Ickey’s still shuffling along

Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2002 | 9:58 a.m.

Purchase a new floor by "Floors To Shuffle On" in the Cincinnati area, and a caveat comes when the owner of the company visits for the final inspection.

Former UNLV and Cincinnati Bengals running back Elbert "Ickey" Woods will perform his "Ickey Shuffle" on the new flooring.

"That's why I call it 'Floors To Shuffle On,' because I'll shuffle on your floor before I leave," Woods said. "That's a guarantee. Carpet, hardwood, vinyl, tile, ceramic ... anything that deals with floors, we do."

He personally visits 20 to 30 customers a month, measuring square footage and calculating price bids before turning jobs over to a team of independent installers.

"You have to take good care of people, and they'll recommend you to other folks," Woods said. "Any time you're in any type of service industry, word of mouth can make you or break you. You have to have guys who can do a quality job, and you have to stand by your work."

A fateful hookup with running backs coach John Montgomery II during his senior season at UNLV enabled Woods to grow as a person, something Woods is much more thankful for than anything Montgomery taught him about carrying a football.

Considering that Woods led the nation in rushing in 1987, which led to him being picked by Cincinnati in the second round, which led to the Bengals reaching the Super Bowl, that says plenty about what Montgomery means to Woods.

"My final year here, he came in and showed that he cared for me as a person and not just a football player," Woods said. "He wanted to see me grow as a person. That was basically my turning point, someone showing they cared about me as a person and not as a football player."

Raised on welfare by his mother, Sylvia, in Fresno, Calif., Woods, who made about $5,000 for appearing at Caesars Palace's "Chalk Talk" Sunday, never had a male role model to respect and admire until he met Montgomery.

The two talk by phone about once a month. Their first exchange 15 years ago wasn't so pleasant. Montgomery had dining-hall duty, and Woods was wearing a cap indoors. That's a faux pas worthy of a felony to an old-school coach like Montgomery.

"Young man, take that hat off," Montgomery said. The snarl that came back was unmistakable. "He looked at me like he wanted to cut my throat," Montgomery said.

Someone told Montgomery that that was Ickey Woods, and it all clicked. When coach Wayne Nunnely hired Montgomery, he told Montgomery of Woods.

"There's a kid in your group who hasn't done anything since he's been here," Nunnely said. "I coached him his freshman year, and someone else had him the last two years. Now it's your turn. He ain't worth a quarter, but for some reason, I like him.

"Now, look, I don't want you to run this kid off. Do what you want to turn his life around, but don't run him off."

Montgomery knew he had a guy on his hands with a notorious reputation and a boss who wanted to keep him around.

"He had some issues. He wasn't no saint," Montgomery said Monday from Langston, Okla., where he is the athletic director at Langston University. "So I said, 'How do I take these lemons and make lemonade out of it?' "

It took an altercation that got Woods barred from the dining hall for Montgomery to begin making strides with his pupil. Montgomery held daily meetings with his running backs at 2 p.m., and he instructed a hungry Ickey to drop by at 1.

Montgomery routinely gave Woods two or three dollars, asking Woods to pick up a USA Today at the nearby AM/PM on Maryland Parkway and knowing the convenience store also sold hamburgers two for a buck.

Woods returned, Montgomery usually ate only one of the burgers and the two talked about the events of the world from all sections of the newspaper. Woods then began showing at 12:30, if not earlier.

"We just talked about life, not just Xs or Os or football," Montgomery said. "We talked about faith in God, we'd read the Bible, we'd talk of class work, we talked some of kids, what it takes to be a husband and a father, what it takes to be a black man in America.

"All the while, the kid's eating one of my hamburgers. Remember, he couldn't eat in the dining hall. I think that was softening him up. When you start talking to a man of his ideals as a man, you find out where a kid's hot button is. He had commitment, and family was important to him."

Montgomery drilled the 21-year-old senior about what he wanted to be doing and where he wanted to be at 31, 41 and 51. Woods, 36, and his wife are raising six children in Cincinnati.

Woods has not completed requirements for his UNLV degree, and he sold meat before the flooring company blossomed.

"Ask him how he drove that meat truck door to door," Montgomery said. "Imagine how humbling that must have been. Bottom line, he had a family to take care of. He would do the things he had to do to take care of his family. I'll always love him and respect him for that."

As Woods made huge personal strides off the field at UNLV, he was gaining renown between the lines. With four games remaining in his college career, he noticed in one of those USA Today sessions with Montgomery that he was 10th in the country in rushing.

Montgomery saw a grin a yard wide on Woods's face.

"Great," Montgomery said, "I'm really happy for you."

"But coach," Woods said, "I'm not through. I'm going to lead the nation in rushing."

Knowing Woods had not run for 500 yards combined as a freshman, sophomore and junior, Montgomery said, "Let's keep these goals attainable."

Woods didn't back down. He said he had made up his mind, that Montgomery should go home, figure out what it will take and he'd see Montgomery on the field the following day for the facts.

Montgomery worked on the problem until 2 or 3 in the morning, analyzing the leaders -- Thurman Thomas of Oklahoma State, Craig Heyward of Pittsburgh and Kenneth Davis of Texas Christian -- their teams' remaining opponents and the foes the Rebels had left.

Montgomery figured Woods would need 1,650 yards for the title, which translated into about a 190-yard average the rest of the way.

Woods, with 1,658 yards, got the rushing crown.

"I'll remember that 'til I'm 100," Montgomery said. "He never broke stride. (Muhammad) Ali, in his prime, used to say, 'Archie Moore will go in four,' and he went out and did it. And here's this kid ... I love him like a son for that and will remember him forever. He'll always be special to me."