THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 27, 1995 TAG: 9507270526
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FROSTBURG, MD. LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
In football, Cory Raymer never wanted to be offensive. Defense was his forte from the moment he hit the field as a second-grader through his high school years in Fond du Lac, Wis.
But 15 minutes after he walked into the football offices at the University of Wisconsin . . .
``A coach walked over to me and told me I was moving to center,'' Raymer said Wednesday. ``And there I played, every down for four years. It was heartbreaking. I thought about jumping in front of a bus a couple of times.
``On defense, there are no rules, just rear your head back and go. On the offensive line, there are a lot of rules.''
One rule - perhaps the rule for a center - is to get the ball into the hands of the quarterback. That's the one Raymer had the most trouble keeping throughout his first practice with the Washington Redskins.
The second-round pick, who signed a four-year, $2.087 million contract Wednesday morning, fumbled a half-dozen exchanges with quarterbacks Heath Shuler and Gus Frerotte. Seconds after the whistle ending practice was sounded, coach Norv Turner pulled him aside and suggested he stay after practice for more work.
He got the message, and Shuler stuck around to help.
``When he's in pass protection, he's dropping his back too quickly and not coming up with the ball,'' said Turner, who at one point screamed at Raymer, `I don't care what you do, get the ball to the quarterback.' ''
Pass protection figures to be the biggest adjustment Raymer has to make to the pro game. At Wisconsin, where he became the first Badgers center since Mike Webster to make All-Big Ten and first-team All-American, the goal was to pound out the yardage up the middle.
``Pass protection is not my forte,'' he admitted. ``I'll probably pay the other guys when they help me.''
No one figures that will be necessary. Although at 6-feet-2 and 292 pounds he's a Piper Cub in a world of wide-body offensive linemen, Raymer is out of the same mold as a couple of centers Turner knows and admires.
``I saw some of the same qualities in Cory as I did in (Mark) Stepnoski,'' Turner said, referring to the former Dallas Cowboys Pro Bowl center who now is with Houston. ``They both have great quickness, although Cory didn't have great quickness getting here from home after he signed.''
That's an allusion to Raymer's missing Tuesday's practice against the Pittsburgh Steelers because the flight he took arrived in Pittsburgh too late for him to get to Latrobe in time to work out. That situation stung Turner, but as the day progressed, he seemed more forgiving.
``If you go around the league, the centers seem to be in the 6-2, 290-295 range,'' he said. ``You don't have to be a giant. Cory fits right in. It's his quickness and the ability to move inside that help you as an offense.''
Raymer gives the impression of being a fun-loving, devil-may-care kid. On the Wisconsin campus, he was known for riding a motorcycle and for pulling his teammates' leg hairs when they lined up for drills in practice.
But he has a serious side, one that manifested itself shortly after he was changed to center. Raymer studied NFL centers, taking something here or a bit there and incorporating it into his game.
``I went through every center in the league,'' he said. ``Stepnoski, (Redskins center) John Gesek and the guy from Pittsburgh (Dermontti Dawson), those were the guys who did the most for me. They'd come up with some amazing moves. I'd see it, and the next day I'd be out there trying it myself.''
In Wednesday's running drills, Raymer was a standout. Playing with the second unit, he consistently moved the pile in front of him for running backs Tyrone Rush and William Bell.
``When we went in various drills, he obviously knew what he was doing,'' line coach Jim Hanifan said. ``I was pleased with his performance.''
Raymer admitted he once asked that Wisconsin assistant coach why he had turned a high school phenom defensive lineman into a center without ever seeing him play a down in college.
``He gave me that old `it was better for the team' concept,'' Raymer said. ``When they bring in the team, you have to do what they say or else you look selfish. I really don't know why they did it, but I'm glad they did.''
So are the Redskins.
NOTES: The Redskins on Wednesday waived free agent Steve Videtich, leaving them with two kickers - incumbent Chip Lohmiller and free-agent rookie Scott Blanton of Oklahoma. Lohmiller is in the last year of a contract that pays more than $700,000. Blanton would earn the rookie minimum of $119,000 and has kicked well enough in practice to possibly make a strong run at the job. . . . Reggie Brooks and Tom Carter were among those sitting out practice. Brooks is still nursing his pulled hamstring, Carter pulled a groin muscle late in Tuesday's practice against Pittsburgh. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS photo
Cory Raymer, left, was welcomed to the Redskins' fold by fellow
draftee Jamie Asher.
by CNB