thedrifter
08-24-06, 01:41 PM
Article Last Updated: 8/22/2006 11:59 AM
From the sands of Iraq to the gridiron at Cal
Defensive end Davis learns discipline from life as a Marine
By Dave Newhouse, STAFF WRITER
Inside Bay Area
BERKELEY — Discipline defines Rulon Davis' life. He was a Marine who went to Iraq, which makes him different from his Cal football teammates. But boot camp or fall camp, it's all about discipline.
"People ask me that all the time," he said of the difference between the two camps. "Players and coaches want to know. Marine boot camp was more challenging, because the mental aspects of it were intense. Plus, my boot camp was five months long."
A football fall camp is one month long, while a military boot camp normally lasts 11 to 13 weeks. But Jones broke his foot, which extended his Marine Corps training, and added to his sense of semper fidelis.
"I learned attention to detail," he said. "Everything you do is to be real meticulous. Teamwork is another thing I learned."
Teamwork remains an integral part of his life, even though he wears a different uniform nowadays. But there is commitment in football, too.
The 6-foot-5, 275-pound Davis is a significant addition to Cal's promising outlook for 2006. He's a defensive end who brings size, speed and a needed pass rush to the Golden Bears.
"Rulon Davis is going to make a contribution for us right away," coach Jeff Tedford said. "He is so big and rangy. When he rushes, he's quick and agile, and he gets his hands up."
Though a sophomore in terms of eligibility, Jones is 23, making him older than most of Cal's seniors. He graduated from Charter Oak High in Covina in 2001, when Marshawn Lynch was a high school freshman.
Jones spent three and a half years as a Marine, a voluntary choice even though the military draft is no longer mandatory. His father was a Marine, his sister, too, but his adaptation to a military way of life actually was football-related.
"I was in military academy for two years in Texas," he said of his early high school years. "It wound up shaping the rest of my life — the structure, having routine in your daily life. I like that a lot."
Jones wasn't a coveted football recruit after finishing up high school. He was an offensive lineman then, and even though he was 6-3, 260, he didn't play very much.
"It was over for me after that," he recalled of his gridiron aspirations. "I thought the Marine Corps was the way for me."
Thus, Jones' journey to Berkeley took a circuitous course, eventually winding up in Iraq for six months.
"Sand, desert, hot, humid, dry, thirst, sweat, more sand, flies," he said.
Jones was a technician in Iraq, working on helicopters and specializing in electronic components — navigation systems, radios, communication and weapons systems. But first of all, he was a Marine.
"There's something in the Marine Corps as far as esprit de corps," he said. "That pride and tradition you feel, everybody has gone through the same thing, so you have that in common. That goes with football, too, but more so for me on the military side.
"I learned in the Marines to be true to yourself, just to know what your limitations and boundaries are. Not to give in to temptations. Like my dad told me, 'If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.' I try to incorporate that into my everyday life."
He is ever the patriot, but although he bleeds red, white and blue, he doesn't do it blindly.
"We live in one of the greatest countries in the world, but I don't want people to get it misconstrued," he said. "I'm not a true American. I'm living in America, and I'm just trying to do what I have to do to survive in this world."
Jones is ultrasensitive regarding his Marine Corps days, and his Iraqi experience, not wishing to shed too much light.
"That's in my past," he said. "I'm a football player now. I want to move on."
A bench-warmer in high school, he switched to defense and had 161/2 sacks as a freshman at Mt. San Antonio Community College. That was 2004, but as a Marine Corps reserve he then was called to active duty and sent to Iraq. A motorcycle accident further delayed his arrival to Berkeley.
"I feel like it shouldn't have been this hard," he said. "But everyone has to pay their dues, so I paid mine dearly. My goals now are to be successful in every aspect of my life. I want to live the comfortable life, and I want to be content, with a strong, stable family, and I want to be able to help other people."
This grounded former Marine has some sage advice to dispense to other Rulon Davises, teenagers searching to find themselves.
"For anybody who's out there who's 18 years old," he said, "all they got to do is work hard, do what you have to do in order to get where you want to go."
BEAR TRACKS: Defensive back Virdell Larkins, a cousin and teammate of Lynch at Oakland Tech, has dropped out of the Cal program and transferred to Laney College. "He wanted to play sooner, and his place on the depth chart wasn't where he wanted to be," Tedford said of Larkins, a redshirt freshman. ... Starting wide receiver Robert Jordan didn't practice Monday. "He has a personal thing we're looking at right now," Tedford said of the junior from Hayward.
