out. He’s a
great mentor for a young player who’s got a lot of talent, but wants to learn
from an older player. If you’re smart in that locker room and you’re in the
secondary, you’re going to gravitate to a guy like him.”
Gravitate they do.
After a rocky first half to the 2006 season, free safety Oshiomogho “O.J.”
Atogwe gives much of the credit for his second-half surge in play to Chavous.
“Being around a guy like that, you’re just going to steal so much knowledge,
and I guess, just so much veteran savvy from him,” Atogwe said. “That’s going
to accelerate your progress on the field and off the field. So I definitely
feel like Corey’s presence has been paramount to my success.”
As he worked on his speed and quickness in the offseason, second-year wide
receiver Marques Hagans said he picked up dietary and nutrition tips from
Chavous.
“How to eat square meals,” Hagans said. “More meals a day, but less intake.”
Almost every Thursday during the spring, players met at Chavous’ place in St.
Charles for dinner, with Chavous doing the cooking.
— Sometimes the evening included watching game film in a gridiron version of
dinner and a movie.
— Sometimes they would watch college highlight tapes of themselves made by
Chavous, a “draftnik” who has worked as a TV draft analyst in the past. In
fact, Hagans was invited over in part because Chavous wanted to show a
highlight tape he made of Hagans’ quarterbacking exploits at the University of
Virginia — complete with a musical “sound track.”
“I mean, the man’s amazing,” Hagans said. “He does it all.”
— And sometimes they simply would watch live sports on TV, such as the NBA
playoffs.
“I live like three doors down from Corey,” cornerback Tye Hill said. “Corey
takes pretty good care of us. He cooks. And if I cook, I call him over. I can
do a little something. But at Corey’s, we’ll be putting it down.”
Sometimes, it might be catfish, a little stir fry, corn on the cob. Or collard
greens. Or lasagna.
“Corey has a pretty good lasagna,” Hill said. “He’s almost up there with my
mom.”
During the regular season and offseason, Chavous says he cooks for himself
nearly every night. Having teammates over is a way to build camaraderie away
from Rams Park.
“Most of the defensive backs have been over,” Chavous said. “Even the young
guys came through earlier in the year. I haven’t had them over in awhile, since
we’ve been in camp. But a lot of guys on offense have been over, too.”
Even during the five-week break between the end of organized team activities
and the start of training camp, Chavous invited defensive backfield teammates
Atogwe and Ron Bartell to Arizona to work out with him and look at game tape.
“I’ve always had more of an affinity for the younger players for whatever
reason,” Chavous said. “I tend to latch onto them because I know how important
the young players are to winning a championship. And I know how important it is
to make that transition (to the NFL).
“The quicker we can acclimate them to the NFL environment, I think the better
for our football team. So rather than be standoffish, I tend to look at it the
other way. Let them come into the fold and get into the mix and make it happen.”
And enjoy a good, home-cooked meal or two along the way.
