| REGISTER TO WIN | |
 |
LAWRENCE | The swagger, the ball skills, the mouth that seemingly never stops running, it all reminded Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden of another cornerback he picked in the first round 10 years ago.
Gruden told Kansas cornerback Aqib Talib that he could be another Charles Woodson when Talib visited with the Buccaneers in Tampa, Fla., earlier this spring. After hearing that lofty comparison, Talib wasn’t surprised when Tampa Bay selected him with the 20th pick in the first round of the NFL draft on Saturday.
“He said that if he had an opportunity to coach a player like Charles Woodson again, he didn’t want to pass it up,” Talib told reporters in Tampa.
In Gruden, Talib found a coach that was willing to overlook his three positive tests for marijuana during his time at KU, which were reported in Pro Football Weekly and put Talib’s draft position in doubt. Gruden must have seen Talib pick off a pass in the Orange Bowl and tightrope the sideline for a touchdown return in KU’s victory over Virginia Tech.
“He has a lot to do with the explosion of Jayhawk football back onto the scene,” Gruden told reporters in Tampa. “He just has a knack for making plays, on both sides of the ball and special teams.
“We had a guy in Oakland (Woodson) we drafted early that played offense and defense, just brought life to our football team. We’re hoping Aqib Talib, in the long run, might have those traits.”
Gruden didn’t seem worried in the least about the character concerns that have followed Talib the past few weeks.
“He came out and was honest with what occurred,” Gruden said. “I’m not going to live in the past. I’m going to live in the future. I trust this kid. He’s excited about proving that he has all the right stuff.”
Talib, who picked off 11 passes the past two seasons for the Jayhawks, spoke about the positive tests for the first time on Saturday.
“Moving out of the house, being on your own for the first time, I went through a little stage in college,” Talib said. “All of that stuff happened two and a half years ago. That was a stage I went through in my life, and I learned a lot from it. I am a grown man now, and I have moved forward from that.”
Talib’s ascension to first-round draft pick is an improbable one. He played high school football at Richardson (Texas) Berkner, not one of Dallas’ renowned programs, and was given a two-star rating by Rivals.com. He was not recruited by any of the big Texas schools and, at one point, was content to play college football at Wyoming. But KU swooped in and got Talib’s commitment.
Talib burst onto the scene in 2005 as a redshirt freshman, but missed the first two games of 2006 because of violating team rules. After that, Talib’s off-the-field miscues stopped, and he evolved into a first-team All-American. Talib is the first Jayhawk to be selected in the first round since defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield in 1993.
Now, he will be able to take care of his family — including one-year-old daughter Kiara Talib — with an NFL paycheck.
“Whoever called my name, that was the plan, to have a chance to start,” Talib said. “I am a Tampa Bay Buccaneer, and I plan on making an impact right away.”
Join the discussion
Share your observations and experiences about news. Lively, open debate is the goal, but please refrain from personal attacks or comments that are racist, vulgar or otherwise inappropriate. If you see an inappropriate comment, please click the "Report as violation" link to notify a KansasCity.com editor. Thanks for your feedback.