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CAMP SIGHTS: Wrestling dad shaped rookie LB
by Alex Marvez
Alex Marvez is a Senior NFL Writer for FOXSports.com. He's covered the NFL for 14 seasons as a beat writer and is the president of the Pro Football Writers of America.
Updated: August 12, 2009



EARTH CITY, Mo. - Pro wrestling stardom would come naturally for James Laurinaitis.

Paint his face. Add spikes to his football shoulder pads. Transform his short haircut into a funky Mohawk and voila. You've got the second coming of tag-team legend Joe "Animal" Laurinaitis.

Even the king of the grappling game ? World Wrestling Entertainment owner Vince McMahon ? has a standing offer for James to follow in the footsteps of his father and two uncles who "rassled" during the 1980s and 1990s.

"Whenever I see Vince, he tells me, 'We're so proud of you. We hope football works out. If it doesn't, come join the family business,'" James Laurinaitis said. "But for me, it's always been football."

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And it probably always will be should he enjoy as long and prosperous an NFL career as the St. Louis Rams predict.

A collegiate standout at Ohio State, Laurinaitis was chosen in the second round of this year's draft in hopes he will anchor the team's defense for seasons to come. He enters Friday night's preseason opener against the New York Jets listed as the backup middle linebacker on the depth chart, but Laurinaitis began working with the first-team defense Sunday ahead of veteran Chris Draft. Laurinaitis could very well be in the starting lineup Sept. 13 when St. Louis opens the regular season at Seattle.

"We're looking for smart, passionate and productive players," Rams first-year general manager Billy Devaney said. "Laurinaitis fits all of that. He's extremely intelligent, he loves playing football and his (college) production was off the charts. That pick was an easy one."

Laurinaitis finished as the seventh-leading tackler in Ohio State history with 375, helping him win the Nagurski and Butkus Awards during his four college seasons. He was a two-time team captain who graduated with a degree in communications. Had he turned pro early in a 2008 draft class without as many standout linebackers, Laurinaitis wouldn't have lasted until the 35th overall pick like he did this year.

Laurinaitis has no regrets about staying for his senior season, just like he didn't think twice about trying to become a junior Road Warrior.

Joe Laurinaitis and his late partner Mike "Hawk" Hegstrand rank among the top duos in wrestling history. Growling that they "snacked on danger and dined on death" during interviews, the Road Warriors (or Legion of Doom as they were coined in WWE) combined charisma, athleticism, massive physiques and power moves into worldwide stardom.

At 7 years old, James Laurinaitis realized his father wasn't an average Joe.

"I remember meeting guys like Hulk Hogan, the Ultimate Warrior, Earthquake and Typhoon when I first got taken on the road," James Laurinaitis said. "But until the mid-1990s, I didn't really grasp the idea that stuff was staged out and it was more entertainment.

"I wish I did because I could have won a lot of bets with my friends on who was going to win certain pay-per-views. But my dad would never tell me the result. I would ask, 'Are you going to win tonight?' and he'd say, 'You'll have to watch and see.' I would get really mad when he wouldn't win. As I got older, I would laugh when (smaller) guys like Road Dogg and Billy Gunn would beat him. I'd be like, 'That's just ridiculous. There's no way in real life these guys could beat the Road Warriors.' "

CAMP SIGHTS: Wrestling dad shaped rookie LB - NFL News - FOX Sports on MSN