Dizon among those who won't watch

By Clifton Brown The Sporting News
Thursday, April 24, 2008

Playing in the NFL? Priceless.

Watching the NFL draft? Pointless.

That's how Jordon Dizon says he feels. The Colorado linebacker won't watch a second of the draft, though he is projected to go late in Round 2 or sometime in Round 3. Dizon might play golf. Or maybe he'll attend his girlfriend's track meet.

Call it being well-rounded. Call it nerves. Call it weird. But Dizon doesn't feel compelled to watch a spectacle over which he has no control.

"I really don't care if I'm in the first round or the last round, as long as I'm wanted and get a chance to play," says Dizon, the Big 12's defensive player of the year. "In the end, it doesn't matter where you're picked. It matters how you play."

There are other draft hopefuls who will join Dizon in dissing the telecast. Appalachian State wide receiver Dexter Jackson plans to fish. TCU defensive end Chase Ortiz is thinking about going bowling.

I admire these guys, largely because I could never pull it off. If I were a draft hopeful, I'd be glued to the tube. I'd have more cell phones than a Verizon store. My beverage of choice would be Pepto-Bismol. And I'd throw stuff if I were snubbed by a team.

I'm no Joe Thomas, the Browns left tackle who famously skipped last year's draft in New York, continuing the family draft-day tradition of going fishing with his father on Lake Michigan. Thomas chose sitting in a boat over sitting in an auditorium. I liked that decision the moment I heard about it. To succeed in the NFL, you have to handle the entrapments -- the money, the recognition, the status. And a player secure enough not to watch the draft, despite being a coveted choice, has the kind of makeup I'm looking for. He can't be too self-absorbed.

On draft day, Thomas wasn't worried about the money he could have lost if he had slipped. He wasn't worried about what color suit looked best on television. Something about Thomas' decision made me feel the Browns had chosen a solid guy. Turns out they did.

"Thomas went No. 3 and made the Pro Bowl," says Neil Cornrich, a longtime NFL agent who does not represent Thomas. "Not being at the draft didn't exactly hurt his career."

But there's no way Thomas will ever start a trend. Almost all potential first-round picks watch the draft until their name is called. And all six players invited to Radio City Music Hall this year-defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, end Vernon Gholston, end Chris Long, offensive tackle Jake Long, running back Darren McFadden and quarterback Matt Ryan-have accepted. They have earned the right to be there, and it's a chance for their families and friends to celebrate. Enjoy it. It's a moment that, for the lucky few, happens once in a lifetime.

But for those players who prefer not to watch, more power to you. Why not spend the weekend playing golf? With the draft on TV, they just might find the course to be a little less crowded.