Bengals take Fla. State LB A.J. Nicholson in 5th
By Mark Curnutte
Enquirer staff writer
Off-field behavior concerns -- including a suspension from the Orange Bowl for an alleged rape -- caused A.J. Nicholson's stock to drop in the draft.
The Bengals selected the outside linebacker from Florida State in the fifth round of the draft today. Nicholson, who is almost 6 feet 1, 253 pounds, would have gone much higher in the draft if not for character issues.
He has been arrested twice for alcohol-related issues and was subdued once by police with a Taser.
"My off-field issues hhurt me a little bit,' Nicholson said today. "People had concerns about my character. I'm a good citizen and a good Samaritan.
Nicholson said he was suspended from the Orange Bowl for violating a team rule.
"I had a young lady (19 years old) in my room, and I shouldn't have," he said. "So they suspended from the Orange Bowl. The whole thing is resolved. She made allegations. That's what happened."
Bengals linebackers coach Ricky Hunley said the situation has been cleared up.
"We've investigated," Hunley said. "He has a lot of good guys he'll be around. If this isn't something we could handle, we wouldn't be talking."
Nicholson's first name is Ahman, and his father, Darrell, was a sixth-round pick of the Giants in 1982.
As a senior last season, Nicholson had 100 tackles, 10 for loss. He is considered a talented, instinctive player who can stop the run and drop well in coverage.
He was pick No. 157 overall.
Nicholson becomes the fourth defensive player selected by the Bengals with their first five picks.
posted by Mark at 1:57 PM
9 Comments:
at 4/30/2006 2:10 PM 
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at 4/30/2006 2:30 PM 
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at 4/30/2006 3:25 PM 
OrangeD00d said...
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at 4/30/2006 6:04 PM 
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at 4/30/2006 7:29 PM 
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at 4/30/2006 7:29 PM 
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at 4/30/2006 7:43 PM 
Chicago PhotoJournal said...
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at 5/01/2006 10:44 AM 
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at 7/03/2006 3:49 AM 
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Post a Comment*good value pick, but his arrests concerns me. Still No TE?
I don't get this. I thought Marvin was avoiding picks with "character issues".
If he's willing to overlook character issues, why did he pass up Winston Justice and Claude Wroten?
He made it very clear they were going to avoid the head cases. Yet, this is the second player drafted this weekend with sexual assault/rape charges in their past (the other being Frostee Rucker). Quote from Curnutte's story Saturday:
Last year, the Bengals took risks with two players with character questions - linebacker Odell Thurman and wide receiver Chris Henry - in the second and third rounds.
Thurman has stayed out of trouble off the field, but Henry was arrested twice, first on marijuana possession in Kentucky and then on a gun charge in Florida.
Lewis appeared to be reluctant to take any similar leaps of faith.
"We're going to continue to pay big attention to character and red-flag issues like that, things with coaches, guys who had issues with coaching, or teammates," Lewis said."
See also: Kelley Washington. This is a disturbing trend.
My comment (#2) was more directed at why they passed on Winston Justice and others. I'm fine with drafting players with issues if they fit with the team. I don't understand passing on Justice, and I assumed it was character issues.
Or maybe it is risk/reward relative to the round, and the upside of the player.
I think when Marvin speaks of character, he's not exactly speaking of the "character" you guys are thinking about. I think he's talking about wanting guys on the team who don't think they're God's greatest gift to the world. He's looking for team oriented players.
Hence, passing on Jimmy Williams.
I think most teams are willing to overlook a couple of stupid incidents in a players' past. What they don't want is someone who is going to be trouble in the locker room in the future (a la T.O. or, perhaps even Jon Kitna from what I have heard).
Regarding both Rucker and Nicholson, I assume neither were convicted for rape, so I don't see how you can punish them for accusations.
The guy was subdued once by police with a Taser. Geez, sounds like a good locker room guy to me.
I really like this pick. First, look at Odel last year. There were questions about his character and he has been nothing by the consumate teammate in his rookie year. The concerns with Henry were his onfield issues which there were no issues this year. Legal problems were not a part of his past...I know I did a lot of things in college that I wouldn't even think of doing now even at 25(fighting, drunk driving, etc.) and I just never got arrested. That said, I think the Nicholson pick could end up being the best pick in the draft for the Bengals. He is an explosive talent, possible first round talent on the field. I think Nicholson, Thurman and Pollack could make a formidable LB corp in the future. And if he does flameout, you have only used a 5th round pick on him. And he obviously is going to be hungry to prove everyone wrong for slipping that far in the draft.
So, rape is apparently just having 'college sex'?
I guess assault is just a little 'horsing around' then.
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