Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011

Garner native making most of his chance

Garner native Richard Medlin works toward an NFL roster spot with New England.

Richard Medlin has every reason to be awestruck.

He's spent the past month in training camp as a rookie free agent with the NFL's most consistent winner over the past decade, the New England Patriots. He had a guy named Tom come over to his locker and introduce himself on his first day in camp. Tom Brady, that is.

He's taken instruction from the NFL's most revered coach in Bill Belichick. He's practiced in front of more people than he ever played in front of at Garner High or at Fayetteville State University.

More importantly, Medlin has every reason not to be awestruck. His burgeoning pro football career depends on it, especially during a week where NFL teams will drop their rosters nearly in half.

"I'm not awestruck," Medlin said via phone from Foxboro, Mass. "You can't be in a state where you've got your head in the clouds."

Everything about the running back and kick returner's experience with New England, which signed him as a rookie free agent on Aug. 3, has been near ideal. Of course, the 5-foot-11, 200-pound back's numbers in college with the Broncos were solid but not what you'd expect to draw the attention of NFL scouts.

Medlin ran for just over 650 yards in his junior and senior seasons at Fayetteville State and was named the CIAA's special teams player of the year after returning three kicks for scores in 2008.

Still, he kept his belief in himself during the long NFL lockout, which robbed him of the chance to join a team and go through rookie and mini-camps, getting a head start on the massive playbook that's had him buried for the past four weeks.

"I just kept my faith in God," Medlin said. "I was just always preparing myself for when I got the chance, whenever I got that call, so I would be ready."

Medlin showed his readiness in his preseason debut, getting in on the Patriots' 47-point explosion with two rushing touchdowns and 54 yards rushing.

After not having a carry against Tampa Bay, he caught five passes for 27 yards against Detroit on Saturday night. The Patriots wrap up their preseason against the Giants on Thursday.

"Things have been great, so far," Medlin said. "It's just a blessing to be here. Things are a lot faster here at this high level. You just have to learn from the older guys and study game plans."

More opportunities to impress could come there, if Medlin survives the Patriots' roster cut down to 75 players today (Wednesday). Teams have to get down to 53 players by Sunday.

It could be a tough route to the final 53-man roster for a rookie free agent like Medlin with seven running backs in Patriots' camp, including 1,000-yard rusher BenJarvus Green-Ellis, multi-purpose back Danny Woodhead, veterans Kevin Faulk and Sammy Morris and fellow rookies Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen, who were both picked in the first three rounds of the draft.

"We'll try to evaluate them relative to each other and relative to the group," said Belichick in a press conference earlier this preseason on the Patriots' running back situation. "Any time you have a set of backs, you have some complementary situations: first, second, third, fourth down, as it relates to blitz pickup, pass routes and so forth, special teams and so on.

"You just evaluate each guy and then ultimately, you have to put them all together and figure what's best of your team. (There are a) lot of jobs there; even though it's one position, there are a lot of jobs."

The leadership of players like Faulk, Morris, as well as Brady, is what's struck Medlin most about what makes the Patriots so unique in his eyes.

"One of the biggest thing is the actual size of the playbook," Medlin said. "The variety of plays we have to know is a whole lot more. In college, it was pretty simple now that I look back. In the NFL, it's a lot different to me.

"It's just a process every day. The younger guys rely so much on the older guys. They help us out so much."

Medlin knows not many observers think he'll find his way onto the Patriots roster and that others have pegged him as a role guy, either a third-down back or a potential return man in the kicking game.

"I'm just doing what I can do with the opportunities that present themselves," Medlin said. "I can't concentrate on doing this role or that to make the team. It's about just being ready to go out and do your job."

It's not surprising to hear one of Belichick's most familiar refrains - "do your job" - come out of a player like Medlin, who was known for his work ethic and dedication in Fayetteville.

"Learning and executing my assignments," Medlin said. "That's the most important thing."

Injuries to Faulk and Vereen could make the Patriots' running back situation unsettled even as the season begins, which would help Medlin's bid to make the team. There is also the possibility of Medlin being picked up by another team if he is released or getting a spot on a practice squad.

NFL teams are allowed to sign up to eight players to their practice squad after Sept. 4, but those players are only allowed to practice with the team. They have to be signed to the 53-man roster to play in a game.

"Honestly, I just look at it as a daily blessing to be here," Medlin said. "My opportunity is coming with the No. 1 guy in the league (Brady), the best head coach in the league.

"I'm in the right spot and the right organization."