Columnist Ron Kantowski: Brimmer takes familiar tumble

Tuesday, April 26, 2005 | 10:50 a.m.

Ron Kantowski is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Reach him at ron@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4088.

I hope I'm wrong about this, but wouldn't it be something if Jason Thomas and Jamaal Brimmer wind up as teammates with the Bakersfield Tortilla Chips, or whatever the Arena Football League 2 franchise in that truck stop town is called.

Thomas and Brimmer are two of the biggest impact players in the history of UNLV's low-impact football program who at one time during their Rebels careers were projected as first-round NFL draft picks. But like those referees who used to incite Jerry Glanville's ire, "NFL" in the cases of Thomas and Brimmer may wind up standing for Not For Long.

Although if you don't count free-agent training camp, Not At All is more like it.

By now, you can recite Thomas' fall from football grace by rote, how he was projected as the top quarterback in the NFL draft after his sophomore season before a nagging shoulder injury and a lack of progress turned him into a clipboard holder in minor league football's minor league.

The jury is still out on Brimmer, but if he doesn't increase his speed in the 40, deliberations may not last long.

A two-time All-American strong safety who was projected as a first-round choice as recently as late October, Brimmer somehow managed to tumble all the way out the draft, finally signing with the Seahawks as a free agent long after Chris Berman and Mel Kiper Jr. went to bed Sunday night.

While the NFL is rife with free-agent success stories -- four such long shots, for instance, made the Buffalo Bills' roster by taking that route last year -- not being drafted had to be a crushing blow to Brimmer, a multi-sport star at Las Vegas' Durango High.

Always approachable, even during the most trying circumstances -- and Lord knows there were a lot of those at UNLV -- Brimmer told a reporter that he would call him back when he answered his cell phone about a half-hour after the draft concluded Sunday. He never did, nor did he return about a dozen subsequent phone calls. Neither did David Dunn, Brimmer's agent.

Can you hear me now? I guess not.

It was a far different scenario last Oct. 25, when the Sporting News elevated Brimmer into the first round of its mock draft, calling him a "backfield assassin."

But it turns out Brimmer was no John Wilkes Booth or Lee Harvey Oswald, as far as the talent scouts are concerned. Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme is more like it.

Having built a reputation as a fierce hitter with a nose for the football, Brimmer's bell-ringers became less frequent during his senior season, a miserable one for the Rebels. And opposing teams threw him off the scent of the ball by throwing it away from him, or worse, directly at him.

One UNLV insider said it was "embarrassing" to watch Brimmer attempt to guard some of the wide receivers during practice at the Senior Bowl, where his stock tumbled like 100 shares of Enron.

At the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, you could have timed him with a calendar, as Brimmer's speed, or lack thereof, in the 40-yard dash was a mule-like 4.82. By comparison, UNLV linebacker Adam Seward was timed at 4.56. And a couple of weeks later, Rebels linebacker Ryan Claridge, who at 254 pounds is 44 pounds heavier than Brimmer, stopped the scouts' watches at 4.79, despite running with a bad hamstring and a piano on his back (Actually, only the first part is true).

Seward and Claridge both were picked early on the draft's second-day. In the NFL, you've got to be able to run, or there won't be any hits or errors on Sunday.

Brimmer eventually improved his 40 speed to 4.69 in a subsequent workout, but by that time, the NFL scouts apparently had seen enough. Or not enough. As it turns out, Brimmer wasn't even good enough to be Mr. Irrelevant, which is what they call the last player picked in the draft. That distinction went to Andy Stokes, a tight end from William Penn. Or was it William Penn, a tight end from Andy Stokes?

Whatever, you can bet Brimmer wishes he were in his shoes. Suddenly, it was as if that game at Wisconsin two years ago, where Brimmer made 11 tackles, intercepted two passes, collected two sacks, forced a fumble, returned another fumble for a touchdown and caught a partridge in a pear tree during the Rebels' shocking 23-5 victory never happened.

But maybe there's still hope. The Badgers' quarterback that day was Jim Sorgi, who now holds a clipboard in Indianapolis while Peyton Manning throws touchdown passes.

Maybe it's not the most glamorous job in pro football. But it sure beats catching a football thrown off a net for the Bakersfield Tortilla Chips.