By Scott M. Johnson
Herald Writer
KIRKLAND – Closed inside a building for the good part of a spring day, Jerramy Stevens saw his chance for a clean slate. And he didn’t have to uproot himself halfway across the country to find it.
So when Stevens was invited to the Seattle Seahawks’ headquarters earlier this month for a one-on-one meeting with head coach Mike Holmgren, the University of Washington football star looked at it as a perfect opportunity to explain himself.
Stevens, the oft-troubled tight end from Lacey, was so convincing that Holmgren did the unthinkable. Holmgren made Stevens the Seahawks’ first-round pick Saturday – an implausible act when considering the coach’s background.
“My typical reaction to someone who has got jammed up a little, as he did, was to take them off the (draft) board,” Holmgren said Saturday, referring to Stevens’ past troubles with the law. “I was talking to my family, and I asked them, ‘Why is he still on the board? Why am I doing this?’ … After I met him, that was the reason he was still up there, because I really believe this is going to work. There is a tremendous amount of pressure now on both of us.”
What was said inside that building during the meeting will remain between the two parties. The crux of the interview session – which lasted a few hours – was a candid conversation in which Stevens told his side of the stories that had plagued his three years at UW.
“I went in there thinking that we needed to have a real candid conversation,” Stevens said. “I told him that was the type of conversation that I appreciate, and that was going to be the most productive thing; to speak man-to-man and not beat around the bush about the situation. I feel like it went great.”
Stevens was so persuasive that Holmgren went against almost everything he’s ever known. The Seahawks had a chance to select Colorado tight end Daniel Graham with the 20th overall pick in Saturday’s first round, but opted instead to trade down eight spots and hope that Stevens would fall to them.
Deciding to take Stevens was the culmination of extensive research, not the least of which was the one-on-one interview. Holmgren also talked to members of the UW football staff, including head coach Rick Neuheisel.
Although the 6-foot-7, 265-pound Stevens has the can’t-miss talent of a first-round pick, many teams were scared off by his past.
He was arrested in June 1998 and charged with assault after taking part in a pre-arranged fight while in high school. During his sophomore year at UW, he was accused of sexual assault, but charges were never filed due to insufficient evidence. Last summer, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of hit-and-run property damage and was sentenced to community service after driving into a nursing home. That brush with the law got him suspended from the first half of the Huskies’ opener against Michigan.
Alcohol was a common link in Stevens’ problems, and the 22-year-old has publicly said that he has quit drinking. He vows that his past problems are behind him, something that Holmgren wanted to hear for himself one final time Saturday afternoon before the selection was official. The Seahawks’ head coach called Stevens a few picks before No. 28 and asked for a few verbal promises about keeping his nose clean.
“Clearly, mistakes took place that he regrets,” Holmgren said. “No one is making excuses for anything here; it was not a good deal. It was my feeling that we could clean the slate, and he can have a really great career and be a very productive guy, both on and off the field.”
Staying in Seattle could work either way for Stevens. On the one hand, he will have people around him that will be supporting him and watching his every move, while on the other hand he won’t get the benefit of a change of scenery.
“He gets the support of the people here that have supported him all along,” said Bob Stevens, Jerramy’s father and a teacher at Nisqually Middle School in Lacey. “Obviously, it’s a great opportunity for him to show the public here what kind of a person he really is. Those are important things. Jerramy’s a very fine man, and I hope that he can prove that.
” … We all grow up and learn that people make mistakes. That’s part of the learning process. My wife (Fran) and I teach school, and we realize that if you forgot about every kid who made a mistake, there wouldn’t be any kids left at school.”
Stevens’ athletic prowess has never been questioned. He ranked third on the Huskies’ list of career receptions by tight ends (74) despite leaving school with one year of eligibility remaining. He was a preseason All-American in 2001, but a broken bone in his foot limited him to 19 receptions. Of course, his off-the-field incidents overshadowed Stevens’ career production.
“I know there’s been a lot said about me, talking about a fresh start,” Stevens said. “Where that began was with me, feeling that it needed to start with myself. Over the course of the whole process, I became more comfortable with the situation. I felt like I had made some changes in myself and how I was choosing to live my life. I realized the mistakes I’ve made and the magnitude. I am looking forward to being a professional and playing for the Seahawks. I don’t know how to describe it other than to say that it is a dream come true.”
The Seahawks weighed several options before selecting Stevens. Holmgren was working the telephones for most of the morning trying to improve Seattle’s draft status to no avail. When the Seahawks’ pick came up at No. 20, there were several possibilities. Graham was on the board, as were defensive linemen Charles Grant (Georgia) and Kalimba Edwards (South Carolina) and safety Edward Reed (Miami). But Seattle opted to trade down, giving Green Bay the 20th selection and a fifth-round pick for No. 28 overall and a second-round selection.
“Quite frankly, I rolled the dice a little bit by moving back to 28 because there are no guarantees when you do that,” Holmgren said. “I feel great that we got (Stevens) at 28.”
Rolling the dice was an apt description of Seattle’s first round, especially considering Holmgren’s typically conservative nature. But he feels Stevens will be worth the risk.
“This is going to work,” Holmgren said. “We’re committed to making this work, and I believe that he is, too.”
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