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Ready to play: Rookie Havenstein an odds-on favorite to start on O-line this fall
Elisabeth Meinecke
FOX Sports Midwest
JUN 05, 2015 6:57p ET
http://www.foxsports.com/midwest/story/rookie-rob-havenstein-ready-to-play-for-st-louis-rams-060515
ST. LOUIS -- Yeah, there's a chance rookie tackle Rob Havenstein may not be starting on the St. Louis Rams' offensive line come fall. There's also a chance that Taylor Swift finds true love, Brett Favre unretires or the zombies take over (OK, maybe not the last one).
Havenstein, the team's second-round draft pick this year, finds himself in this excellent position through hard work, but also by default. There are two gaping holes on the right side of St. Louis' offensive line, and few candidates with any notable pro experience to fill them. The team did add veteran Garrett Reynolds during the offseason but also used four of their nine draft picks on offensive linemen. Of these, Havenstein is the highest selection, and comes from Wisconsin, a program Rams head coach Jeff Fisher clearly respects when it comes to offensive linemen.
"When you come from programs like Iowa, like Wisconsin -- you're technique-sound," Fisher says.
That doesn't mean transitioning to the NFL has been a cakewalk, even for Havenstein. Like a typical rookie, he's spent the past month trying to master the NFL playbook and adjust to a faster pace of play.
"Speed's definitely different," Havenstein admits. "There can be different calls for the same movement, and you've gotta be able to decipher between that, and it's all got to happen like this."
Since he got to St. Louis, he and offensive guard Jamon Brown, a third-round draft pick this year, have become something of an odd couple on the right side of the offensive line. Working closely together in practice has led to them also meeting outside of it, either downtown or at their hotel, to ensure they're on the same page when they get on the field.
Havenstein is a Maryland native who spent his college career playing up north, while the 323-pound Brown is Savannah-born and Louisville-raised. Brown found out he loved playing football in middle school, where he had a pretty good career as a right guard and middle linebacker. Havenstein, meanwhile, never even played football until ninth grade -- and it took him even longer to figure out he was good at it.
"Maybe senior year (of high school), I thought I was good, but whether or not I was actually good ..." Havenstein leaves the question hanging. "Freshman year (of college) was freshman year, and you don't really think you're great because you're going out there and getting your butt kicked on scout team all the time, and trying to get better and better."
After redshirting and then seeing game action the following season, he got the starting job at right tackle for the Badgers his sophomore year, and never missed a start through three full seasons. As his college career progressed, so did his dream of reaching the NFL. The guys he'd played on a line with, Havenstein noticed, were going to the pros, so maybe he had a shot, too.
"Instead of kind of (being) on the outside looking in and saying, 'Can I actually do that?' I had something to kind of base it off of," Havenstein says.
The Rams thought he was capable. They liked his durability, his smarts, the fact that he came from an offense that ran the ball well. In fact, general manager Les Snead called him "ready to play" when talking to reporters on the day Havenstein was drafted.
Now, the opportunity seems his for the taking.
"This is the dream for a lot of people," Havenstein said during Rams' rookie orientation in May. "At least we get a chance to make it a reality here in the upcoming months. That alone is just something absolutely special. It's the best job in the world, and I wouldn't want to be doing anything else."
Elisabeth Meinecke
FOX Sports Midwest
JUN 05, 2015 6:57p ET
http://www.foxsports.com/midwest/story/rookie-rob-havenstein-ready-to-play-for-st-louis-rams-060515
ST. LOUIS -- Yeah, there's a chance rookie tackle Rob Havenstein may not be starting on the St. Louis Rams' offensive line come fall. There's also a chance that Taylor Swift finds true love, Brett Favre unretires or the zombies take over (OK, maybe not the last one).
Havenstein, the team's second-round draft pick this year, finds himself in this excellent position through hard work, but also by default. There are two gaping holes on the right side of St. Louis' offensive line, and few candidates with any notable pro experience to fill them. The team did add veteran Garrett Reynolds during the offseason but also used four of their nine draft picks on offensive linemen. Of these, Havenstein is the highest selection, and comes from Wisconsin, a program Rams head coach Jeff Fisher clearly respects when it comes to offensive linemen.
"When you come from programs like Iowa, like Wisconsin -- you're technique-sound," Fisher says.
That doesn't mean transitioning to the NFL has been a cakewalk, even for Havenstein. Like a typical rookie, he's spent the past month trying to master the NFL playbook and adjust to a faster pace of play.
"Speed's definitely different," Havenstein admits. "There can be different calls for the same movement, and you've gotta be able to decipher between that, and it's all got to happen like this."
Since he got to St. Louis, he and offensive guard Jamon Brown, a third-round draft pick this year, have become something of an odd couple on the right side of the offensive line. Working closely together in practice has led to them also meeting outside of it, either downtown or at their hotel, to ensure they're on the same page when they get on the field.
Havenstein is a Maryland native who spent his college career playing up north, while the 323-pound Brown is Savannah-born and Louisville-raised. Brown found out he loved playing football in middle school, where he had a pretty good career as a right guard and middle linebacker. Havenstein, meanwhile, never even played football until ninth grade -- and it took him even longer to figure out he was good at it.
"Maybe senior year (of high school), I thought I was good, but whether or not I was actually good ..." Havenstein leaves the question hanging. "Freshman year (of college) was freshman year, and you don't really think you're great because you're going out there and getting your butt kicked on scout team all the time, and trying to get better and better."
After redshirting and then seeing game action the following season, he got the starting job at right tackle for the Badgers his sophomore year, and never missed a start through three full seasons. As his college career progressed, so did his dream of reaching the NFL. The guys he'd played on a line with, Havenstein noticed, were going to the pros, so maybe he had a shot, too.
"Instead of kind of (being) on the outside looking in and saying, 'Can I actually do that?' I had something to kind of base it off of," Havenstein says.
The Rams thought he was capable. They liked his durability, his smarts, the fact that he came from an offense that ran the ball well. In fact, general manager Les Snead called him "ready to play" when talking to reporters on the day Havenstein was drafted.
Now, the opportunity seems his for the taking.
"This is the dream for a lot of people," Havenstein said during Rams' rookie orientation in May. "At least we get a chance to make it a reality here in the upcoming months. That alone is just something absolutely special. It's the best job in the world, and I wouldn't want to be doing anything else."
