Making new friends might be what Michael Haynes is best at.
As a military child making stops in Germany, Hawaii, Texas andSeattle before settling in Panama City, Panama, as a teenager, eitherHaynes' buddies were moving, or he was. If he wasn't saying hello, hewas bidding someone goodbye.
After stepping out of a limousine just after 10 Monday morning atHalas Hall, the Bears' top pick got right to it in a good half day ofmeet and greet. The defensive end from Penn State, taken No. 14overall, was excited when he got behind the podium. Haynes beganspeaking so quickly, he nearly stumbled over his words.
"My head's been going a million miles an hour because there are somany things I want to do," he said. "I wanted to get here, I wantedto grab my playbook, I want to start learning the defense, and I wantto start meeting my fellow D-line mates so we can start bonding."
That process actually began Saturday when Alex Brown gave hisprobable competition for a starting position a call.
"I said, Hello, who's this?' He said, Alex Brown,"' Haynesrecalled. "I was really surprised. He was extremely friendly. We'vebeen in constant communication throughout this whole process. I guessAlex will sort of be my mentor, so to speak."
Brown planned to call him again Monday afternoon to see how heliked his visit, and dinner was in the works.
"It doesn't bother me they drafted a defensive end," Brown said."I'm a pretty fun guy to be around. If you have a good team, there isalways going to be competition. I'm glad he's here."
Haynes will have no problem settling in with Brown and the rest ofhis teammates. His travels around the globe, which led to Columbus,N.J., for his senior year of high school, give him an arsenal ofcaptivating stories. From getting lost in the jungle with his ROTCpals, to having a six-foot boa constrictor in the basement for a weekwithout his parents' knowledge, to traveling in a military cargoplane to play football games in places such as Puerto Rico, Haynesspins tales with such ease and comfort, you'd swear you've known himfor years.
He was so gifted at making those around him feel at ease, PennState always paired him up with its top recruits during campusvisits. He bagged blue chippers with more regularity than he got toquarterbacks, and Haynes led the Big Ten with 141/2 sacks lastseason. That strong character went a long way toward winning over theBears, too.
"The stories he has, some of them are unbelievable," Nittany Lionsdefensive line coach Larry Johnson said. "That's why he's so well-versed, all the traveling. He's seen a lot, he's very mature, and hehas a great personality. Michael is very easygoing, but when he getson the field, he's very different. Some things just came natural tohim. He has a chance to be really outstanding."
Football was one of the last sports he tried, playing in eighthgrade in Seattle before moving to Panama, where six high schoolsoffered the sport in a rather rag-tag way. He was good enough tostand out--and by his sophomore year, military people who knew moreabout the game than his parents, who are of Jamaican descent, werebuzzing.
"The coach told me Michael had enough potential to get ascholarship," said his mother, Catherine. "I said, Are you kidding?'I was laughing and told him I didn't think so. I thought he just saidthat because he wanted us to stay."
Actually, he wanted Haynes to go and play his senior season in theStates. The family chose McGuire Air Force base in New Jersey, andHaynes toured six high schools in two days. Charlie Perrillo, thecoach at North Burlington High at the time, remembers it vividly. Hesaw Haynes and his father Michael Sr. standing in the gymnasiumobserving the action. Haynes, standing 6-1 and weighing about 235pounds, looked like a football player, one Perillo sure could use.
"I shook his hand, and I couldn't find mine--it disappeared,"Perrillo said. "They told me they were visiting schools, and I endedup feeling like I was being recruited. He was so gregarious andoutgoing. We had a nice, long visit, and something must have happenedright. Santa Claus came for me in April."
By the second game, powerhouses such as Florida State, Michiganand Nebraska were flocking to see Haynes, who had 248 yards receivingone Friday night as a fullback, and played defensive end. Perrillohad an old connection with Joe Paterno, and as Haynes tells it, PennState won out on academics.
"I figured, Hey, if I'm going to go somewhere, I might not playanyway,' because I still doubted my own ability," he said. "Everybodykept telling me, 'Oh, you're great, you're great, blah, blah, blah.'I figured if college is going to use me to play sports, I want to usethem to get an education."
He earned a degree in animal sciences and still has a love forexotic animals. A long-term goal of becoming a veterinarian is onhold. The Bears have big plans for him hunting quarterbacks, and heexpects to fill the role well. He almost wound up a tight end aftergrowing two inches to 6-3 at Penn State. The staff figured he was tootall to play fullback, his position as a redshirt freshman, and wouldget his knees chopped, so they had him choose. He liked Johnson andhas adapted ever since, shooting up draft boards after capping asolid week of Senior Bowl practice with defensive MVP honors in thegame.
The Bears were poised to choose his teammate, defensive tackleJimmy Kennedy, before St. Louis grabbed him with the No. 12 pick.Haynes will help fill the void of Rosevelt Colvin, and he'll be ableto learn from the team's most prolific pass rusher, Richard Dent.
"I think I'm one of the best defensive linemen out there," Haynessaid. "I feel extremely confident."
He needs to remember one thing before minicamp begins Friday.
"Michael's still a rookie, and he's going to be treated like arookie," Brown said. "He's got to go through what I went through."
That's what new friends are for.
