Everett

Ever hear of those kids who play just one sport in hopes of getting a scholarship? #Rams TE Gerald Everett wasn’t one of them. Baseball. Track & Field. Basketball. He did it all. And it made him the football player he is. My story for ⁦@TheAthletic⁩ https://t.co/iBxhJAxoId

— Vincent Bonsignore (@VinnyBonsignore) November 30, 2018

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https://theathletic.com/684737/2018/11/29/gerald-everetts-all-sport-talent-finally-shines-through-in-emergence-with-rams/?source=freedailyemail

Gerald Everett’s all-sport talent finally shines through in emergence with Rams

The​ trend is​ so predictable it’s almost a shock​ to​ the system when someone that​ bucked it​ comes​ along to​ prove the​​ path to professional sports isn’t always the direct line so many people try and make it to be.

Pick any neighborhood in any city in America right now and some parent or coach has decided a local athlete that’s shown a propensity in some particular sport should devote every ounce of his or her energy and focus to it at the expense of all other sports. The thinking being, the propensity they’ve shown in that sport combined with the exclusive attention they’ll heed to it will pave a path to an athletic scholarship and, if really fortunate, maybe a shot at playing professionally.

That one-and-done scenario pops into the head of Rams tight end Gerald Everett every once in a while. Sometimes it occurs at the oddest of moments.

Like when he recently dragged Kansas City Chiefs safety Daniel Sorenson across the end zone on a pass route and, just as Rams quarterback Jared Goff delivered a low and tight fastball to Everett, he instinctively went to the ground, legs first, to scoop it up for a touchdown.

Everett, you see, absolutely did not stick to just one sport while growing up in Decatur, Ga. In fact, at various times he envisioned himself a future NBA player, Major League Baseball star or Olympic track and field champion.

About the only thing governing those dreams and aspirations were the time of year and what particular sport was in season.

“I played them all when I was growing up,” Everett said.

The skill sets, muscle memories and instincts ingrained in him from playing those sports didn’t just assist him in reaching the NFL. They also helped him succeed in ways that blur the lines between innate and acquired.

Like that fourth-quarter touchdown grab he made in the Rams’ epic 54-51 win over the Chiefs.

As the play rapidly unfolded in real time, Everett didn’t have time to consciously think about getting low to the ground. But something in his athletic psyche instinctively told his body he needed to do so to secure the pass. Next thing he knew, that’s exactly what happened. And the more he thought about it, the more he knew something from his baseball background took charge.

“Because when you really think about it, the angle I took was kind of like a baseball slide,” Everett told The Athletic.

It’s an athletic move he did countless times as a youngster and through his first three years of high school to make a sliding catch in the outfield, beat a throw or avoid a tag as a base runner.

“And it was pretty easy,” he said of the slide he made against the Chiefs. “It just came naturally.”

Does Everett make that catch without playing baseball as much as he did as a young kid and teenager? Is he as explosive an athlete without the sprint work he did preparing for the 4 x 100 or 4 x 400 relay as a high school sprinter? And would he use his body as much — or as well — to fend off linebackers and defensive backs to go get footballs in the air without learning to block out opponents to secure rebounds on a basketball court? It’s impossible to know for sure.

But the way Everett sees it, all that practice time playing those sports helped him become the football player he is today.

“I’ve taken components from each sport and translated it to football in some way, one shape or form,” he said.

Everett gave up football once he got to high school to focus on baseball, basketball and track. It wasn’t until his senior year that he decided to pick up football again because he wasn’t getting the recruitment love he hoped in his other sports.

“So I was like, ‘OK, let me give football another shot in my last year,’ ” he said.

That decision ultimately led him to Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College, where he played wide receiver, and then briefly at Bethune Cookman before settling in at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

“I didn’t have much film out of high school, but in my heart, I knew I could play,” Everett said. “And I’m thankful for the people who took a chance on me.”

Everett seemed on his way at UAB after moving from wide receiver to a hybrid tight end. He caught 17 passes for 297 yards and a touchdown his first season and felt primed for a breakout year as a senior.

That is, until UAB abruptly pulled the plug on the football program at the end of his junior year. One day, he had a football scholarship and an opportunity to catch the attention of NFL scouts. The next day, he was a football player without a team.

