THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 1, 2008
NEWS
5A
WEDNESDAY,OCTOBER 1,2008
The man, Aubrey Gilbert, was charged with felony aggravated assault but neither Talib nor Simmons faced charges.
simmons faced charges.
If that wasn't enough, Talib admitted to teams at the NFL scouting combine last April that he tested positive for marijuana on three different occasions while at Kansas.
Jon Goering / KANSAN
Aqib Talib racks the balls for a game of pool with his mother, Okolo, left, as his brother, Yaqub, and Yaqub's son look on. Talib said he tried to play at least one game of pool each day so that he could soon compete against his Buccaneer teammates.
"I apologize for that stuff," Talib said. "I apologized to the team and to Coach, but I wouldn't change it if I could. I believe that you live and you learn. You do stuff, you get chastised for it, and smart people learn from it. People that don't learn from it will be unsuccessful. I think everybody goes through something like that in life and it's your chance to build as a person and learn from it."
According to Pro Football Weekly, he even informed coach Mark Mangino in advance that he was going to test positive to one of the tests. Mangino told The Kansas City Star in April, "That's not accurate," but he didn't elaborate further on the situation.
"If I hadn't gotten in any trouble, I might have been a higher pick, but I might not be playing for the Bucs," Talib said. "I'm glad everything happened like it did because this is the perfect situation for me. I wouldn't change a thing."
"When he did that stuff, of course I talked to him," Yaqub said. "That's what a family does. He knew he had messed up so he learned from it himself. Everybody makes mistakes. It's a part of life, but I was there to try and help him get back on track."
During his sophomore season in 2006, Talib was named first-team All-Big 12 by the league's coaches and The Associated Press after leading the nation with 2.80 passes defended per game. He was eligible for the NFL draft because he had been out of high school for three years, so he talked with his family about making the jump then.
As Talib searched for advice during this difficult stretch in his life, his brother Yaqub was again there to support him.
"We talked about him coming out after his sophomore season," Theodore said. "Him and his brother didn't think it was a good idea because nobody was going to know he was coming out and he probably wouldn't get drafted until the fourth or fifth round. I said, 'OK, well, let's give it one more year and see what happens,' and Kansas played real good and he was in the spotlight all of the time and he just blew up."
Talib and former KU track star Courtney Jacobs witnessed the birth of their daughter, Kiara, on June 22, 2007. Talib's mom came
to visit the two but was amazed to find out that she didn't have to help much with the baby. Talib would wake up early in the morning and help feed Kiara as well as change her diapers — all while battling the rigorous schedule of a college athlete.
--was a five-year, $14 million contract that made him one of the richest 22-year-olds in Tampa. No longer did he have to worry about cleaning ovens and floors in Jayhawker Towers or trying to find a ride to the grocery store.
Kansas won a school-record 12 games the next season and Talib's 100-yard interception return for a touchdown against Florida International was the longest in school history. He capped off his Kansas career by helping lead the Jayhawks to an Orange Bowl victory, and he was named the game's MVP.
It was on that rainy January night against Virginia Tech in southern Florida that Talib officially became a star — picking off a Tyrod Taylor pass and high-stepping it into the endzone to put Kansas on top in one of the signature plays of the season.
Soon after, Talib announced he would skip his final season of college and enter the NFL draft.
NFL draft day in the Talib house was a day that nobody in the family will forget — not just because of Talib's selection in the first round.
"It was the first time that me and my mom and my dad and everybody in our family had gotten together in quite a while," Yaqub said. "It was like a reunion in itself, seeing everybody together. And then on top of that, having Aqib got drafted in the first round, it was just unbelievable."
As round one dragged on and Talib had yet to be picked, it became more and more nerve-wracking for the Talib family. Theodore studied the TV to see who was picking next and who might pick his son.
Pick by pick, Talib remained on the board. Was the fact that he smoked marijuana a few times in college really going to keep him from fulfilling his dream?
"Watch," Talib told his brother. "I'm not going to get picked until the third round."
As Talib sweated it out, he thought back to the reasons why he wanted to be an NFL player. He wanted to do it for his daughter, because he had promised to make sure she lived a happy and fulfilling life. Jacobs and Kira currently live in Lawrence while Jacobs completes her degree.
But finally, after waiting through 19 picks, the phone rang. It was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and they told Talib they were selecting him with the 20th pick in the first round. He had achieved his lifelong dream — he was an NFL player.
"It's probably the best phone call that you will ever receive," Talib said.
What soon followed for Talib
--the car.
Talib leans back in the leather seat of his new Mercedes S550 and turns up the air conditioner. After a long morning practice in the Florida heat, Talib is eager to get home to see his family.
Talib's alarm goes off every morning at 6:45, an hour later than it did in Kansas when he had to be up for 6 a.m. workouts. Practice starts at 8, but players must be taped and ready to go beforehand.
The Bucs watch film on Mondays and take Tuesdays off, but Talib doesn't get home on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon until almost 4:30 or 5. On this day, Friday, Talib is done about 12:15.
As Talib makes a left-hand turn out of the practice facility, he turns down the rap music that booms through his speakers.
Talib is one of the last to leave the practice facility, volunteering to stay and sign a large amount of autographs that will be donated to local charity auctions in the near future.
