Aug. 14, 2009

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

Whether it's at big slot, center, defensive tackle or special teams, all Sam Sledge wants is a chance to play.

The former walk-on from Midland (Texas) Lee High School has certainly made the rounds, playing at center as a redshirt freshman, offensive guard as a sophomore and then defensive tackle last year. So when the coaches asked him in the spring to move back to offense as an emergency center and big slot - a glorified lineman in a backfield position for power sets - the 6-foot-2, 265-pound Sledge jumped at the opportunity.

"He's a team guy," said co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Randy Clements. "He's always willing to do whatever we ask and whatever role we want him to play. If it's wear 19 or 99, he doesn't care. He'll do it and be glad to do it."

Some players talk that attitude. Sledge lives it every day.

"Some people say, `I'll go wherever they want me to,' but they don't really mean it," he said. "And I really don't care. As long as I've got a helmet and a pair of cleats on, and I get to play this kids' game, it's a blast. I don't care what number I wear. I don't care where they put me. As long as they're looking for a spot for me to help out, that's all I ask for."

As a high school tight end, Sledge had offers from a number of smaller schools. But he made it clear from the start that he wasn't "going to go anywhere just to play football." He turned down other offers to come to Baylor in 2005 as an invited walk-on.

"It was one of those deals where right when I put my foot on this campus, I was like, `I don't care what happens, I want to go here,''' said Sledge, the son of four-year Baylor letterman and 1979 All-Southwest Conference guard David Sledge. "And I think it's one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life. Not just to play this game, but to have the friendships with my coaches and my teammates, and earn a scholarship. There were some goals that I set early on in my life, and I've gotten to achieve them and play some Big 12 football while I was at it."

Despite making nine tackles and 1.5 sacks in the first three games in the defensive line, Sledge spent most of the '08 season on special teams. And while it was his first extensive time on the defensive side in his entire playing career, Sledge said it was a role he enjoyed.

"Playing defensive line . . . that was right up my alley," he said. "If you're down there in the trenches on the defensive line, you've got to be violent and you've got to be aggressive. It's two different types of playing football on the offensive and defensive line. But you've got to be mean and you've got to be tough down there on the inside. So it wasn't anything that was new to me."

In a sense, though, Sledge is back where he belongs.

Technically, he's listed as a big slot and wears No. 19 for a hybrid position that's similar to fullback. But he's also backing up Rimington and Outland Award candidate J.D. Walton at center, sits in on the offensive line meetings and will always be a "hog" at heart.

While the group made a pact in the spring to get Mohawk haircuts for fall camp, Sledge was the first to take the plunge when he got his on the Fourth of July weekend.

"I kind of think of the offensive line as a brotherhood," he said. "And I feel like we have the same attitude toward things. You've got to have guys that are big athletes, and you've got to have guys who are willing to get in there and get nasty."

That's part of what head coach Art Briles likes about Sledge at his new position.

"What we look for and what he can bring to the table is somebody that's very physical, that has enough ability to move quickly in the right direction, and then get there in a bad mood," Briles said. "We think Sam can do that for us, or we wouldn't have moved him from defense to offense."

In some sets and formations, Sledge even runs pass routes. But he's more of a decoy than another option for sophomore quarterback Robert Griffin.

"You never know," Briles said. "There's always that chance. We want them to at least think about him out there."

"It's definitely exciting for a big guy like me that's had his hand in the dirt his whole football career," said Sledge, who was awarded a scholarship by Briles last fall. "I'm not going to go running to a coach saying, `Hey, throw me the ball.' But if they do, I don't think I'm going to argue about it."