New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

The New Orleans Saints selected Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks with the 26th pick (202 overall) in the 6th round, the team's final pick of the draft.

More infro from Kansas State:

A talented offensive lineman who earned a starting nod after transferring from the community-college ranks.

2012: Played in all 13 games, earning 10 starts en route to honorable mention All-Big 12 honors by the Associated Press.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE: Rated as the No. 23 junior college player in the country by Rivals.com while playing at Navarro... Considered by many the top pass-blocker among available junior college offensive linemen... Led Navarro to a 21-3 record in two seasons, including a national title in 2010 and a No. 5 national ranking in 2011... Navarro had the No. 5 ranked passing offense with Rooks on the line in 2011.

HIGH SCHOOL: Prepped at Woodlawn High School in Randallstown, Md.

PERSONAL: Son of Stephanie Kees... Pursuing a degree in social sciences.

New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round

http://media.utsandiego.com/img/phot...053cbc530c46a8


Well he was drafted so he gets his own thread too. Feel free to contribute any info you can find on him here. I think we'd all like to get to know him better.

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

https://www.facebook.com/tavon.rooks.3

He's a Raven's fan ... not sure about him now.

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

Hmmmm........... another Boom or bust I reckon.

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

Just because we don't know who he is does not mean it is a bad pick.

Who had heard of Akiem Hicks when we drafted him? Jahri Evans? Zach Strief?
Not saying he will definitely become a good player like those guys, but let's not write him off.

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

I trust in Sean Payton and Mickey Loomis....

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

I've got a feeling that payton may redshirt him in his rookie season so he has a year to gain some size neccessary to play the position better

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

Catch phrase of untapped potential his whole life and has yet to live up to it

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

Underachiever? KSU HC Bill Snyder couldn't help him tap any of his potential for 2 years? He was a Rivals 3 star recruit out of high school, now I'm guessing a marginal 1 Star recruit coming out of college with no Combine invite. Seriously? A starting OT from a major conference and no Combine invite?

Is he gonna work his @$$ off to make an impact on the football field to improve himself? Track record screams "NOPE"...really don't like this pick now. Prove me wrong, Tavon.

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

May be the next Carl Nicks. Put your trust in Loomis.

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

Not for long.

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

Most people knew who Hicks was, but the other two not so much. The difference, though, with those players is you could google them and find a fair amount of information about them. Finding any information on this Rooks cat is scarce, at best.

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

Tavon Rooks stunned, then excited to be drafted by New Orleans Saints in sixth round | NOLA.com

Looks like he was not worried about the draft...

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

There in lies the problem with the kid. attitude. i hope he get a boot in the butt by the other OL as soon as he walks in the door, skills are there to have been in the mix for top ten OT if not better, I see a kid that has gotten everything easily in life and rode his natural skill through life. well like i said i hope a light goes on with the kid. if it does he is a steal

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

He rooks rike a right rackle to re.

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

New Orleans Saints Tackle Tavon Rooks
Conference Call With New Orleans Media
Saturday, May 10, 2014

How did it feel to get the call?

"It was a wonderful feeling man. I mean, I didn't know if I was going to get drafted. You know, coming in I thought, everybody was talking to me about being an undrafted free agent. So, I mean, God is good man. So me and my mom be talking on the phone. We prayed and the blessings came down. So I'm just happy."

So how did you spend your day? What were you doing?

"To tell you the truth, I was up here in South Dakota with my girlfriend. I was at her brother's baseball championship game and we went out to dinner, just to eat. I really wasn't waiting by the phone. I was just spending time with them, just eating, and I got a call from coach Sean Payton and we talked. He called me and told me that I was going to be with the New Orleans Saints. So, it’s a great day."

Tavon, you didn't think anyone was trying to pull a prank on you, did you?

"(Laughing) to tell you the truth I did when coach Payton called me the first time. I was like, "coach Payton? No, this is not him" and he talked to me about it and he told me they were drafting me in the next round and don't be too excited. So I didn't get my hopes up too high. But like I said, I'm just grateful for this feeling to be drafted. It's been a long journey, so I'm just happy."

Speaking of that journey, you've been to 3 junior colleges. Can you take us through that real quick?

Yeah, I've been to a junior college back home. It’s called Kingsville Community College, that’s where I started at. The reason why I started there is because I wasn't a high recruit coming out of high school. So I just took classes there just to try to get my degree. Me and my mom were just talking and one of the college's coaches called me and I told my mom that this might be my last time stepping on the field so I think this might be the best situation. So I flew out to California, played at the College of the Canyons and transferred to Navarro down in Texas and played there, and that’s when I ended up in Kansas State.”

You have a teammate from New Orleans, Cornelius Lucas, who hasn't been drafted yet. Have you called him up and let him know about it?

"I haven't really talked to him. He shot me a text message, told me congratulations but I really haven't talked to him because my family members have been calling. It's been a crazy emotional roller coaster right now, but I'm definitely going to call him back. Tell him to keep his head up and stay positive."

Coach Sean Payton talked about how once you get to camp, everybody gets a chance to make the team. Tell me about that chance to do even more than you were "expected" to. What are you going to do coming in?

"All I can do is just compete. I mean the spot's not given to me, I've got to go out there and earn it. Whatever I've got to do, I'm there. If I've got to play guard, I'll play guard. Even if I've got to punt the ball, whatever I've got to do to make the team. I've just got to do my job. Compete, that's what I'm going to do. I want to touch the field, so that's what I want to do.

