Hiding in the Woods Will Not Get You On a Roster

Mike O'Hara of the Detroit News Online relays this story from a long ago Detroit Lions training camp.

Years ago, when the Lions held training camp at Oakland University, an obscure rookie hid in the woods when cut-down day approached. If they couldn't find him, they couldn't cut him. Or so he thought. He was wrong.

I love that. Did this guy think he was just going to show up at practice the next day, and the coach would see him and say, "Hey, we forgot to cut Jenkins! Jenkins, get over here, you little scamp! You tricked us!" And then the coach would then muss Jenkins's hair and tell him to get in line for calisthenics, before turning to his assistants and saying, "Can you believe that Jenkins? He's so funny! He really pulled a fast one on us."

Perhaps Jenkins (and that's just a random name I assigned to the guy, but I think it sounds appropriate) thought that being cut actually meant being sliced open, like with a large knife. Maybe he thought the head coach walked around the camp with a buck knife, and physically stabbed every player that he didn't like. And hey, maybe things were like that back in the day.

Wherever he is now ... God speed, Jenkins. I hope you're not still in the woods awaiting word of the cutdown.