The car, which retails for more than $85,000, is loaded — filled with an electronic dash board that allows him to control all the car's functions with a touch of his finger. His windows are so deeply tinted that an outsider can't even see into
Talib wipes the sweat from his face as he turns the air conditioner up even higher, eager to talk about his first purchase as an NFL player.
"Ive never owned a car until now," Talib said. "It felt pretty good, Waking up at 5 a.m. all of those years to work out and everything and to be able to say that my first car was going to be what whatever I wanted it to be — it was a good feeling. As soon as I saw this one, I said, 'I want it.'"
Before draft day, Talib invited his father to move in with him in whatever city he ended up in. After working nights and second shifts in New Jersey, Theodore wouldn't have to worry about paying another bill again.
"When he said I could come live with him, I started giving stuff away the next day," Theodore said. "I said 'Anything you see in this house, you can have it. The faster you can get everything out of this house, the faster I can get to Tampa Bay'"
Aqib Talib, No.25, leaves the field after special teams practice on Sept. 12. Talib, a first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was a first team All-American at Kansas last season.
Jon Goering /KANSAN
Being with Talib again meant a chance for Theodore to reconnect with his son. It had been almost five years since Talib and his brother moved out.
"It's like learning about my son all over again because we haven't been together in a long time," Henry said. "We talked a lot, but it wasn't the same. I'm getting to know him all over again."
Talib bought a new house for his mother back in Texas, but she comes to visit him often. She remains good friends with Ted and the two spend time together when she visits. She cooks, cleans and does whatever she can to help Aqib with the daily chores of owning a house.
Aqib Talib intercepts his first NFL pass against the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 14. Talib, the starting nickelback, entered the game on third down and caught a deflected pass for the interception.
Ironically, Talib bought his new house and everything in it from a guy who was moving to Kansas. Talib didn't even look at others after he fell in love with the first house he saw.
The pool table is nice, but the gem of the house may be the swimming pool out back. It's fairly small but is enclosed by a large outdoor porch with a waterfront view of a small cove that leads to the Gulf of Mexico.
"He doesn't have very many home-cooked meals when I'm not here," Okolo said.
All Talib had to buy were new beds, but everything else, from the furniture to paintings to plants, were included in the sale.
"Just being here and seeing how the house looks with the pool and everything, and seeing him drive that car, it's just a wonderful feeling. He can have all of this stuff and build a house for me and everything and not have to worry about anything. It's a wonderful feeling."
Talib says he has gone swimming in the pool only a couple of times, but his mother often goes for a dip when she visits.
He may have splurged when he saw all the zeroes in his bank account and bought two houses and the Mercedes, but he says he is watching his money now. His next purchase will likely be a car for his father.
“It's hard when you get that amount of money just handed to you, but I think he's doing a hell of a job,” said Yaqub. “He got the things that he needed and he is focused on the right stuff. He doesn't have five cars or $400,000 chains or anything like that. He's doing stuff that I would expect from someone like him because he is a family-
oriented person. He's not wasting any money."
--family at the games is when he always comes up with the big plays," his brother said. "I can't really even put it into words. Growing up, all we both said was that we wanted to play in the NFL and now with him being there and getting that big play and getting on TV with that interception, it's just indescribable"
Talib is still trying to adjust to life as an NFL player. Soon after he signed his NFL contract, he got in a physical altercation with a teammate. On more than one occasion, he has overslept and missed team meetings.
Veteran Bucs corner Ronde Barber has talked to Talib and tried to mentor the young corner during his transition to the NFL.
"The hardest part about being a rookie is learning that this is a job." Barber said. "It's not just football anymore."
But in the short time that Barber and Talib have known each other, Barber has been impressed with the level of confidence and swagger the former Jayhawk displays.
"He's a rookie and he walks around like he's been here for five or six years," Barber said. "And that's good."
While Talib got off to what he called a "rookie start" off the field, his career on the field couldn't have started much better. In the second game of the season against the Atlanta Falcons that Sunday afternoon, his family watched from the stands at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa as Talib took the field.
On the Falcons' first drive of the game, Talib entered on third and long and lined up at cornerback. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, the third overall pick in the same April draft as Talib, lofted a short pass that was deflected near the line of scrimmage. The ball fell right into Talib's hands for his first NFL interception.
"It seems like whenever he has
Talib's mom teared up watching her son's lifelong goal become a reality.
"I wasn't sure at first if it was an interception or not, but I saw him do his little dance so I knew it was something special." Okolo said. "High school was exciting. College was a little bit more exciting, but it's just hitting me now that he's in the NFL. He's, like, famous now."
Said Yaqub, "I'm just so happy for him. He's living his dream right now."
--right-ball in the corner.
"Nine-ball on the side."
Light-ball in the corner:
"Which one?" his mother asks.
"I do know what I'm doing," Okolo says. "But I am not playing with you anymore with these rules. Stop talking, you're making me miss."
"See how easy it is to call your shot," Talib jokes. "You look like you know what you're doing."
Talib then calls what ends up being the winning shot.
Even matched against his mom in a game of eight-ball, Aqib Talib wants to be a winner.
"The right one," he says before calmly watching the black ball drop into the corner pocket
"OK, OK," his mother says. "Good game, son."
Edited by Tara Smith
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