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Rookie Mack Recalls Life Of 'Firsts'

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By ANWAR RICHARDSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 14, 2008

TAMPA - Atlanta Falcons rookie quarterback Matt Ryan has played like a veteran, leading his team to an 8-5 record and playoff contention.

From Ryan's unexpected rookie success, to today's important home game against Tampa Bay, everything he is experiencing this season is a first.

Bucs cornerback Elbert Mack is also a rookie, but without the fanfare, and he took time to discuss the "firsts" in his life for this week's Wide Right column.

Anwar: Who is the first girl you had a crush on?

Elbert: I had crushes on a lot of girls when I was little. I was in sixth grade and her name was Brandy. She was the first one I took serious. The first one I really got presents for. My mom financed me to get Valentine's Day and Christmas presents for her. I was with her all throughout middle school.

Anwar: What does a sixth-grader buy another sixth-grader?

Elbert: A rose, box of chocolates and a teddy bear. That was enough. That's almost like buying a ring now.

Anwar: Who was the first celebrity you ever had a crush on?

Elbert: I would say Monica. Back when her and Brandy were doing things together. They came out with "The Boy Is Mine." I thought she was singing to me.

Anwar: Do you remember the first major whipping your mom gave you?

Elbert: Yes. I actually got a technical foul in a basketball game in sixth grade.

Anwar interrupting: Man, you sure did a lot of things in sixth grade.

Elbert: I went through a lot in sixth grade. I got a technical foul in a basketball game and after I got home, my mom gave me a pretty good whipping. I never got another technical foul in a basketball game again.

Anwar: Were you cursing?

Elbert: No, it was a flagrant foul. You know how it is in sixth grade. He started crying on the court. I basically tackled the guy when he was going up for a layup. That was it for me.

Anwar: Who was the first athlete that you idolized?

Elbert: Probably Kobe. I was always a huge Kobe fan. I was a big Lakers fan growing up.

Anwar: You didn't look up to any football players?

Elbert: Basketball was my first love. I really didn't take football serious until my senior year of high school. I really was trying to bank off track and basketball to get a scholarship. I started getting recruiting letters from those sports first. Actually, I turned down my football scholarship at a junior college to run track at Langston University.

Anwar: Which was more memorable - your first college or NFL game?

Elbert: Probably my first college game. In my first NFL game, I just ran down a few times on kickoffs, but it was in front of a big crowd, hostile environment on the road. In my first college game, I remember I didn't play at all and I remember getting on the bus leaving Trinity Valley Junior College calling my mom, crying, saying I'm not used to being on the bench. That was my biggest memory.

Anwar: What was it like the first time Bucs special teams coach Richard Bisaccia yelled at you?

Elbert: It was crazy. I really didn't know how to take it. He would yell at you and then say he loved you the next play. I had to understand that that's Bisaccia. It doesn't matter who it is. Coach Bisaccia is going to speak his mind because that's how he feels. He wants the best out of everybody.

Anwar: So he hugs you with one hand and slaps you with the other?

Elbert: Exactly. It's one of the things that your mom does, give you a whipping and then tell you why she gave you the whipping and then give you a hug.

Anwar: Do you remember the first movie you were ever scared of?

Elbert: "Candyman."

Anwar: What's the best part about your first season in the NFL?

Elbert: Being around the veteran guys. I was just talking to Will Allen today about how great it is to be around here, Raheem Morris, Coach Monte Kiffin, Ronde Barber, Derrick Brooks, veteran guys that are not the typical veterans who don't give you advice or the leeway to learn during your rookie season. We have great veterans that want to see everybody else do well. They pass on what they've learned and share it with the rookies because they don't want us to fail. Like Coach Jon Gruden says, the rookies are going to help you excel and the veterans really take that serious and they take you under their wing.

Reporter Anwar S. Richardson can be reached at (813) 259-8425.

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