VHS alum preparing for 10th NFL season

Vanguard High School graduate Drayton Florence is joining the fourth AFC team of his career, playing cornerback for Denver following a year in Buffalo.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: Friday, August 24, 2012 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, August 24, 2012 at 12:54 a.m.

DENVER ? As he looks back at where he has been, what he has done, Vanguard alum Drayton Florence knows why he has survived a decade in the NFL. He believes that knowledge might power his future.

?Me? I would describe myself as a good pro, a reliable pro, a dependable pro,? Florence said. ?I do my job, work hard, and can do enough things that are necessary in my job to compete every year. You want to be the kind of player teams are looking for, the kind they want to have around.?

Someday ? and Florence isn't in any hurry ? the Broncos cornerback sees himself searching for reliable pros. Florence would like to eventually join an NFL team's personnel staff to evaluate the next generation of players.

The Broncos have some experience with that career track. Director of player personnel Matt Russell, whose professional career was derailed by knee injuries, assistant director of college scouting Lenny McGill and Southwest area scout Cornell Green played in the NFL before entering the personnel side. Green was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection in a 14-year playing career with Cowboys as a defensive back.

?Just knowing what to look for in a player, I think I have that and would like to see what the opportunities are at some point,? Florence said. ?I've been in the league 10 years, I've seen all types of different players, body types. You've got to get the right type of player to fit the scheme that you're running.

?It will be an interesting task, I think it would be a good fit for me. A lot of guys really don't do it, but I've been around football all my life. This is what I know. I'm not going to go try to be a chemical engineer when I'm done playing. This is what I've been doing. I want to stick to what I know.?

Things have changed since Florence was a rookie in 2003, when he was a second-round pick by the Chargers out of Tuskegee. He has played with Jacksonville and Buffalo before he signed in Denver. He now takes a different view of the video that fills the screen in front of him during the season. That goes beyond looking for how people line up or a tendency a wide receiver shows on a particular route.

?I probably look at it more now from a personnel standpoint when I'm breaking down my opponent. How they put their teams together, what kinds of players that have that fit or don't fit,? Florence said. ?In the preseason, especially, I kind of look at the defensive backs, the receivers and I'm always looking at the quarterbacks.?

?Drayton is one of those veteran guys who knows what it takes,? Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey said. ?He knows the game. He sees what offenses want to do, how the receivers are attacking the secondary. He's always working on that mental part of the game.?

Florence doesn't plan to pursue his scouting aspirations in the near future. He is 31, playing a position that isn't kind to those players on the north side of 30, but Florence said he feels ?as good as ever.?

A short trip into the free-agent market this year showed he was in demand. The Bills released him May 4, just days after selecting South Carolina cornerback Stephon Gilmore in the first round of last April's draft, and he agreed to terms with the Broncos less than a week later.

Florence has since split time with Chris Harris as the team's nickel cornerback ? the fifth defensive back in some packages ? and been Tracy Porter's backup at right cornerback.

?I look at it like nothing's guaranteed, no spot is guaranteed, until they pick the 53,? Florence said. ?So, my role is whatever it takes to be in that 53. That's how I approach it. Again, I want to be the kind of player a team wants to have around, and I think I know what that takes.?

Source: http://www.ocala.com/article/20120824/sports/120829827

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