I am pulling for this kid to succeed...
Inside the Huddle with Lorn Mayers
February 17, 2006
By Henry Hodgson
NFL Europe
Lorn Mayers has gone from amateur football to the NFL in 18 months. (NFL Europe)
Berlin Thunder defensive tackle Lorn Mayers has enjoyed a meteoric rise through the ranks of American football. In 2003, the 18-year old Londoner first discovered football – two years later he was in training camp with the Oakland Raiders, as the youngest player ever signed to an NFL roster.
At 6-3 and 350 pounds, Mayers is certainly not a small man, but his age has earned him the nickname ‘Big Baby’ among his teammates. That size was what prompted a teacher to get him to try out a new sport – although football was not at the top of the list.
“I used to play every sport under the sun, but with my size I was told by one of my teachers to try rugby,” remembers Mayers. “At the time, I didn’t really find rugby that interesting, and a friend of mine told me to have a think about playing American football. The first team I found on the internet was the London Blitz, and after playing one game for them I was invited to be in the English youth team. At the time I was shocked with how quick things were happening.”
Mayers was lucky to have been seen by scouts from the British youth team in that first game for his amateur team in London, but it was not long before NFL Europe began beating down his door to persuade him to test at the combine of the top players in Britain. Needless to say, his results there were more than enough to earn him an invitation to go first to train with the top European players at a combine in Germany, and then come to national camp in Tampa Bay, Florida, prior to the 2005 NFL Europe training camp.
“Playing with the best European players in Germany before I came to Tampa last year was an eye opener itself,” says the genial Mayers. “Then coming in and seeing the players from all around the world, that was another level.”
Mayers’ good showing in training camp was expected by the national coaches who had watched him physically dominate in the national combines. However, it took a chance sighting of him in action by newly appointed Oakland Raiders head coach Art Shell – then NFL Vice President of Football Operations – to move Mayers’ career to the next level. Shell persuaded the Berlin Thunder to bring Mayers in for the 2005 season – as a developmental project – and the next chapter of his rise began to take shape.
“It shocked me when they told me that they were interested in bringing me in for the season, because I knew they liked what I did in camp, but I thought they would leave it for a year before I got my chance,” admits Mayers.
When he arrived in Berlin, Thunder defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Jim Tomsula made it clear that while some saw him as a project, he believed that the youngster could contribute immediately.
“When I got to Berlin, coach Tomsula told me that although nobody expected me to play during the season, from what he had seen on tape of my work habits, he could see me playing in the league right then,” Mayers remembers. “Five weeks into the season, there I was.”
With Mayers on board, the Thunder made it to the World Bowl in 2005, eventually losing to Amsterdam in a thrilling title game. However, for Mayers, being part of a team with so much of a bond was a unique experience, and one that he will never forget – no matter where his career goes from here.
“Getting to World Bowl was so exciting. You can watch a big game like that – a World Bowl or a Super Bowl or a Rose Bowl game, but actually playing in it and being part of a team that has got there, is completely different,” he explains. “It is a great feeling and it brought the whole team together – I still keep in touch with them all now, and I know I will cross paths with a lot of those guys in the future.”
Despite only playing a handful of snaps in the 2005, the biggest shock of his brief career came in the week after the World Bowl. Mayers received a call from the Oakland Raiders inviting him to take part in training camp – making him, at the age of 19, the youngest player ever to be signed by an NFL team.
“Getting a call from the Raiders was the biggest surprise of all! We were told throughout the season that all our practice tape got sent to the teams so they could keep an eye on their allocated players. I always practice hard and with enthusiasm, and as I didn’t get many snaps through the season I know that they must have given me a call purely off what they saw of me on film in practice. I really did think someone was playing a prank on me when they called.”
This was no prank, though, and in late July he flew out to Oakland to begin the next part of a ride that had seen him first strap on a pair of shoulder pads just 18 months earlier.
“When I walked in to the Raiders office and saw the logo there and my locker and all the players, it suddenly sunk in how far I had come,” Mayers remembers with a smile.
Going from amateur football to the NFL in such a short space of time means that his learning curve had been sharp, but to his surprise, the jump to the NFL did not daunt him as much as he had expected in terms of the physical adjustments. However, the work involved in learning the Raiders’ playbook left him occasionally mystified.
“The speed in the NFL is quicker, but the jump up is not that much – not compared with going from European amateur football to NFL Europe. I didn’t take that long to adjust to the speed.
“I think the biggest adjustment, for me, was coming to terms with the playbook. I hadn’t been around football for that long, so when coaches were going through things I was saying ‘Hang on a minute – what does that mean.’ Every other player in an NFL camp knows all this stuff; and coaches in the NFL just don’t have time to go over the basics with anyone - they have to work to get their team into the playoffs, their jobs are on the line. I knew I had to catch up by myself.”
Fortunately for Mayers, just when he began to feel out of his depth, a pair of Raiders players stepped in to bail him out. Super Bowl winning defensive linemen Ted Washington and Bobby Hamilton worked with Lorn on the basics – such as his technique – and explained some of the problematic elements of the Oakland playbook. His unique story and background meant that he swiftly won over his teammates – including Warren Sapp, who would call him ‘London’.
“A lot of players helped me out. Ted Washington and Bobby Hamilton were two guys who really helped me, though,” explains Mayers. “Both of them really showed me so many things I needed to learn. Oakland play the 3-4 defense, so it was completely different to what I had learned in NFL Europe with a 4-3 in Berlin.”
His inexperience meant that it was no surprise to him when he was released at the end of training camp, having participated in all of Oakland’s preseason games. Despite guessing it was coming, he couldn’t help but wish he could stay with the team.
“In a way the pressure was off, because I knew I was a long shot to make the roster,” Mayers says. “Once I was there, though, I was wishing I could stay out and just learn for a whole year. If I work hard I hope that can happen after this season.”
On his return to London, Mayers found that he had become something of a celebrity. Newspapers had run the story of how he had gone from being a furniture removal man (his job prior to entering NFL Europe) to the Raiders. Pretty soon he was part of Channel Five’s UK NFL broadcast team, meeting William ‘The Refrigerator’ Perry in an interview for Sky Sports, and making radio appearances on the BBC.
“Doing the TV and radio stuff was another big learning curve for me,” admits Mayers. “It helped that the first thing I did was a game with the Raiders in it, because it was so recent that I had been playing with those guys that I was able to say ‘Hey, I practiced with him’, and recognize the plays that were coming in.”
2006 brings a whole fresh set of challenges for Mayers, as he looks to consolidate what he has achieved in the past two years. Winning a starting job and continuing his improvement are his main goals, and from there, he hopes to stick with an NFL team on a permanent basis.
“I have set goals in getting stronger, and just trying to learn as much football as I can. My main aim is to get to another training camp and stick with a team this time,” he says. “I have had a taste of it now – next time I want it to be permanent. To be the first British (non-kicker) player to be in the NFL would be an amazing achievement, and I know I can do it.”
If he continues at his current pace, Mayers would be heading for the Pro Bowl in Hawaii in 2008. While it may take longer than that, with a little luck and a lot of hard work, there is no doubt that he is capable of achieving whatever he puts his mind to.