“It was like anybody who had just lost a job,” Everett said. “That’s pretty much how I felt.”

He had very little time to dwell on what had just happened. UAB canceled its program in the middle of the college football recruiting calendar, and with scholarships quickly getting gobbled up across the country, Everett had to immediately begin looking for a landing spot.

“I was literally talking to college coaches a day after the program got shut down,” he said. “I wasted no time.”

Fortunately, he had put enough on tape that college programs were chasing him, not the other way around.

“I was expecting calls,” he said. “I didn’t know from who, necessarily, but I was expecting calls from someone. And when they did start coming I was like, ‘Whew, OK.’ Then it just became a question of how far do I want to go?”

South Alabama quickly emerged as a frontrunner. His tight ends coach and offensive coordinator found jobs with the school in Mobile after the UAB fiasco. Also, it was a short drive from his family.

“It was important to me they could come see me play,” Everett said.

Gerald Everett caught 41 passes for 575 yards and four touchdowns as a senior at South Alabama. (Jake Roth / USA TODAY Sports)
Over the next two seasons, Everett continued to develop as an NFL prospect. In 2017, the Rams, enamored with Everett’s 6-foot-4 frame and obvious speed and athletic ability, selected him in the second round with the 44th overall pick.

“Everybody’s path to the NFL is different,” Everett said. “Not everyone’s circumstance is going to play out the same. Some people may transfer three or four times. Some people might not transfer at all. Just believe in yourself and trust what you’re going through is for the best and that it will all work out.”

It certainly has for Everett, whose path to NFL prominence has taken a few twists and turns. There was the learning curve going from college to the Rams’ sophisticated offense and learning the intricacies of playing tight end in the NFL as a rookie.

He caught 16 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns in 2017 and put together a solid offseason that created all sorts of hopes and expectations coming into this year. However, a shoulder injury in training camp deprived him of the entire preseason.

That meant having to make up ground during the regular season. However, the Rams offensive juggernaut waits for no one. As it rolled through the first part of the season, Everett did all he could just to keep up.

More and more, Everett is becoming a force and focal point in the game plan, as evidenced by his three touchdowns over the last two games.

“He’s really come along,” Goff said. “Just seeing his progression from even the beginning of this season until now and just how much more he’s taking command of everything he’s doing and really just dialing in on the details has been great to see. Just proud of his progression and excited to see how far he can go.”

“I think he’s certainly maximized his opportunities that he’s gotten, especially over the last couple weeks where, you see three touchdowns, you see aggressive hands,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said.

Everett isn’t the only tight end starting to break out. The Rams tight ends group as a whole has emerged over the last few weeks, with Everett and Tyler Higbee combining for 14 catches for 152 yards and four touchdowns.

The Rams have been so dominant tapping into Todd Gurley and wide receivers Robert Woods, Brandin Cooks and Cooper Kupp (and now Josh Reynolds, who has replaced the injured Kupp), the tight end position was almost an afterthought earlier in the season. But if Everett and Higbee can develop into threats that opposing defenses have to devote attention, it could further open the offense for Gurley and the wide receivers.

At the very least, the tight ends want to prove they can continue to be worthy options in the pass game.

“It’s just about making the play when your number gets called, and practice and prepare like it’s coming you’re way and just be ready,” Higbee said. “Because you’ve got [a] MVP candidate in that quarterback over there who can spread it around and make plays off schedule. And even though the play doesn’t [always] go where it’s supposed to go, he can improvise and make plays. So you never know when it might be your turn.

“It’s about winning your one-on-ones and when you’re number gets called make the play. Prove you can be reliable.”

Two of Everett’s three touchdowns the last two games came against the Chiefs, including the sliding touchdown grab in which he reached back to his baseball days and the exhilarating 40-yard game-winner from Goff that showed off Everett’s speed, athletic ability and footwork as he burst past his defender to make the catch and deftly danced down the sideline without stepping out of bounds.

The Rams were convinced Everett had the kind of skill set they could develop. In that one play, he showcased every bit of it.

“He’s got an unbelievable amount of talent,” McVay said.

It’s taken a little while, but the Rams are beginning to tap into Everett’s all-sport athletic ability.