Ellie
From the sands of Iraq to the gridiron at Cal
Defensive end Davis learns discipline from life as a Marine
By Dave Newhouse, STAFF WRITER
Inside Bay Area
BERKELEY — Discipline defines Rulon Davis' life. He was a Marine who went to Iraq, which makes him different from his Cal football teammates. But boot camp or fall camp, it's all about discipline.
"People ask me that all the time," he said of the difference between the two camps. "Players and coaches want to know. Marine boot camp was more challenging, because the mental aspects of it were intense. Plus, my boot camp was five months long."
A football fall camp is one month long, while a military boot camp normally lasts 11 to 13 weeks. But Jones broke his foot, which extended his Marine Corps training, and added to his sense of semper fidelis.
"I learned attention to detail," he said. "Everything you do is to be real meticulous. Teamwork is another thing I learned."
Teamwork remains an integral part of his life, even though he wears a different uniform nowadays. But there is commitment in football, too.
The 6-foot-5, 275-pound Davis is a significant addition to Cal's promising outlook for 2006. He's a defensive end who brings size, speed and a needed pass rush to the Golden Bears.
"Rulon Davis is going to make a contribution for us right away," coach Jeff Tedford said. "He is so big and rangy. When he rushes, he's quick and agile, and he gets his hands up."
Though a sophomore in terms of eligibility, Jones is 23, making him older than most of Cal's seniors. He graduated from Charter Oak High in Covina in 2001, when Marshawn Lynch was a high school freshman.
Jones spent three and a half years as a Marine, a voluntary choice even though the military draft is no longer mandatory. His father was a Marine, his sister, too, but his adaptation to a military way of life actually was football-related.
"I was in military academy for two years in Texas," he said of his early high school years. "It wound up shaping the rest of my life — the structure, having routine in your daily life. I like that a lot."
Jones wasn't a coveted football recruit after finishing up high school. He was an offensive lineman then, and even though he was 6-3, 260, he didn't play very much.
"It was over for me after that," he recalled of his gridiron aspirations. "I thought the Marine Corps was the way for me."
Thus, Jones' journey to Berkeley took a circuitous course, eventually winding up in Iraq for six months.
"Sand, desert, hot, humid, dry, thirst, sweat, more sand, flies," he said.
Jones was a technician in Iraq, working on helicopters and specializing in electronic components — navigation systems, radios, communication and weapons systems. But first of all, he was a Marine.
"There's something in the Marine Corps as far as esprit de corps," he said. "That pride and tradition you feel, everybody has gone through the same thing, so you have that in common. That goes with football, too, but more so for me on the military side.
"I learned in the Marines to be true to yourself, just to know what your limitations and boundaries are. Not to give in to temptations. Like my dad told me, 'If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.' I try to incorporate that into my everyday life."
He is ever the patriot, but although he bleeds red, white and blue, he doesn't do it blindly.
"We live in one of the greatest countries in the world, but I don't want people to get it misconstrued," he said. "I'm not a true American. I'm living in America, and I'm just trying to do what I have to do to survive in this world."
Jones is ultrasensitive regarding his Marine Corps days, and his Iraqi experience, not wishing to shed too much light.
"That's in my past," he said. "I'm a football player now. I want to move on."
A bench-warmer in high school, he switched to defense and had 161/2 sacks as a freshman at Mt. San Antonio Community College. That was 2004, but as a Marine Corps reserve he then was called to active duty and sent to Iraq. A motorcycle accident further delayed his arrival to Berkeley.
"I feel like it shouldn't have been this hard," he said. "But everyone has to pay their dues, so I paid mine dearly. My goals now are to be successful in every aspect of my life. I want to live the comfortable life, and I want to be content, with a strong, stable family, and I want to be able to help other people."
This grounded former Marine has some sage advice to dispense to other Rulon Davises, teenagers searching to find themselves.
"For anybody who's out there who's 18 years old," he said, "all they got to do is work hard, do what you have to do in order to get where you want to go."
BEAR TRACKS: Defensive back Virdell Larkins, a cousin and teammate of Lynch at Oakland Tech, has dropped out of the Cal program and transferred to Laney College. "He wanted to play sooner, and his place on the depth chart wasn't where he wanted to be," Tedford said of Larkins, a redshirt freshman. ... Starting wide receiver Robert Jordan didn't practice Monday. "He has a personal thing we're looking at right now," Tedford said of the junior from Hayward.
Ellie