KIRKLAND – Fan favorite?
Yeah, right.
When Seattle Seahawks fans find out about one of their newest wide receivers, they may well try to run him out of town.
Joe Fernandez was too small, too slow and too much of a bookworm to even get drafted. He once turned down a scholarship from Washington State, he scored the go-ahead touchdown in a 2004 win over the University of Washington and – this is the part that might make long-time Seahawks fans start frothing at the mouth – he is the son of Mervyn Fernandez, who used to play for the hated Oakland Raiders.
This wanna-be Seahawk has about as much going for him in this town as, say, whale harpoonists.
Problem is, the people that really matter are starting to fall in love with Joe Fernandez – no matter how he looks on paper.
Head coach Mike Holmgren singled him out as one of the most impressive rookies at the current minicamp.
Receivers coach Nolan Cromwell said he’s one of the quickest learners he has ever seen.
And Seahawks quarterback Seneca Wallace has yet to see Fernandez make a mistake.
So maybe, just maybe, Fernandez might one day find a way to worm his way into the hearts of the Seahawks’ faithful.
“To be honest, I’m just trying to get on the field,” he said with a laugh after Tuesday’s practice. “After that, then maybe I’ll win over the fans.”
Not that Fernandez doesn’t understand the initial animosity. He felt some of it at a recent celebrity golf tournament played in the Bay Area. While his father and several other ex-Raiders were introduced to applause, the sounds immediately turned to boos when it was revealed that young Joe was going to camp with the Seahawks.
For most undrafted rookies at most NFL minicamps, it wouldn’t really matter. But the more Fernandez does, the better he’s making chances of actually making the team.
Cromwell said he’s got a shot of sticking on the roster “if he keeps doing the things he’s been doing in training camp. He makes plays. He’s a playmaker.”
Despite his football lineage, Fernandez has felt like an underdog his entire life.
When he was a lithe, 5-foot-10 receiver at St. Francis High School in Northern California, only Fresno State, WSU, Oregon State and Utah showed interest. The Fresno coaches discovered him first, when they were in town to recruit a linebacker from an opposing team during Fernandez’s junior year. Fresno State assistant John Baxter said he couldn’t take his eyes on the nameless receiver who kept getting open and catching every pass thrown his way.
Fernandez eventually followed Baxter to Fresno and made a quick impression. The plan was to redshirt him as a freshman, but Fernandez asked Baxter what he needed to do to get on the field right away. He was told he had to learn every route on every play for all three receiver positions, so he did it over a single weekend.
That, Baxter said, was the first sign that Fernandez had something special.
“If I was a head coach, I would hire him to be a receivers coach – today, without any experience,” Baxter said. “He’s the smartest guy I’ve ever met – not just as a football player but as a person. … If I had gotten hit by a bus, Joe Fernandez could have finished the season as player-coach and no one would have known the difference.”
Fernandez, who has a degree in philosophy and has already started taking pre-law classes, is such a quick study that he said it took him just two days to learn the Seahawks’ offense, partly because it is similar to what the Bulldogs ran at Fresno.
“He’s really got a great understanding of the game,” Cromwell said. “He really picked it up quickly. I think he knows every (receiver) position right now – already, as a rookie.”
Baxter is somewhat perplexed that Fernandez did not get heavily recruited out of high school or selected in the seven-round NFL draft. But he’s not totally surprised.
“What is recruiting, and what is the draft? It’s a friggin’ beauty pageant,” the Fresno State assistant said. “They all want the sexy pick, the Victoria’s Secret model.
“But Joe, he’s the one you marry. … He’s no Victoria’s Secret model, but he’s going to be there every day for you. I’ll take 100 of him on my team any day.”
Over the years, Fernandez has learned that he’s not going to wow anyone with his physical gifts. He said that his father taught him at an early age that “the game is 85 percent mental,” and so he’s tried to look at the game from a cerebral point of view.
It’s gotten him this far, and now Joe Fernandez looks ready to overcome the odds again.
“The story of my life,” he said. “In high school, I was never the star of my team. But I still got a scholarship to Fresno State, and almost every year there I was the leading receiver.
“It’s the same thing now. I’m just trying to work my way up the ranks all over again. I’m just hoping it works out.”
Eventually, maybe the Seahawks fans will too.
“If I can go out and get a chance to get on the field, I think I will gain their respect,” Fernandez said. “And then they’ll love me like every other Seahawk who’s played here.”
Notes: Cornerback Pete Hunter injured his hamstring during Tuesday’s practice and did not return. … Middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu was among the players resting injuries Tuesday. … Running back Shaun Alexander was not in attendance during Tuesday’s edition of the voluntary camp, while tackle Walter Jones missed his second consecutive day.
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