You were listed at 265 going into your senior season, and now you're up to 300?

"That was my playing weight. My weight through my senior season was 280, I got up to 305. You'd be lucky playing tackle in this league at 280, so you know I had to get my weight up to 305 and start eating good, start eating right. It's something that I wanted, so I just had to make a sacrifice."

Are you the only guy from Kansas St. that’s gotten drafted?

"I believe so, and the funny part about it was I didn't think I was getting drafted. I thought Cornelius Lucas, he was the most talked about offensive tackle. I thought all the offensive line coaches wanted him, so it was a shocker to me. I'm just grateful, and I wish all the Kansas St. players the best in the draft."

Tavon Rooks talks about joining the Saints

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

if you get a fire in this kids belly he could be special.

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

:p

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

All coaches and teams are equal?

Sproles better as a Charger or Saint?
Favre better as a Falcon or Packer?
Bush?
Brees ..... Charger or Saint?
Ricky Williams?

Whole lot of whorah about how Ingram would be a better RB somewhere else but let the player be a draft pick not on someone's list and he is a career underachiever.

Maybe he was in the wrong system?

I recall some players becoming better after Spags was replaced....

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

I am sure that Payton and Loomis will have a conversation with Mr. Rooks and his agent, and raise all of these valid points, and then patiently explain that in light of these facts, Rooks should be extremely grateful and blessed to receive his $420,000 league minimum rookie salary offer from the Saints, otherwise he can go back to working at Best Buy or bouncing in a strip club or whatever he was doing, anytime he likes.

In other words, a lot like Carl Nicks, this guy is going to be CHEAPER because of the baggage, discipline or motivational issues, much cheaper than a top ten OT. Which makes this a very friendly situation for paying Drew and Jimmy and our D Line as well, for the next couple of years.

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

most 6th round picks and up by the Saints are nothing but complete shots in the dark when they draft. Its why they go all or nothing on a guy like Tavon.

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

No coach and/or system are equal; not the point I was laboring to make, and I wasn't upset that I had no idea who this guy was when he was picked...hell, I didn't know who Evans or Colston were in 2006, either.

And of course the argument could be that maybe KSU's offensive scheme requires their OLine to be swift but weak...he put up 21 reps on his pro day? For a lineman? You know people were telling him that he needed to get stronger to play in the NFL from the day he got to KSU up until his pro day. Point blank, he did not do what he needed to do to improve himself and was pretty flippant about not being considered a draft prospect.

If he can't get stronger and make himself better for just his own draft stock, we're going to expect him to make himself better for a 53 man TEAM? We'll soon see, but I will maintain that he doesn't have the drive to make himself better for his sake or for the team's sake.

Hope he proves me wrong and that we haven't wasted a 6th round pick on a dirt bag underachiever.

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

Ahhh the bench rep.... Do you understand what 21 means? You'll see why I ask below. Ever been is a bench rep contest? Know what it takes to make someone preform poorly? The common cold.


Anyway ....

Jhari Evans - Bench Press 20 reps (225)
Zack Strief - Bench Press 19 reps (225)

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

OK...bench reps was just 1 example and I shouldn't have confined it to that one area. Good on you for calling me out on my laziness...not being a sarcastic butt with that statement, either. I was lazy. ;)

However, Evans' draft profile was littered with "effort" statements: "aggressive at point-of-attack", "tough, physical", "finishes blocks", etc. 2-time All-American at Bloomsburg...Turned out nicely for us, obviously. Strief's said pretty much the same: "aggressive", "tough, competitive". Grant it, these were coming from scouting reports, but I'd trust them with most of these assessments as they are closer to the source than I am. What I see from these reports are that Evans and Strief = Effort Guys coming out of college, though both lacking that "bench press" strength.

Rooks? "Late to the 2nd level", "not a stronger finisher". Effort-lacking statements to me. He has positives with his starting experience and his lateral movement with pass protection, but KSU isn't a real passing offense (passing 38% of offensive plays in 2013). Effort shows on the field, and if he was an Effort Guy, that would have jumped out to scouts and to most NFL teams on film...at least the Saints thought they saw something, so 1 out of 32 ain't bad?

Really hope I'm wrong, but I ain't feeling it for this guy. At least it wasn't his pick in the 4th or 5th Round. And this is the most I've ever "put forth any effort" into writing about a 6th round pick.

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

Could it be he knew he wouldn't get drafted?
Hell when we all went looking for his NFL draft profile it was completely blank that was very odd.

If this guy ends up making it, it will be the upset pick of the century.

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

What I have seen, and i am not saying this is the case, more hoping that this is the case is that a paycheck is more motivating than a cheerleader.

He is in the NFL now, its his job, I have yet to hear that Sean Payton has had trouble with anyones effort.. He will be gone I am sure if he doesn't walk the talk.

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

Spot on...dude will bounce all the way back to Baltimore if the effort ain't there. We'll see. I now have a vested interest in this kid's success/failure since I've written so dang much on him so far. Good grief, Charlie Brown.

Re: New Orleans Saints draft Kansas State OT Tavon Rooks in the sixth round
 

At first glance, worst pick of the Payton/Loomis era.

At second glance, see 1st glance.