Hatcher is not your average 23-year-old
3rd-round pick has had more life lessons than football lessons
By JEAN-JACQUES TAYLOR / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING – Don't call third-round Cowboys draft pick Jason Hatcher a project. He doesn't want to hear it.
He wants to play. He expects to play.
More important, he needs to play.
Football isn't about fun and games for the defensive end from Grambling. It's a way to support his wife. It's a way to feed his two children. And it's a way to help his 12 brothers and sisters.
"My situation definitely makes me more focused," Hatcher said. "I'm not your average 23-year-old. I'm not running around and going out to the club. If I'm not playing football, my wife and kids want all of my time."
There's a maturity to Hatcher that makes the Cowboys' front office feel comfortable that he's going to be a successful NFL player.
It's a maturity that comes from watching his mother raise her children after his father left when he was 11. And it's a maturity that comes from having to take on additional responsibility when his mother died five years later.
Life has never really been easy for Hatcher. He's a product of hard work and sacrifice. It's that background, he thinks, that will help him achieve his NFL goals.
"He's a kid who has been through a lot of adversity in his life – his dad leaving, his mom passing, and being raised by his sister – so he's worked hard to get where he is," said Grambling coach Melvin Spears. "We've tried to provide a father figure for him at Grambling like we do for a lot of our kids and he's paid attention and tried to listen to things we've told him."
Now, he's listening to his coaches with the Cowboys – Bill Parcells and defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers.
They want him to focus on technique because, at 6-6 and 285 pounds, he has the raw athleticism and talent to be a significant contributor this season. But for Hatcher to maximize his talent, the Cowboys want him to work on the nuances of the position, especially since he played just two seasons of defense at Grambling.
"I think he has a lot to learn, but I wouldn't call him green," owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. "We thought that might be the case when we drafted him because he hasn't played a lot of defense, but he looked pretty accomplished out there against the competition he was facing. It's going to be interesting to see him progress."
Hatcher has big goals. He wants to become part of a defensive end rotation that features Chris Canty, Marcus Spears and Greg Ellis.
So he's trying to adjust to the speed of the game and a higher level of competition than he faced at Grambling, a Division I-AA school.
"It's a long way from my small town to here," said Hatcher, a native of Jena, La. "I'm just going to compete as hard as I can so I can contribute. I'm definitely going to make an impact here."
By JEAN-JACQUES TAYLOR / The Dallas Morning News
IRVING – Don't call third-round Cowboys draft pick Jason Hatcher a project. He doesn't want to hear it.
He wants to play. He expects to play.
More important, he needs to play.
Football isn't about fun and games for the defensive end from Grambling. It's a way to support his wife. It's a way to feed his two children. And it's a way to help his 12 brothers and sisters.
"My situation definitely makes me more focused," Hatcher said. "I'm not your average 23-year-old. I'm not running around and going out to the club. If I'm not playing football, my wife and kids want all of my time."
There's a maturity to Hatcher that makes the Cowboys' front office feel comfortable that he's going to be a successful NFL player.
It's a maturity that comes from watching his mother raise her children after his father left when he was 11. And it's a maturity that comes from having to take on additional responsibility when his mother died five years later.
Life has never really been easy for Hatcher. He's a product of hard work and sacrifice. It's that background, he thinks, that will help him achieve his NFL goals.
"He's a kid who has been through a lot of adversity in his life – his dad leaving, his mom passing, and being raised by his sister – so he's worked hard to get where he is," said Grambling coach Melvin Spears. "We've tried to provide a father figure for him at Grambling like we do for a lot of our kids and he's paid attention and tried to listen to things we've told him."
Now, he's listening to his coaches with the Cowboys – Bill Parcells and defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers.
They want him to focus on technique because, at 6-6 and 285 pounds, he has the raw athleticism and talent to be a significant contributor this season. But for Hatcher to maximize his talent, the Cowboys want him to work on the nuances of the position, especially since he played just two seasons of defense at Grambling.
"I think he has a lot to learn, but I wouldn't call him green," owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. "We thought that might be the case when we drafted him because he hasn't played a lot of defense, but he looked pretty accomplished out there against the competition he was facing. It's going to be interesting to see him progress."
Hatcher has big goals. He wants to become part of a defensive end rotation that features Chris Canty, Marcus Spears and Greg Ellis.
So he's trying to adjust to the speed of the game and a higher level of competition than he faced at Grambling, a Division I-AA school.
"It's a long way from my small town to here," said Hatcher, a native of Jena, La. "I'm just going to compete as hard as I can so I can contribute. I'm definitely going to make an impact here."
posted by The Gryphon at 8:18 PM
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