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Undrafted rookie running back Curtis Steele (Memphis) has a huge hill to climb if he wants to make the final roster of the Baltimore Ravens. Buried deep on the team's depth chart behind Ray Rice, Willis McGahee, LeRon McClain, Jalen Parmele and Matt Lawrence, Steele faces long odds but is not overwhelmed by the daunting task.
Speaking with him in the team's locker room at their practice facility after the final session of their three-day Mini-Camp, I asked him how it feels to be in this position. Unfortuantely, I accidently erased the tape of the conversation but remember the gist of it. Steele basically said he relishes the opportunity and will continue to do what he has always done and that is prove himself each and every time he has a chance. He said the pace of the game even in this first practice is noticably faster and more up-tempo than the college game.
When I told him about my theory that the skill position guys in the NFL with dreadlocks are all good, he laughed and couldn't name anyone with dreads in the league that wasn't good to disprove my theory. He said he was thinking of cutting them off for a new look, but now will keep them to, as I told him, "get noticed."
Steele is one of the smaller backs on our roster, 6'0" and 190 pounds, but is fast, shifty with good hands out of the backfield and could be a dangerous runner in the open field. Sporting those dreads, he reminds me a bit of Tennessee Titan Chris Johnson as he cuts and darts through defenders in practice.
Keep an eye on Steele as the OTA's get underway starting next week.
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